How are you holding up with quarantine?
I have a love/hate relationship with it all
It is the best time ever
I love having my kids home
I love not waking them for school
I love watching and listening to them interact all day
I am not saying it’s all lavender and sunshine
I get tired of the whining and tattling and teasing
I sigh and grumble
And sometimes holler
The homeschool has gotten much more challenging this last week
I knew I needed to change something after I had a tantrum in the kitchen while helping one of the girls with her Math
She was being whiny and giving no effort
I was having no patience
She was being overdramatic and I was being over reactive
I took her Math papers and ripped them into pieces
I know, so sad
And a good reminder for me
So I gave myself a brain power limit of four hours, two chromebooks going at a time with me in between the two kids who are on them
School time is only from 10am to 2pm
Monday Tuesdays Thursdays and Fridays
Wednesday is No Electronic Day and we do art and reeeaaad or go on a field trip
I removed the pressure from myself to make sure every kid turns in every assignment every week
I even did one assignment for my ninth grader while he worked on another
I would rather he was back in the shop working on his dirt bike
He will remember how to repair a dirt bike
Will he remember the dates and names of all the important people and places in American History?
Do you?
I would rather get through the schoolwork as quickly as possible and get on to what they love
And if researching how a Tesla engine works is what he would really like to do, I’ll finish that Language Arts paper for him real quick so he can get on with it
We have to prioritize and re-prioritize daily, almost hourly
And schoolwork isn’t always going to have the front burner or center stage
I give myself permission to lighten my load however possible during this time
So thankful the teachers are so understanding
And patient and helpful
And there for us
I think I understand why there are three recesses a day and parties happen often in public school
I admit I was a bit judgmental of the amount of party days they had
They are not for the kids
They are to give the teachers a much needed break
The brain power those teachers have
So much appreciation for them right now more than ever
And for the school office staff
I’m over here asking each child of mine
‘What grade are you in again?’
‘Who’s your teacher?’ (again)
While Tasha the lady at the front desk at the elementary school would say
‘Good morning Andrea! Mrs. Denney right? Your class is in Art right now, have a good day hon!’
While simultaneously writing her a pass and excusing her tardy on the computer and inquiring about our other girl who went home with an earache yesterday, and I have already forgotten about the earache
I’m in awe, thinking ‘Don’t you have like a thousand students??’
Just hats off