Homeschooling My Stepchildren
Some moms are homeschool moms.
They take great joy in teaching their kids from the dining room table and spending all day every day with their little ones.
I am NOT a homeschool mom.
If you're like me, the 9 to 5 working mom lifestyle is what you're familiar with. The kids spend 8 hours or more with a babysitter, at daycare, etc. You get a break from being the go-to person for the little ones and get to converse with adult humans. I enjoy conversing with the adult humans.
But this week has been a new challenge as I navigate the new-found role of Mom in my life. Sure, I've been home since my little guy was born in early February, but life has taken a few curves since then. We did not expect an extra week of parenting time with the older kiddos, and there's all sorts of pressure to make sure the kids are still filling their minds and learning new stuff. In an attempt to get some of my regular work done and keep the kids busy, we've been embracing homeschooling activities.
I've gotten a little push back, but only a little. They tend to be less whiny about schoolwork when they have full tummies. I've been using this week as a trial run for how I plan to handle the summer working from home with all three kids. So far, so good.
I've probably jinxed it now.
I'm not a teacher in the slightest and don't have time to create projects or lesson plans, so I got the kids workbooks from Brain Quest. They come in a whole bunch of grade levels, but I've linked the specific ones we have here (5th grade) and here (2nd grade). I don't assign pages, just let them pick what they want to work on today. I'll make suggestions if they are taking a long time to choose or are favoring one subject too much. When I notice the attention span is fading or distractions are mounting, we take a 30 min TV break. They take turns picking an episode of their favorite show on Netflix and then we go back to the work books after the episode is over.
We've been starting "school" at 7:30am-8am and by 10am we go outside for a walk around the neighborhood in our beautiful spring weather (40s and overcast, occasional sunshine). I've been calling this "recess". A snack before the walk if they are hungry. After that, I let them play either together or alone in their rooms while I get some cleaning chores done, feed baby, etc.
Around 11:30am we have lunch, then I give them the choice of playing outside or more workbook pages (as I attempt to get another few hours of my work done). They always pick playing outside with Dad as he's just getting home from work himself, at least so far. By 2pm they usually come inside and we do afternoon reading time. I assigned an actual book at their reading levels that they have to complete by the end of the week (about 2 chapters per day).
This is the point in the day where I'm glad Hubby is home. I'm usually exhausted from being up since 4am. I'm also usually done putting in my 8 hours worth of remote work by this time. By 4pm, we're all doing our normal evening routine, just as if we'd all gone to regular work or school today.
Coronavirus may have changed the dynamic, but we are making it work for now. And I'm really glad they have real teachers at school to return to in the fall. I appreciate teachers so much more now. It takes a patience I don't possess to take on a classroom of kids every day with a smile on your face. This working mom prefers to converse with the adults.
Silver lining to it all, no matter how I feel about the virus, we got an entire extra week with the kids this year. It's unlikely to ever happen again.
How are you holding up under the extra mom pressure? Are you a homeschool mom with tips we could use to make things smoother? Tell me in the comments below!
Until next time,
Emma Leigh
They take great joy in teaching their kids from the dining room table and spending all day every day with their little ones.
I am NOT a homeschool mom.
If you're like me, the 9 to 5 working mom lifestyle is what you're familiar with. The kids spend 8 hours or more with a babysitter, at daycare, etc. You get a break from being the go-to person for the little ones and get to converse with adult humans. I enjoy conversing with the adult humans.
But this week has been a new challenge as I navigate the new-found role of Mom in my life. Sure, I've been home since my little guy was born in early February, but life has taken a few curves since then. We did not expect an extra week of parenting time with the older kiddos, and there's all sorts of pressure to make sure the kids are still filling their minds and learning new stuff. In an attempt to get some of my regular work done and keep the kids busy, we've been embracing homeschooling activities.
I've gotten a little push back, but only a little. They tend to be less whiny about schoolwork when they have full tummies. I've been using this week as a trial run for how I plan to handle the summer working from home with all three kids. So far, so good.
I've probably jinxed it now.
I'm not a teacher in the slightest and don't have time to create projects or lesson plans, so I got the kids workbooks from Brain Quest. They come in a whole bunch of grade levels, but I've linked the specific ones we have here (5th grade) and here (2nd grade). I don't assign pages, just let them pick what they want to work on today. I'll make suggestions if they are taking a long time to choose or are favoring one subject too much. When I notice the attention span is fading or distractions are mounting, we take a 30 min TV break. They take turns picking an episode of their favorite show on Netflix and then we go back to the work books after the episode is over.
We've been starting "school" at 7:30am-8am and by 10am we go outside for a walk around the neighborhood in our beautiful spring weather (40s and overcast, occasional sunshine). I've been calling this "recess". A snack before the walk if they are hungry. After that, I let them play either together or alone in their rooms while I get some cleaning chores done, feed baby, etc.
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| Our grass is returning! |
Around 11:30am we have lunch, then I give them the choice of playing outside or more workbook pages (as I attempt to get another few hours of my work done). They always pick playing outside with Dad as he's just getting home from work himself, at least so far. By 2pm they usually come inside and we do afternoon reading time. I assigned an actual book at their reading levels that they have to complete by the end of the week (about 2 chapters per day).
This is the point in the day where I'm glad Hubby is home. I'm usually exhausted from being up since 4am. I'm also usually done putting in my 8 hours worth of remote work by this time. By 4pm, we're all doing our normal evening routine, just as if we'd all gone to regular work or school today.
Coronavirus may have changed the dynamic, but we are making it work for now. And I'm really glad they have real teachers at school to return to in the fall. I appreciate teachers so much more now. It takes a patience I don't possess to take on a classroom of kids every day with a smile on your face. This working mom prefers to converse with the adults.
Silver lining to it all, no matter how I feel about the virus, we got an entire extra week with the kids this year. It's unlikely to ever happen again.
How are you holding up under the extra mom pressure? Are you a homeschool mom with tips we could use to make things smoother? Tell me in the comments below!
Until next time,
Emma Leigh
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