6 Ways Homeschooling During Coronavirus Is Kicking This Teacher’s Butt!

I want to start off by saying I’m a pretty darn good teacher and mom!

At work, I make the time and effort to connect with my students. I teach them the concepts they need to learn and I try and shake-up my lessons to make the school-day fun.

At home, between myself and my husband, I’m the calm, responsible parent. I dish out the most hugs & kisses, and schedule the dental check-ups.

Before COVID-19, my time was spent on evenings and weekends helping with homework and reading books. This all went pretty smoothly with daddy around as back-up

So now that the schools are closed, why is homeschooling my own kids driving me up the wall?

I should have a leg-up on all the other non-teacher parents who are tackling their kids’ education at this time. I mean, I know the elementary curriculum…I can talk my 9-year-old through long division. I even wrote a Learn At Home plan for other parents and posted it on my blog.

But, here I am, sitting in our living room typing out this article as I let my kids watch electronics, all for the heavenly aura of peace and quiet in our house. And, that’s right, I don’t care today…they can watch their screens all bloody afternoon!

Here are 6 ways homeschooling during the coronavirus pandemic is kicking this teacher’s butt!

Let’s Set The Scene

I’ve been keeping my kids on a familiar school-like timetable since our school board shut down shop due to the pandemic. For us, that means we gather at our dining room table for math in the morning, English or French class before lunch, and then some reading or Science activity in the afternoon.

When they aren’t “studying”, we head outside to play or they have free-time indoors. There is some baking, crafts, and chatting with friends over Messenger Kids in there too.

So, how did it get to this point? What has led me to this point of frustration with homeschooling? Here is what has been happening in our self-isolated household these past few weeks.

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Why Homeschooling During Coronavirus is kicking this teacher’s butt!

1) Mom Holds Way Less Cred Than Madame:

I have three school-age daughters in grades SK, 2, and 4. They are lovely, bright little beasts whom I adore most days of the week. And, they adore and respect their mom in return. In fact, in our family, mom is most often the heavy-hand of justice.

Notice how I wrote “mom”, because Madame G. (I teach French immersion) is apparently a sucker who is meant to be trifled with at every turn.

There is no taking turns to ask a question, there is a relentless chorus of “Mom, Mom, Mom” when we sit down to work. When my 7-year-old needs help reading a question, the 5-year-old coincidentally drops her pencil on the floor and just…can’t…reach…it.

When I’m explaining how to convert between millimetres and kilometres to my 9-year-old we are undoubtedly talking TOO LOUD for the other two to concentrate. And, they can’t go work in their bedrooms because upstairs has always been too scary alone.

I KNOW they don’t pull this nonsense at school!

Okay, so by now you may be questioning my earlier assertion that I am indeed at good teacher. You are just going to have to take my word that when Madame needs to shoot an unruly student “the look”, it is most-often heeded.

Apparently at home, “the look” translates into “keep going, she is about to crack”!

2) Every Lesson Plan Ends In Tears:

Success for me now is a lesson that doesn’t end in tears. I don’t mean my tears, we aren’t that far gone yet!

My 7-year-old darling has received the class award for Perseverance two years in a row at school. She is a determined kid who can truly buckle-down at a task. So why all of a sudden, does my insisting she read out-loud a question, before saying she doesn’t understand, a form of torture.

I know she can do it, and even if she needs a hand, asking her to try surely isn’t cruel of me, is it? Asking my students to push themselves is part of my job description.

The same goes when teaching my 5-year-old her French sight-words. At school, I know she has a tendency to play shy with her teacher and not answer questions. I’m pretty certain however, that prompting her to sound out “regarde” does not result in her yelling “I don’t know” and hiding under the table.

Okay, I don’t want to give the impression this is happening during every lesson…just enough that I’ve began to doubt my once rock-solid mental stability.

3) My Students Can Follow Me Into The Washroom:

No further explanation required.

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4) 1 Household Computer / 3 Students Doing Online Learning = 1 Mom – all her patience

We only have one laptop computer at our house and all three of my girls are continuing their schooling online.

Each morning, they need to log-in to their virtual classrooms and start working on the lessons their teachers have assigned them.

Sharing our one computer is tripling the amount of time it takes to complete their work…and tripling the amount of whining in our house.

5) My 9-year-old Is The New Vice-Principal

My oldest daughter believes student discipline is now her realm, and this VP is unforgiving!

Interrupt a lesson and you’ll get yelled at.

Take too long to pass the ruler, and the ruler might come flying at your head.

Give the wrong answer, and your exiled from the school population.

Needless to say we’ve had to have daily staff meetings regarding our expectations of students.

5) What’s She Gonna Do, Call Our Parents?

“I’m going to have to call your parents” is one line every student doesn’t want to hear from their teacher. It is usually a pretty, reliable behaviour-corrector. But when Mom is the teacher, a phone call home loses it’s punch.

6) There Is A Baby In The Classroom!

I’ve deliberately left this little nugget for last. And, she is a cute little nugget indeed. I’m presently on maternity leave with my fourth daughter.

School is now functioning as a daycare/learning environment.

Petite Bebe is on a two-nap per day routine so I’m homeschooling during nap-time most days. But the naps only last so long, and schooling needs to go on longer.

My daughters love their little sister… a little too much and nothing is as distracting as a vocal almost-toddler scooting through the classroom.

The lack of focus my class demonstrates is driving me to count-down the hours until a glass of red is socially acceptable.

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School’s Out But I’m Not

We teachers say we spend the first two months of the school year establishing routines and teaching classroom rules. We need to do this so our students can soak up as much learning as possible before July…and for our own mental well-being.

I have to give big props to all those parents who homeschool throughout the year.

Same goes for all the parents, teachers or not, who are continuing to help their kids learn at home while working from home! I realize I’m fortunate to be on leave.

My little classroom is only 1 month old and its students are being asked to adapt to a brand new reality. So, I’m going to try to remind myself, when the chalk hits the fan, to cut my pupils and myself a break.

If we can all come through this experience a bit wiser and closer as a family, then that deserves straight A’s all around.

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