Becoming a teacher in your own home 

As we enter another week of social distancing we are all (still) feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Maybe our positive attitudes are wearing off and the energy we initially had is gone. For some, you were just beginning to find a rhythm to your days and then things changed. For others, maybe the routine you initially created has left you exhausted and depleted. Both of these can feel like a failure.

On top of that, the house is trashed. The dishes keep piling up. Your productivity is down (way down). Tending to your child’s and your own emotional needs, finding the resources you need to support their learning from home experience, and keeping up on your own work are all full-time jobs.  Has anyone else lost track of how many times you’ve thrown your hands in the air and told your kids, “Just go watch TV!” All of this adds to your feelings of being overwhelmed and a failure.

Even worse, your children are watching how you navigate these difficult times more closely than you would probably like. 

Why “failure” shouldn’t be a bad word

If you can take advantage of the opportunity that failure provides, you can model compassion and dignity. Failure is an essential part of any learning process. Failure means you tried, and now you try again. You keep trying until you get it right and find grace for yourself as you go.

All of this is why you’re doing a better job than you think. We, as humans, rarely do anything  perfectly on the first try. Even in the classroom, adaptability is key and teachers learn by trial and error. There is no set way to help every child because every child is different. There is no way to prepare for every possible scenario. None of us have ever gone through what the world is experiencing right now and your lack of preparation is understandable. 

This work takes courage. This work takes perseverance. If your child learns anything from this extended time of learning from home, let it  be these four important skills that they can only learn from observing you.

1) Starting Something Before You Have All The Information 



No one had the luxury of spending several weeks preparing for this extended period of learning from home. You didn’t have time to rearrange your schedules, gather materials, or even read up on what a homeschooling schedule looks like. Without preparation and information, it understandably leaves you unable to feel confident in yourself as your child’s teacher. 

But that hasn’t stopped you. That is what your child will see.

Through this experience, children will learn that even adults can do hard things and try something new. Children will see how you practice and learn a new skill or read up on new information. They will learn the value of asking questions in order to keep moving forward. When you partner with your child to pursue something new (without all the information), you build a  stronger relationship with your child. Your child will see how you continue on and fill in the gaps of information you still need to learn.