Hey!! Long time, no write! I’ve been working hard during quarantine/self-isolation, keeping up with teaching my classes, playing tutor/teacher to my daughters as their learning changes to an online environment, and trying to somehow, keep my house in some semblance of order. It’s been a challenge! While we’ve been isolating at home for the last several weeks, essentially dousing my husband with hand sanitizer and Lysol when he comes in the door from work, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself and my daughters, and how exactly the dream I have of “working from home while homeschooling my girls” would actually play out! Here are a few “a-ha” moments I’ve had during our time at home during our global pandemic…
LEARNING AT HOME ISN’T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
“You’re a teacher! This should be easy!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that during the last few months, I could retire quite comfortably. Like, a self-cleaning beach mansion in Hawaii comfortable. Yes, I am a teacher. Yes, I teach young people every day – it’s my calling. However, teaching a classroom full of high school students for 50 minutes at a time is a bit different than teaching/tutoring my own daughters (a fabulous first grader and a terrific third grader) math, reading, science, social studies, and all of the other things simultaneously, while holding live lectures, answering emails, participating in meetings, keeping up with grades, and trying my best to design fun, engaging lessons that my students will actually want to do. When self-isolation first started, I saw myself as a Ms. Frizzle learn-at-home teacher and was preparing a series of exciting lessons for my daughters to participate in while I was working from home. I bought dry-erase boards and markers to keep track of their learning goals and assignments for the day and planned to severely limit screen time because, after all, we were having school at home. Fast forward a few weeks … we’re doing what we can!
I KNOW I SAY I LOVE TO BE AT HOME …
When I went to pick up supper from our favorite Mexican restaurant last night, I talked with one of our favorite waiters about how my “I just want to stay at home” mentality has changed during this time. Yes, I love to be at home and I’m very thankful to have a comfortable house to call home. It’s been great to stay home, not have to fix my hair or change out of running shorts and t-shirts, however, I really miss the opportunity to go somewhere! Typically, my Sunday mornings are spent at a local coffeehouse, listening to my favorite podcast or Pandora station while planning out the week for my classes, both high school and college, or writing this blog or my teacher blog, Teaching with Technology. It’s also a time for me to take a “mommy timeout” while my husband is at home with our kiddos. Since he works on Saturdays, Sunday is typically the only day of the week that he gets to be at home with our family, and I 100% take advantage of that! During self-isolation, my workspace has moved from our local coffeehouse to my office in our basement – again, I’m super thankful that I have the opportunity to go to our finished basement to work. However, I feel that I get less done because, while my husband is literally right there, our daughters will traipse downstairs, hurdling over toys and crafts left out on the floor, to ask me for a snack. I know I’m not the only mom who has experienced this phenomenon 🙂
WE NEED A ROUTINE
When we got word that we were going to be on an extended break due to COVID-19, I guess I was expecting life to be like it is on snow days. I set an alarm to wake up a bit earlier than my girls and also to make sure that my husband, who swears he doesn’t need to set an alarm to get up, actually gets up on time for work. I thought I’d sit in my recliner, drinking my cup of coffee in pristine peace and quiet, then get up and cook breakfast for my girls. Then, we’d proceed through our day, learning, reading, and making crafts. Ahhhhh … what a picture. In reality, all of our sleep schedules have totally vanished. I stay up way past my normal bedtime of 9:00, playing on my phone, watching shows and complaining about how they ended (seriously, Sanditon. SERIOUSLY), reading from my Bible, adding a variety of content to my Pinterest boards that I’ll probably never use, before finally rolling over, putting my glasses on my lamp table, and going to sleep. After hitting my alarm for a solid hour, I stumble to my recliner after having missed the first hour or so of the Today Show, chug my coffee, and then frantically wake up my oldest daughter 15 minutes before her 9:00 class Zoom begins. Our youngest sleeps until she pleases, then wakes up, eats her Fruit Loops, and watches her iPad until I force her into remote learning activities. I also plan an afternoon nap and have consistently gotten in a Beachbody workout or a run. I don’t know how my body will react to NOT being able to take a 1:30 nap whenever school resumes!
“I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME TO CLEAN MY HOUSE” IS A BIG, FAT LIE
Yes, I’ll admit it. The “I just don’t have time to clean” excuse is just that – an excuse. While I have sometimes felt busier during self-isolation, I could definitely make time to clean out toy bins or a closet. I just haven’t been that bored, I guess you could say 🙂
How has self-isolation been going for you? How will you react when, if your state is like Missouri, stay-at-home orders begin to lift?
Thanks for reading and stay healthy 🙂
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