This is a very hard time with balancing being a mom 24/7, maybe working from home, doing dishes, laundry, 3 meals a day, children, pets, and now you have to be the teacher! And you never got a summer break. I truly believe we all can do this thing called virtual learning, no matter how disappointed we may be that our children cannot go back, for their sake and FOR OURS.
I've put together some tips to navigate this peculiar and stressful time of Virtual Learning with our children. Mine just started Kindergarten and First Grade, so follow along if you are an elementary school parent. If you are a high school parent, this can be made flexible to your child:
Maintaining Household Control!
I generally feel out of control in my own home these days. Like I said, I have my Kindergartner and First Grader doing virtual learning in the same house. I also have a 5 month old puppy... because why not also throw in a cute little piece of chaos into our lives, right? So what do I do? I take control...
1. Set up the "best" working spaces
My kids had been sitting at the dinning room table together on their devices. Well, that did not work! What did I do?
- Eliminate distraction: aka: take the dog to the doggy day care (critical!).
- Set kids up in SEPARATE AREAS OF THE HOUSE: I have both kids now on different sides of the house
- Have extra work for them to do when their virtual class is over in case you are too busy to help them transition. For example, I print out extra work for my kids to do with a pencil like some of THESE HERE.
 Separate table for a do-it-yourself math table. |  Miriam doing virtual learning in her own space. |  Turned my window nook into a library space. |
2. NO TV IN THE MORNING...
I have found that if I turn on the TV in the morning, the rest of the day is lost, and we fight about turning it off. See the #3 below for morning madness ideas!
3. Prepare Materials the Night Before or Wake Up Early
My kids want to get going the moment they wake up. I always prepare something for them to do so I can prepare their computers for school. Here is what I do:
- Put white paper, coloring books, and a tub of markers, crayons, and colored pencils on either their art table or kitchen table.
- Set out a big puzzle for them to complete.
- Put out their musical instruments and turn on Alexa!
- Have them help me with breakfast. Either with cracking eggs or mixing batter!
4. Take Care of Mom
Your health and well being is of the utmost importance. If mommy is OK, the family is OK. Make sure you have the things you love in the house. I love doing the following.
- Making a fresh pot of coffee in the morning or iced green tea
- Blasting music to dance to throughout the house. The kids have grown to like Jonas Brothers! They will grow to like anything it seems.
- Get myself dressed in the morning with a morning shower, stretch, and a nice pair of jeans. I try to fix my hair, brush my teeth, and feel like a human.
- Take a walk. If not by myself then with the children.
5. Brain Breaks!
After virtual class time, there is usually a break between lessons. Its good to take a brain break and a body break. Here are some ideas.
- Jack Hartman does incredible educational and physical video for kids like count to 100, sight words, and more.
- Cosmic Kids Yoga and Zen Den are a great way to get your kids to do mindfulness and be physical.
- Make a hopscotch board out of chalk outside and do math and physical exercise.
- Go for a walk.
- Get cooking in the kitchen. Have the kids chop fruit and veggies for a snack. There are some really awesome kids knives out there.
6. Set Responsibilities
The less responsibility I have these days the lighter my load feels. The more responsibility my children have these days, the more independent they seem to feel. Here are some responsibilities your children can take part in and therefore feel proud of themselves for:
- Put their dishes in the sink and clear off the table
- Put their shoes in the shoe spot
- Turn on and off their computers
- Feed the dog and give him water
- Turn off the lights to their room
- Bring their laundry to the laundry room
Here are a few more online education supplements:
https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/
