Why Why You Shouldn't Use a Homeschool Schedule During the Pandemic & What To Do Instead!

Interested in Creating a Homeschool Schedule while Your Kids are Off School Due to Coronavirus?

Consider This… Now may not be the best time to start homeschooling.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE homeschooling and I so admire those who are embracing it as a way of life with their kids. But homeschooling isn’t always for everyone. Sometimes temperament mismatches get in the way, and sometimes it just isn’t feasible for families for a variety of reasons.

But if your kids have been in mainstream school, or even if they’ve been in an alternative setting, like Waldorf, and they haven’t been learning from you already, the adjustment to homeschool and the role shifts that happen with it can take a LONG time. Plus, with the pile up of transitions and changes right now, your kids are likely stressed (whether they say it or not) and aren’t in the best place to be engaged in formal learning right now. Really they should just be playing, because playing is their natural language and their best tool for processing emotions and stress. You can learn more about that in a free class I’m offering here.

What they need right now is to feel safe and stable and that is what the Three R’s (Rhythms, Routines, and Rituals) give children.

THE THREE R’s

Humans are naturally rhythmic beings. Scientists have even found cells in our bodies whose sole purpose is to maintain our biological hormonal rhythms. Our brains are primed for efficiency, making routines a tool that we naturally gravitate toward. We also historically and anthropologically naturally gravitate to rituals as a source of connection and meaning making. Taken together, these are the “Three R’s” and they can be a powerful tool during this time of coronavirus, social distancing, and quarantine to help your children feel more grounded and to allow you to move through your days with ease, even when you aren’t used to being home with your kids all day or you need to manage to work while you’re home with them.

“The Three R’s can help you and your children feel more grounded and to allow you to move through your days with ease, even when you aren’t used to being home with your kids all day or you need to manage to work while you’re home with them.”

So let’s take a look at how we can use the Three R’s to help us all get settled in to this new normal of having kids off school.

Rhythms:

Rhythms help us all feel more grounded and settled. When we know what’s coming next we can relax and settle in comfortably into the here and now.

• DAILY RHYTHMS: This is the general “flow” of your day. You likely already have a daily rhythm; first we do this, then we do this, next comes that, etc. Meals and snacks are often anchors within the rhythm. If going to school and work has been part of your rhythm and now you’re not doing those things, you likely feel unsettled. Establishing a new rhythm will really help you all feel more stable.

  • Having a daily rhythm to fall back on will also help you with the “I’m BORED” and “PLAY WITH ME” while you’re trying to get your tasks done. Rhythms give kids the sense of “this is what we do during this part of the day”.

  • You might consider asking your kids about the flow of their days at school and see if there are any parts of their school day rhythm that you can keep going at home. For example, most classrooms have cleaning up before moving to another task as a part of the rhythm of their day. This is definitely something I’d recommend building in to your rhythm at home too!

• WEEKLY RHYTHMS: This is the general flow of your week, and you likely already have some rhythms established here, like Taco Tuesday, or gymnastics on Thursdays and Soccer on Saturdays. Many of these rhythms are also likely to be disrupted right now, so if there is any way to keep some of these things present for your kids it will go a long way. For example, if your child usually has dance on Tuesday evenings but the ballet studio is closed, consider holding dance class in your home. There are sweet videos on youtube that you can check out. You may also want to consider starting a new weekly rhythm for this new time that you are together. Like perhaps you do sensory play on Mondays, Painting on Tuesdays, a nature hike (with social distancing!) on Wednesdays, etc.

• YEARLY RHYTHMS- This is the seasonal flow that you observe in your family, and again you likely already have them. Perhaps you declutter each winter, deep clean each spring, grill out everyday in the summer, and go on walks after dinner in the fall. Rituals are often closely tied to the seasons as well.

Routines:

Routines are the structure you have around certain parts of your daily, weekly, and yearly rhythm, and again you likely already have some in place, but this is a good time to take a look at what you have in place and consider if they need any tweaks or if your kids would benefit from formalizing them in chart form (not as a reward or sticker system but just so kids can see the routine visually and keep all the steps in mind). If you’d like to learn how to do that, check out this post!

You again will likely need to add in some new routines as you are spending more time together. You can take a moment now to list the things or tasks that generally look the same each time you do them; those are often the tasks that are most amenable to routines. Then jot down the steps. This is something you can do with your kids, having them help you remember all of the steps. Often families have routines around getting ready in the morning, cleaning up after play time, preparing for meals, getting ready to leave the house, and getting ready for bed. Where are times when you already use routines? Do you see the need to add any more?

“If Rhythms give your day flow and routines provide structure, then rituals give your daily lives meaning.”

Rituals

If Rhythms give your day flow and routines provide structure, then rituals give your daily lives meaning. Rituals are touch points of connection that are intentionally and mindfully sprinkled throughout your daily rhythms. They can also be built in to your routines. For example, as a part of our evening meal we usually open the meal by lighting a candle and singing a blessing. We end the meal by writing in our gratitude journal. These are parts of a daily routine and rhythm that make the mundane daily tasks meaningful and serve to communicate our values and deepen our connection.

Ritual may be the thing that you are least aware of in your daily lives, but I would guess that you already have these too, even if you haven’t formally acknowledged them. Perhaps you kiss your kids goodnight in a certain way, or tickle their toes each morning as you help them get their boots on, or play a certain favorite game each night after dinner. Take a moment and think about rituals that you already have and write them down. Think if there are other points in your day where you normally feel a bit disconnected or grumpy. Is there a ritual you could add in there to bring you all back to intention and presence?

I want to hear from you! How are you using the Three R’s to help your children feel more grounded, calm, and peaceful while they are off school due to the pandemic? How are you using them to help you get your work done while at home with your kids? Have you added any rituals to bring deeper meaning and connection to this stressful time? What is getting in your way of establishing some rhythms or routines?

Tell me in the comments or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram!