Tomorrow we're starting fresh!

Well, here we are. Day 7 of home schooling. I'd say it's going as expected. There are a lot of emails. A lot of assignments. There's a lot of searching for a pencil with an eraser. Followed by a lot of searching for an eraser. (Didn't we all buy like thirty pink erasers at the beginning of the school year?! I bet they're all piled up in an old vitamin container in Scarlett's room). There are lessons in not coloring with a highlighter. Repetitive teaching moments showing Daisy how to properly hold her scissors. There's a lot of running from the bedroom to help Scarlett on the computer to the dining room to explain worksheets to Daisy and back again. There is some regret over not having a laptop... or an iPad. Some pondering over whether to buy another whole bunch of school supplies. Agonizing over whether I'm driving them too hard or not pushing enough. A bunch of complaining ... by all of us, ultimately ending up in OK, we are done for today, go outside and run around!

Pause. Take a breather. Regroup. Watch them play. Laughing on the swings. Running around the yard. Falling down the hill. Throwing gravel. Some yelling. Oh, Daisy's crying. She's hit her head again. We blow her nose and back she goes. It was after this that I saw an opportunity to put a little patch on our day. I went outside with a tennis ball and the three of us played catch for forty minutes. I expected maybe ten or fifteen but they were so engaged they just wanted to keep at it! I was more than happy to play, it was one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid. We will certainly be adding more activities like that into our curriculum.


These days have been challenging but after the tense moments I remind myself that this is difficult. It's difficult for everyone. The stress of what is going on in the world is enough to wear us down mentally. Adding new mandatory tasks and routines creates extra tension. Our children, who may seem like nothing is worrying them, are trying to figure out their new normal. Why can't they leave the house? Why aren't they allowed back at school? Why can't they see their grandparents? When can they play with their friends again? Why the hell are they constantly wearing pajamas!? How LONG is this going to last? The answers aren't easy for any of us to hear. I'm sure it's all taking a toll on their fragile minds. Scarlett is a deep over-thinker, a bit of an anxious kid, and she's quiet about it. (Until about 9:20 pm when she's ready to host a two hour interview about my childhood). So, tomorrow we are going a bit easier. We will get all of the work done but without the rigidness. I will try harder to not let my stress level spill out in the form of sighs. I will try to channel the patience of a teacher. I'll probably eat more Cadbury mini eggs. Those are on my list of "essentials" with good reason. I vow to better plan our day to cut back on whatever is making it feel like a rusted out roller coaster track with that one cart in which the seat belt was cut clean off.

We will alllllll figure it out! It's going to be just fine in the end. That's a fact.

You can always feel free to vent to me about your stressful days, we are in it together, friends! Keep going!

xo