Tips and Resources To Help You Transition to "Quarantine Schooling"

 And acknowledge your children’s feelings. This is a first for everyone and anything you might be feeling is absolutely normal: stress, confusion, worry, sadness, fear. These are all appropriate reactions to having lost control of your family’s sense of normalcy. Your kids might be emotional or moody and more prone to arguments. This is their way of expressing the same feelings you’re feeling. Talking together as a family about what everyone is feeling will do wonders for moving into the unknown together. 

Your new daily routine will not look a normal day in traditional school, nor will it look like your normal workday. This is uncharted territory for each member of your family. Finding a schedule that works for everyone will take time, patience, communication and grace. At the beginning and end of each day, check in with each family member to see how they are feeling about the day. Keep a daily list of feelings and adjust your routine accordingly. 

Everyone’s attention spans are all over the place right now. Work in small chunks broken up throughout the day with snacks, creative time, music and exercise or reading. Your children do not understand what’s happening in the world on the same scale as you do, whether they are 5 or 15. Give them lots of breathing room to process, and extra time to focus on schoolwork or tasks. Your child’s teacher(s) will provide plenty of instruction and academic structure, so YOU get to focus on comforting and reassuring your children by providing essential emotional and mental space to process. Be gentle with each other during these uncertain times. 

That may sound silly, but the reality is we are all being pulled in a million directions; particularly if you are working from home. Small children will demand attention, so be sure to schedule one-on-one time so that tantrums and outbursts can be replaced with positive interaction. Reward good behavior and offer incentives for self-entertaining so that you can focus on work in between meeting your kids’ needs. Provide older children with clear boundaries and expectations and offer freedoms or incentives for help with younger siblings or household tasks. If you don’t have a home office, get creative and set some office hours for yourself so that your children begin to learn what to expect when it’s not one-on-one time. 

Stress is damaging in a variety of ways. Now is the time to focus on healthy habits! Read, pray, meditate, indulge in a cup of coffee while the house is quiet in the morning, go for a walk or run, make healthy meals, drink plenty of water and encourage active time with your family. Your health and well-being is vital to helping your children feel safe during this time. Take care of yourself so you can take care of them. If you are feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope, reach out to a trusted friend or family member and ask for help. Vent to other grownups when you need to, out of earshot of young ears, and focus on being the best version of yourself as you lead your loved ones through a challenging time. 

This is a marathon not a sprint. You do not have to solve every problem today. Ensure that you and your family are getting adequate downtime during the day and quality sleep at night. Try to stick to normal bedtime routines. Read together to unwind at the end of the day. Listen to calm music, cuddle and let go of today’s worries knowing that you are all doing your best. If you must squeeze in work at night, set a timer for yourself and shut off screens when the timer goes off so you are not tempted to overwork yourself. Rest is what readies us to take on the world in the morning. 

It can be tempting to mentally spiral down the “what if” way of life, but it is important to remember we are all in this together. No one knows what tomorrow holds even under normal circumstances. Trust yourself. Trust your judgement. Trust your feelings and most importantly trust that you will make it through this strong and whole. You may struggle with isolation from other adults, familiar friends and the comfort of what your life was before. Trust that everyone else is feeling a lot like you are right now and reach out to friends to chat. Encourage your children to connect with their friends via Facetime or phone calls. We are not truly alone right now, even when it may feel like that. Trust will take your through to the other side. 

Spend a little time each week researching activities for your family to enjoy, learn and bond. Keep a list of ideas handy so when things start to hit the fan or boredom starts to creep in, you can pivot and pull everyone back to earth. 

Here are some examples by age group:

Horizon Westers just like you are all coping with the same reality. Join other families like yours to share resources, ask questions, meet new friends and work together! There is a Facebook Group dedicated to Horizon West based "Quarantine Schooling"!

Her daughter struggled with chronic illness and Rhiannon needed the freedom and flexibility to earn an income while meeting her daughter's needs. Rhiannon is a former Middle and High School teacher. She is certified in grades 4-12 in Florida and Nebraska. She has worked from home for several years off and on in addition to homeschooling. She is passionate about Native American culture and issues, immune deficiency and childhood homelessness. 

Rhiannon enjoys speaking, training and teaching others on how to achieve success. When not working, she can be found at Disney, the beach, a soccer field or traveling with her husband and two kids.

Rhiannon Neuharth

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