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Here we are. Suddenly having to homeschool all our kids due to school shut downs and shelter in place mandates. I had the best intentions. I looked at all those colorful, cute homeschooling schedules to follow. We woke up, went to our local coffee shop to support small businesses during this time, and came home. I explained to my 7 year old that this time isn’t meant to be a vacation. Schools are closed but we are still to be learning and gaining an education just as he would be doing at school. He said he understood. We had our agreement. Wonderful.

We got home, I sat down and got to work to getting an online program up and running that he could do, while I researched what else we would be doing for the weeks to come. First thing I tried doing was log into one of the online learning programs. Strike number 1. The gate-way was timed out. I tried the tablet, laptop, and my phone. It wouldn’t budge. I assumed due to the major influx they are probably having on their servers right now. I took a deep breath and harnessed patience. Finally I got to a screen. Timed out again. This continued, meanwhile my 6 week old begins to get cranky. I told the 7 year old to put the TV on for some background noise for her. Strike 2. Of course that doesn’t work, meanwhile the program gets me closer to signing up. I finally get through, fill out the info, and get to what’s supposed to be the home screen. There’s nothing. I try logging in on the tablet instead. Nothing. The patience is slowly dwindling. The baby is getting fussier and fussier by the minute. I quickly look for other online programs to take its place, some math ones, perhaps? I look, but they all seem like cheesy games. The baby starts crying again, the original program still wont load, and now we’re just sitting here, 7 year old is watching Inside-Out, baby is nursing for the fourth time, and the page still wont load, and now its already almost lunch time. Strike number 3, and we’re out.

I had the best intentions.

I have to remind myself, Montessori is hands on, and practical life is the foundation. So for now, we are going to refocus ourselves, and do what I know best, and is a lost art to our children these days. Math and Language will have to wait. He is going to learn some practical life skills around the home. As lunch time rolls around, instead if quickly pulling something together, I am going to show my son how to make his own lunch, which he will be doing every day. We will also be doing laundry together, vacuuming, sweeping, doing the dishes, and folding his clothes. All of these lost skills that are necessary. How? Well, everything I am doing about my day anyway, he will have to follow.

In the Montessori Elementary classroom, the children create their own schedules. So we will follow suite. Each morning my son will create his schedule of the day. In his classroom this includes math, language, science, history, and cultural. However at home, it instead includes the following:

Outdoor time/Walking the dog
Art
Household chores/ care for the pets and plants (laundry, dishes, ect whatever is needed to be done)
Lunch and what he will be making
Free choice (board games, legos, screen free“fun”/open ended activity)
Quiet Time (reading, mindful time: yoga, meditate, crystals)
Educational TV (national geographic, kid friendly documentaries, ect)

Each morning he chooses the order of the activities and their details (such as what he will have for lunch, which free choice activity he will do). We are not writing down the time frames for each activity, only the order which we will do them. This keeps it flexible, and less pressure. Having a schedule helps him stay focused, have something to look forward to, and keep him grounded throughout the day and giving him some normalcy. Kids need routine, they need structure, but it doesn’t have to be rigid.

School will be implementing remote learning for the academic aspects, and we will shift our schedule accordingly once that becomes available. For now however, this will be our focus.

During this time, it is important to give ourselves grace. These closures are a reminder of what is needed in society today. To slow down, get that much needed family time, and relearn about ourselves. We have a chance to figure out our hobbies, get those things done around the house we keep telling ourselves we don’t have time for, and get that needed time with our kids. Ultimately, our kids need us, not the lessons.