I do not feel called to homeschool my kids. At all. BUT. It is 2020 and there is a global pandemic due to COVID-19 and many parents are being forced into homeschooling to prevent the spread of disease. Myself included. I am officially a homeschool parent since our public schools are starting the year with “virtual learning”. Although I am disappointed that my children will not be learning in an academic setting for 6.5 hours a day with socialization, recess, different teachers, and just the general school experience, I am trying to search for the silver lining and see how my kids and I can benefit from our virtual learning/homeschool experience.
Here are 4 reasons I am happy to give homeschooling a try in 2020:
1. Virtual Learning Means Our Own Pace
I think we can all benefit from a slower pace. I look forward to the slow mornings where I don’t have to rush to get everyone dressed, brushed, shoed-up, and out the door. We can log-in in our pajamas if we want. I am hoping for less yelling, lower blood pressure, and more positivity to start our day.
2. Instilling Our Own Beliefs
Homeschooling means I don’t have to censor myself. I am able to teach from a Christian perspective without worrying that people may be offended that I left their religion out. Not that learning about other religions and beliefs are bad by any means. In fact, I think it enriches our lives to be around diverse people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. However, I want to instill the Christian faith in my kids as a foundation, while they are young. And sometimes when they learn about all different beliefs at too young of an age it is confusing for them.
3. No Negative Peer Influence
Although I think the lack of socialization at school is actually detrimental to young children’s development, I do think it is quite beneficial to have an opportunity where my kids will not be negatively influenced by peers. I think of it as a way to re-set. Since we are not at school with them, we have no control over who they play with there and what they are exposed to. Last year, one of my kids had some experiences of other children telling him misinformation that caused a lot of fear to build within him. Having my kids at home allows me to have more control over what they are exposed to at a young age.
4. More Family Time With Virtual Learning
One of the greatest bonuses of this entire pandemic has been all the time we have spent together as a family. My husband normally works in New York City and has to commute by train. This means up to 3 hours of his day were wasted on going to and from his office. Insane. He has his 3 hours back and we have more time with Daddy. It’s a win-win. I want to stay positive during this time. And remind myself what a gift it is to have our young family “forced” together under one roof.
All the veteran parents always remind me how fast this time goes. And they miss the days their kids were small and wanted to play with them. I am living at that time, and I am even required to teach them and spend more time with them than ever before. I want to stop complaining about never getting a break and embrace the gift of togetherness. But, don’t worry, I still reserve the right to solo Target trips any time of day.
