[Seek] Peace With What (Home)schooling Looks Like Now

[Lent 19]

It's just for now, this being cooped up in the house without homeschool co-op, worship, theater rehearsals, dances, dinner church, paint nights, and other gatherings and activities. Life goes on without the need to shuttle children to and from activities and friends' houses or taking a horde of kids to a museum, aquarium, science center, historical site, or the movies.

This thing that we're doing now is not at all what homeschooling looks like.

Homeschooling is actually less about being at home and more about being out and about in the world learning by doing and seeing and experiencing. It's about learning from our elders, our peers, even those younger than us. It's about interacting with friends of all ages. 

For those who are schooling at home due to covid-19-induced school closings - please know that what you are doing isn't what homeschoolers do on a regular basis. And that homeschoolers are just as frustrated at being home as you are. And that the social aspect of being stuck at home is just as tough for homeschoolers. It must be exponentially more difficult to motivate children who are not used to schooling at home to get their work done than children who live homeschooling every day, so my heart goes out to you.

In my family, we're seeking peace with what homeschooling looks like now. Instead of going to theater rehearsal, we're attempting to set up weekly video chat sessions with fellow actors. We're hoping to do the same with our Dungeons and Dragons group. We're engaging in conversations about everything from epidemiology to how the government works to social justice. We're continuing to learn new skills and investigate things in which we're interested. We're also spending a lot of time relaxing, playing, and de-stressing. We're getting out of the house to go on walks and hikes. We're doing art projects. We're exploring what our new normal is going to look like for the time being, and how we can be productive human beings through it all.