THE HARDEST PROBLEM to solve with school at home doesn’t come from a textbook.

Instead, it’s the constant frustration.

And it doesn’t matter if you’ve felt led to homeschool or you’ve been forced into virtual learning. It’s easy to identify the struggle for me - we’re all so distracted.

The TV. The toys. The siblings.
The other work we need to get done.
The breaks we all need to take.

And the plan of attack can be tricky and actually seem a bit awkward.

The only way we’re going to all finish up this crazy challenge of school at home has to add up to GRACE upon grace.

We can all 100% admit this situation is hard. This isn’t what I signed up for. Parts of this equation sucks. It just seems unsolvable.

It’s okay to be honest. There’s no shame there.

But we’ve also got to recognize we’ve encountered some blessings, too. And realize even traditional school (in a normal academic year) brought its own headaches and peer pressures and hurt feelings.

But it was normal, right?!? Standard. Predictable. What we’ve always done. The only way. And that’s a big part of the problem.

For the past year, we’ve all been paddling hard through tumultuous, uncharted waters (teachers, administrators, parents), and we’ve come to realize in addition to venting our frustrations, we’ve got to hold each other up. And find ways to keep moving forward.

We’ve got to be patient. And encourage play.

We’ve got to let up on pressuring them and ourselves.

We’ve got to be assertive and explain why it’s all important.

And we’ve got to remind our children they are smart and brave and gifted and celebrate their successes and ours.

And remember the best learning is taking place outside of the school curriculum.

I want to encourage parents who feel desperate for relief. Or defeated already. Our kids have learned more this year than any test can measure.

They’ve learned to be flexible.

They’ve learned to work with what they’ve been given.

They’ve learned to look out for others.

They’ve learned no one is perfect and the benefit of trying our best.

They’ve learned to overcome.

And parents, don’t forget this part -

They’ve learned these skills from you.

I’d love to keep this conversation going and feel out how next year is looking?? Let’s share our experiences; what’s working; what isn’t. Who’s considering returning to the classroom, keeping on with school as is or trying a different approach?

And let’s keep cheering each other on and remembering we’re all in this together.