A term of online or remote learning stretches before us, and for some, even the idea is overwhelming. These are strange times we are living in and times of transition are inevitably hard.

Over the holidays, in order to differentiate the days that just seemed to stretch out endlessly before us, we decided to implement a learning routine to fill in the week days. It wasn’t perfect, and there were times when it really didn’t work, but on the whole we were pleased with how it all worked out.

In fact, I was reflecting the other day, with this system, I’ve actually been able to get more of my work hours done than I would have pre-COVID-19, with that block in the middle devoted to online learning time (using Prodigy and Reading Eggs).

Our schedule isn’t complicated, but it was the perfect balance for us – allowing a mix of activities, group time and alone time in amongst meals so that we didn’t all drive each other crazy.

Here are some things that we learned from two weeks of at-home learning:

1. Routine is Crucial

There’s nothing more soul-destroying than having a big open stretch of day in front of you with no real idea of how it’s going to play out. I go straight into reactive mode when this happens, just hoping for snatches of rest or time to catch up on my social media feed, and then get irritated when people need me or when the kids can’t resolve their (seemingly endless) disagreements.

But, when the schedule is up, everyone knows what activity to be involved in, and I have a sense of what is required of me. I know rest time is coming (thank God for rest time!) and I’ll get my alone time to do yoga, meditation, journalling and reading in that blessed window. For the rest of it, though, I’m on.

2. YouTube is Your Friend

I’m sure you already know this, but there are so many incredible things on YouTube if you want to learn anything. We have been honing our drawing and dancing skills over the past few weeks, investigating science experiments and maths concepts – just by searching for what we wanted to learn – and then, as if by magic, it  appears!

We have been using this great Resource List from Dave’s school to spur on our investigations and we haven’t even scratched the surface of the options available yet.

3. It Will Probably Go Wrong Before it Goes Right

I don’t know about you, but most of the time I learn the fastest from the things we totally screw up. We started off with quite a different schedule, including a lot more movie time initially, but actually, what I thought would make the day easier ended up making it harder. Pretty soon, after three days in a row of having huge tantrums after the movie ended, we scrapped that element completely and the schedule worked much more efficiently.

Sometimes what you think will go well won’t and that’s okay! If you start to see a pattern, don’t ignore it, just ask yourself (or, even better, ask your kids) what you could do instead. The answer will come.

4. Give Yourself Grace

This isn’t meant to be easy. If you had visions of yourself morphing into a patient and cheerful Homeschool Mum, and instead you discover that you’re more like the Incredible Hulk, that’s life.

Maybe you aren’t working with your strengths but trying to emulate someone else’s. Ask what you are good at and what you enjoy. If it isn’t baking, please don’t bake! Maybe you secretly love maths – well, do that instead! Perhaps it’s nature walks or listening to an audible book together.

Just respect that you are a unique and amazing person and it’s okay if your day looks different to everyone else’s – in fact, celebrate that!

5. This isn’t Forever

There’s a phrase I have been repeating to myself in the hard moments: ‘This too shall pass’.

Yes, it seems endless and as though we will never get to leave our houses or send our kids off to school or visit the beach again. And I get it. It really does feel like Groundhog Day sometimes.

But try to remind yourself that this isn’t true. Sure, life might look different in a post-COVID-19 world, but I have every faith in the resilience and creativity of humanity to adapt and come up with workable solutions to the challenges ahead.

We will get through this, one tiny step at a time.

What are you looking forward to (or dreading) about this next term? What have you found that works for your family? We’d love to hear about it! Any tips or tricks that work for you just might be the thing another family needs to unlock their own dilemmas. Let us know down below.