Some of you know that I'm a parent of two 2e kids, with a total of 7 years of home-ed experience. I haven't posted about homeschooling until now though, mainly because I'm a bit unsure of what would be most useful to you all!
In my experience, many families who find themselves suddenly homeschooling need to spend a transition period (weeks at least) wrapping their minds around the whole thing, letting everyone recover and rest a bit, observing how their children learn best, exploring different home-ed options and creating a new routine.
But in our current situation it seems families are just expected to jump right in, reproducing school at home while parents continue to work as best they can.
So yes, if schoolwork is enjoyable to your kids, continue! But please don't allow your family's emotional and physical health to suffer if learning disabilities, anxiety, chronic health issues or other challenges are making "school at home" untenable at the moment. It's ok. Use this as an opportunity to observe your kids to get an even clearer vision of who they are, their strengths, interests and needs, and then have some fun learning the required material differently! It still counts as education, and if we all do our part, the regular school routine will be back soon enough.
So if I were to post a recommendation regarding home-ed (especially during a health crisis), it would be to focus on the basics required for you and your family to remain healthy, reasonably happy and calm: good quality sleep, healthy and enjoyable meals, and as much acceptable exercise/movement as possible. (My son says that VR games count! And I would say dancing to YouTube videos does too!) Then I would add playing games, doing puzzles, making art, reading aloud, snuggling...whatever your family finds enjoyable.
So yes, if schoolwork is enjoyable to your kids, continue! But please don't allow your family's emotional and physical health to suffer if learning disabilities, anxiety, chronic health issues or other challenges are making "school at home" untenable at the moment. It's ok. Use this as an opportunity to observe your kids to get an even clearer vision of who they are, their strengths, interests and needs, and then have some fun learning the required material differently! It still counts as education, and if we all do our part, the regular school routine will be back soon enough.
Minette Levee Juric is a member of EKIPP and a veteran homeschooling mom.