Global Homeschool – Who would have thought?

If I had told you in January that in a few months, there would be a toilet paper shortage, no cleaning supplies left in stores, and all the children all over the world will be homeschooled (that’s right, global homeschool!), you would have probably had me committed. Welcome to our new reality, starring COVID-19: Global Pandemic!

Global homeschooling has left most parents tearing their hair out, learning that they are not smarter than a fifth grader, and sending their children outside for “recess” and “gym” multiple times throughout the day. We have all seen the funny memes stating that in twenty years our country will be run by people homeschooled by day drinkers; the laughs we have shared when we started changing and realized “class” was in session and a bunch of sixth graders just had a PG 13 moment; the zoom class where 10 minutes into class, all the children shut off the video at the same time and changed their name to reconnecting, leaving the teacher wondering what is going on.

On the flip side, we have a greater appreciation for our children’s teachers and truly understand how difficult their jobs are. We have gained more patience as we watch our children struggle with certain assignments, and have become more empathetic to their present situations. We have learned to cherish the time that we have with our kids to sit, cuddle, and read books aloud. We have learned to slow down, to take leisurely walks, to really spend time with our children and to learn who they really are. Our children are including us in their TikTok videos, and they are not embarrassed! We have learned to see the silver linings.