5 Survival Tips For Teachers Working From Home

The Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing have closed schools for 2 weeks or more leaving parents frazzled managing their jobs, child care, and remote learning. Some days I cannot believe that this is our reality. I miss my students. My own kids miss their friends and teachers. Social activities, like sports and other events, are no longer. This sudden change and new normal is a lot to process for both adults and children.

When you thought being a mom and a teacher wasn’t hard enough, now there’s planning and delivering remote instruction WHILE taking care of your own kids. And this homeschooling is no joke. I’m spending hours a day teaching my third grader and my preschooler. Teachers know that many kids, including our own, act differently at home than in school, even more so in times of change and stress,  which poses challenges as we try to teach remotely and fulfill our professional responsibilities to our students.

Working from home is definitely not going to be easy. Will we survive? Heck yeah, we will. But it’s going to take some grit and considering others and their challenges during this difficult time.

Create a Schedule

Schedules. Like I have to tell teachers about schedules 😉. Schedules are everything. Get into a schedule that is good for you and your children, one that is not too rigid and allows for flexibility, because we had no time to process and transition to this new norm.  Just like in school, schedules also let children know what’s expected. When they know what’s expected they are less likely to act out at home too. Drink your coffee hot (wait, what?!) and allow time for your children to wake up without the morning rush and eat breakfast. When your school day begins, their school day begins. Try to get all the academics completed in the morning, with occasional brain breaks, snack breaks and BATHROOM breaks (my kidneys are happy again). Then allow the rest of the day for other things, like play, free time, self-care and quality time together.

Work While They Work

It’s not going to be easy to plan and deliver instruction to your students with your kids at home but teachers are rock star multitaskers. Set the precedence early that we all need to do our job, mom & children, teacher & students. If you can do some work when your children are working that would be ideal. If your children are young and need support or assistance with completing their own work, then set aside a quiet time in your schedule when your children can either read or do an independent activity so you can get your professional responsibilities done with your own students.

Take Breaks

Change is hard for everyone. Kids need breaks and time to play. Play reduces stress. If you need your own kids to play while you manage remote learning then let them play. Do what you gotta do. No one is judging. When you get done what you need to get done then take a break. Have some lunch. Take some time to eat healthy food to refuel the body and mind. Sit and chew your food at an actual table with your children instead of standing and eating by the copy machine.

Then get outside. Go for walks, bike ride, garden and just do what you love outdoors. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather that is approaching. Take advantage of the learning that comes naturally outdoors too. There’s so much to learn from caring for a garden, going on a nature hike or a bug hunt. Enjoy some quality time with just your family too.

Use Your Superpowers

The struggles of home learning are real and the first couple of weeks are brutal. There is going to be pushback and confusion as we all adjust to remote learning. There’s going to be a learning curve for all. You are going to have to use your superpowers to get all the things done.  We can only do what we can do within our control. You know what your own children and students can and can not do. You know their limits. You know yours, too. Don’t worry if every assignment doesn’t get done or if every student doesn’t participate. I bet there are good reasons why some don’t, especially when there are multiple children and limited devices in a single household. What you are doing is enough. Just do your best to get through a really difficult situation that is stressful for all: teachers, parents & children. As professional educators, we know that we are the most equipped to teach under stress. We got this!

Stay Positive

Teachers are feeling overwhelmed about launching online learning on a number of unfamiliar platforms in a mad rush. This feels uncomfortable and extremely stressful. We are forced into a situation that makes us step out of our comfort zone and step up to the plate as usual. I understand that every home looks different and our current situation poses a lot of stress on families in different situations which is even more reason to slow down, stay positive, and stay in to reduce the spread of this virus. This too shall pass and school will resume once again. Our children and our students will be okay. This post from Hurricane Katrina reminds us that our children, all of them, will turn out ok.

So, stay well, teacher friends. From here on out education will never be the same. I’m kind of excited to see what changes we will be part of. In the meantime, I hope some of my resources or ideas from blog posts can help support you in this difficult time. We are all in this together and everyone needs to do their part. Let’s stay well and take care of each other.

I’m on my way with creating more resources for remote learning to support teachers and students. This is something we need to do now to work smarter, not harder, during challenging times. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you.

Google Drive Resources:

Class Newspaper – This is a great resource if you want your students to research and report about the Coronavirus Pandemic 2020.

End of Year Newspaper

All About Me Newspaper

Related Posts:

Coronavirus Craze and The Reality of Remote Learning

There are a lot of posts on social media that are really showing lots of love and appreciation for teachers.

Let’s soak it all in!

 

And a little humor…

 

How will you manage to work from home? If you have any resources to share please share in the comments or in the forums.  Follow me to be notified when new resources are uploaded to the Shop and join the email list to receive the latest and greatest updates, posts, and monthly freebies!

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