4. Find New Ways to Reinforce Academic Concepts
The gift of being on the “teaching team” for your child is that you will quickly understand what s/he is learning. To the extent that you are able to internalize the concept, you can draw upon it casually in different circumstances to help reinforce their learning.
For example, a child learning about fractions could refresh their memory when handing out slices of pizza to the family at dinner, or halving a recipe and baking dessert! On our travels, states of matter (i.e. liquid, solid, gas) came alive for our second grader when he could visit a thermal geyser and see all of the states of water in action…and the same learning could be cemented with a stove, frying pan, and a cube of ice!
5. This is a Marathon not a Sprint…Build Resilience and Be Gentle with Yourself
At the end of the day, we can choose to orient ourselves to our circumstances. We will all have tough and tougher days, but to the extent that we can also hold and see the slivers of opportunity that this difficult time brings, we will build our own resilience within ourselves and our littles.
Whether the goal is to survive or thrive, take each day as it comes. Each specific day, kid, moment, and activity will bring its own trials and opportunities for growth. The capacity to recognize our elasticity–to feel the stretch, but bounce back to try again–is the very tool they will need to navigate through life. Don’t forget to pay attention to small ways we (as adults) can meet our needs (i.e. deep breathing, frame of gratitude, extra 10 mins in the bathroom all alone, etc), so we can model resilience for our own kids. Finally, NOBODY IS PERFECT so that can’t be the goal. Instead, we can set an intention to learn to “do” and “be” our best selves. Good luck!
