So we realize a lot of people are now facing having kids at home who aren’t normally homeschooled (or home educated, as they call it here in the UK.) We have some links to the right that our kids have used over the years, and some new ones we’re learning about below.

Not that I can offer much reassurance in this time, but I can offer opinions that don’t count for much… I say do what you got to do. If you’re working from home and you’ve got little ones and school age kids then it’s just about keeping your head above water. For some kids they thrive on structure and this is going to be a chaotic upheaval. You may need some decompress (holiday/time off) to let everyone adjust and cope with the emotional stress of these rapid changes – or your child may do best (and you may do best) with trying to keep some consistency: chores, bedtime, wake up routine, some designated “school” time, outdoor time, etc. There is no one right answer and way to do this, and it may need to change day-to-day as we see how long this may go on for… but it’s unrealistic, in my opinion, to anticipate being able to do work full time AND homeschool kids AND keep your house clean AND process this major global upheaval AND the dozens of other responsibilities we as parents are juggling when things are going as normal. This is not normal.

Be patient with yourself, be patient with your kids. If it comes down to academics or housework or paid work or your sanity… just do what you got to do. I am telling myself right now that it’s about relationships above all else. I have to let some things go in order to monitor everyone’s mental state and patience levels and need for consistency vs. need for understanding – this chaos is felt even by the littlest ones.

So, some websites that count as educational IF that is something you want to focus on:

Vooks for some beautiful, soothing, read aloud books.

Twinkl is a website we’ve been hearing about but have not explored.

Bitesize is another link the kids like with British curriculum (which can be fun for kids from other countries to explore and compare with their own.)

Writing Prompts for Kids to keep their creative writing skills up.

Virtual Museum Tours for those of us grieving canceled trips!

Yousician is one our kids are LOVING for ukulele, keyboard or singing. Think of it like a music lesson video game – they are learning so much.

Scholastic Learn at Home which we’ve not checked out yet but they’ll be posting 20 days of free lessons and content.

• There are great educational shows online (Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, YouTube) with the disclaimer that you’ll need to be nearby as there’s not always clear cut kid sections vs. full content.

• We’re also using this as a time to go through our puzzles, game cabinet, and other fun items like OSMO, Dash & Dot, SnapCircuits, etc. The kids are learning coding, for example.

• We’re doing a “cooking camp” and they wrote up what recipes they want to learn how to make their own. And amidst much sadness, we’re doing a chore camp as well to review how to do their regular household chores.

• We’re doing an inventory of our arts & crafts supplies and working our way through some things we’ve not completed – a watercolor book, for example. We’re doing some knitting, crochet, embroidery, and sewing.

• We’re planning a (small!) spring garden, repotting some houseplants and trying to grow some veg and flowers.

• We’re taking advantage of the library online request system, as we can pick up books at any branch. Our Texas library had a drive through, that may be an option for people not wanting to go inside?

• The kids are learning some photo skills and photo editing skills.

• They’re practicing their handwriting and penpal skills, writing to friends. We’re also scheduling Facetime/Skype/Google Hangout dates with friends.

• We’re planning activities we can do in the garden – games, picnics, using our firepit. We can still take walks & ride bikes or scooters.

• We’re continue our tradition of family pizza & movie or game night. We’ll continue our normal chore rotation, bedtimes, etc.

• The homeschooled kids will have their usual expected work (maths, language, history, science, music, art.) But we are going to be flexible on what that looks like, how consistently it’s expected, and when we’ll take a break.

• Our kids in school (both full & part time/home educated) will at some point in the future have classes canceled. We’ve spoken with their staff about what can be moved online or done at home, as we have 3 months left in their academic year – with the last month being intense exams. There’s not be a national plan yet for what happens if those exams cannot take place, so we’re preparing to cover the curriculum at home as much as possible with the hope that exams will take place. Thankfully we have the texts, and an older child that’s sat these exams, and lots of online resources.

This planning has helped reassured us as parents that we’ll be able to keep some semblance of normal, which in turn we hope will help give our kids some stability in a world that’s not feeling very stable right now. I hope some of this may provide resources for you, too.