From the classroom to home – that’s where education is taking place these days all across the nation.
Parents and teachers alike have been forced to take a crash course in online learning, and in this segment of Raising North Dakota, Alysia Huck visits with another mom to talk about what an adventure it’s been.
From one parent to another, I chatted with Tera Emter about what it’s like homeschooling our children.
Like many parents these days, Tera is working from home, her husband still goes to work on location, and they are homeschooling their two daughters – Lydia – a second-grader, and Josie – a preschooler.
Tera Emter explains, “I started working from 6 in the morning until about 9, and then the girls get up, we get breakfast, and then we do school for a couple of hours and then after that, I go back to work. So just managing the time, kind of just getting us into a schedule and a routine again.”
And I, along with hundreds of thousands of other parents would agree with that sentiment.
Another challenge that Tera and I have found is drawing the line between parent and teacher.
A child’s relationship with a teacher is much different, and now the parents ARE the teachers!
It was a rocky start for many parents I’ve spoken with, including Tera.
“Oh man, after the first day of meltdown after meltdown, I said ‘I will treat you how I would treat my clients and you treat me like you would treat your teacher at school.’ So that brought it from more of an emotional level to more of a professional relationship,” Emter says.
So what do you do with the younger kids while you are busy assisting the older kids?
“We’ve been using a lot of technology to get through this,” exclaims Emter.
And many of us have turned to technology, and given the circumstances, I for one am not feeling too guilty about it.
Once our second-grade daughter Ayla has completed her work, she helps and plays games with Aacen, our preschooler.
And while sibling fights are inevitable, all they really have these days is each other, which means a new relationship could blossom.
“I feel like they have gotten closer and started playing together more. A lot of imagination coming out. They love to play spies, spy on people.”
So from one parent to another, hang in there, be patient and stay motivated, not only for your kids but yourself as well.
