Help me brainstorm stuff to do while also "guiding" remote learners...

[elbert]

Just curious how often do you do these things? (wondering just how much my housekeeping stinks!)

When I first read the OP, I almost LoLed thinking of cleaning windows as a quick task! I put that off for a really, really, really long time because it feels like a big ordeal to me!


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[Liziz]

I totally get the feeling and always feel like I need to be doing something, too. I think you've gotten lots of great ideas for short activities!

That being said - In the spring, I found that trying to fit in a lot of small tasks around the kids remote learning made me *more* anxious, as I constantly felt like there were things I wasn't getting done, when I was needed to help the kids. I then changed it up and make a conscious choice that for the hours we were doing remote learning, I was going to tell myself that working with the kids was an important, valuable task, and that I wasn't going to do anything else, and that was okay. It was immediately *way* less stressful of an experience for me. It was hard sometimes to not jump up and do other things at the same time, but it was less stressful, if that makes sense.

I do think our spring experience was different from the remote learning that will be happening this fall, in that the level of instruction was often pretty poor and so I was often taking over on the actual teaching, or doing more examples, explaining, etc. -- so I don't know that my advice above applies to your situation. But I did want to share it regardless, just in case!

[echoesofspring]

I then changed it up and make a conscious choice that for the hours we were doing remote learning, I was going to tell myself that working with the kids was an important, valuable task, and that I wasn't going to do anything else, and that was okay. It was immediately *way* less stressful of an experience for me. It was hard sometimes to not jump up and do other things at the same time, but it was less stressful, if that makes sense.

I'm trying to start the new school year with a similar mantra, last year I was trying to squeeze in bits of work and it was so so so stressful, as much as I can I want to avoid that! But I do think I will need something to do with my hands, and I'd like to not always be sitting with the kids so I can learn when they need the most support. I'm thinking meal prep, ab/arm exercises, maybe photo organizing, laundry (although getting them to fold their laundry is the only chore I've been consistently successful at getting them to do, so I'm not going to take that over! I'm going to try and take the attitude that if I get it done awesome, if not no big deal, i.e. I'm going to try and not mentally rely on getting anything done during DL as much as I'm able to.

[bisous]

Thank you again for your suggestions. All of them are fabulous and you have been kind and gentle with me and I really appreciate it.

To clear up some things, I don't clean obsessively and I doubt that any of you have worse cleaning habits than I do. I was looking for a list of little things to do that only take a few minutes. For windows I'm talking washing off smudges or dusting window ledges. My house is all on one level and all the windows are accessible and easy to clean but they're NOT regularly cleaned, just when I notice them--if that makes sense! I'm also not the best at exercising or any of those other productive things I was thinking of listing to do. I'm just brainstorming to see if any of those things will bring the comfort I'm seeking. Comfort from the anxiety of the situation and also to relieve some of the boredom! It is kind of both for me.

I also want to be clear that I don't necessarily think I have to be busy at all times in THEORY. I just have this kind of nervous restlessness when I help my kids with distance learning. And again, we haven't started yet so maybe that will not happen this year? Or maybe it will be temporary and then I'll get into a groove? I actually think that one of the best things I could do for my kids would be to be seen reading book! Maybe I need to figure out how to make that happen. I think it would probably be a good example and good for my psyche! It gets harder and harder for me to relax enough to follow the simple plot of a book. This isn't a virtue that I'm happy about and I'm trying to fix it. I think over spring I became addicted to my phone, tbh, and that affected how well I am able to concentrate on reading pieces longer than a brief article. That kind a speaks to that boredom thing. Now that I have my iphone and can instantly scroll onto something, I'm not good at just sitting and being and I think this could be something that I consciously choose to work on.

I'm going to make my list. It isn't a "to do" list per se but it is a list of options that I can try if I feel stuck, if that makes sense. I kind of do something similar when I get ready to get on a plane. I am claustrophobic and planes cause me a lot of anxiety. Having a list of things to do when I'm anxious make the time go faster and give me this sense of control. I'm hoping this list will function similarly!

[Smillow]

Do you knit or crochet? I would pay bills, work on Continuing Ed for my job, plan menus, make lists...

[elbert]

Can’t remember if I read it here years ago or in Real Simple, but there were some giant lists of “if you have one minute” “if you have five minutes” “if you have 10 minutes” “if you have 30 minutes” “if you have an hour” and little (or big) (mostly) non-daily activities you can get done. We used that as guidance and inspiration for awhile (like when waiting for people to be ready to leave the house, when microwaving something, time before pick-up, etc. Wondering if we should resurrect that (or start that) again now. We can have a whole new category “if you have a shelter-in-place order”!!!


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[klwa]

No real advice, but I wanted to let you know my experience with virtual school this time around, compared to the Spring.

This spring, we had minimal input from the teacher, especially for the elementary set. So, when it was time for school, I was hands on. So far (in the two days we've been going), Youngest (Second Grade) has needed help 2-3 times during the course of her day, mainly figuring out how to get to the page she needs to be on. Once she's where she needs to be, she's golden. You may find that there's a lot less need for you to be immediately accessible than there was in the Spring, which will really open up your time.

[lizzywednesday]

... Keeping the two little ones in engaged will be a fairly time consuming process, I imagine. Thankfully it will only last 4 hours a day with the little ones (except for special group meetings).

Here's the thing, I find it stressful to be "on" but not. I feel like I'm wasting my time, yet at the same time, I feel like I can't get into too much stuff I really NEED to do because I'm needed nearly constantly. I'm basing this worry off of how things went during spring term but maybe it will get better with time? I thought maybe I can make a list of things I can do when I'm otherwise just waiting around to fix something... if that makes sense.

...

Do you have any brilliant ideas? Maybe you don't need this. Maybe it is just me? I just get so anxious to do something while I'm helping the kids out. ...

I would love to hear if this is an issue for you and if so, how you've dealt with it or if you have any brilliant ideas of how to help get out of it!

I have had to stop reading about covid and have started reading resources for "calming corners" (or, really, since DD is going into 5th grade, a physical "calm down toolbox" kit for her with small things to use when she gets frustrated, etc.), and proprioceptive activities (especially "heavy work") to help her focus.

I also have a Spotify "Living Room Dance Party" playlist; it's got something like 8 hours of music on it, so I can pull it out when we need it or add to it as I think about all the music I used to (sort of) dance to in middle/high school ... or just some mood-lifters. (I maintain that you cannot feel bad if you're listening to ABBA.)

Earlier this week, I met with DD's 504 team to enhance the things that I thought she struggled with in the spring, even though school will be an A/B hybrid (she'll be 100% virtual, which will look different from in-person, but keeping her home means fewer transitions) and I know that she misses her teachers desperately, so we're looking into different ways to get some social time.

During remote learning this spring, I also found that having a set task like unloading/re-loading the dishwasher or bringing in the recycling barrels or wiping down my Girl Scout bin (which I use for contactless pickups) helped me back off enough for DD to participate in the various Google Meets she attended with her speech therapist, the school counselor, and, occasionally, her classmates.

[bisous]

Update in OP

[Liziz]

Great update! So nice if you're able to actually work at the same time too.

In regards to your comment about keeping your kids connected to books -- we've recently "discovered" audiobooks (by that I mean that I've loved them for years, but haven't thought to use them with my kids). It's been amazing for keeping my kids more engaged with books -- especially since my youngest still can't read independently yet. We borrow all of ours through the library, and although we adore curbside pickup here and use it regularly, it's nice to have an option I can just download from my house.