Kim Fearing [1] is doing her very best to keep it together while temporarily homeschooling four kids. Although she's trying to be patient, playing both educator and parent [2] to your brood during these uncertain times can be stressful. In a relatable Facebook post, she shared how distance learning is going in her house [3], and welp, hopefully it gets better.
"I nailed this homeschooling thing for exactly 3 minutes before crazy started coming out of my mouth," she wrote. "There's only ONE of me and FOUR of you. BE PATIENT! Is THIS how you act at SCHOOL?! Speaking of four of you, WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?"
When her older kids asked why they couldn't kick back and watch Disney movies, she had the perfect retort. "Because he's a BABY! Watching Frozen 2 IS HIS HOMEWORK," she said, adding that trying to teach her kids resulting in a lot of back-and-forth: "I AM trying to explain it to you. But you're also trying to explain it to me. Yet you're the one who asked me to explain it to you! THE ANSWER IS 4. JUST WRITE DOWN 4. LIFE WILL EXPLAIN IT TO YOU LATER."
After assuring her kids — and maybe herself, a little — that she's definitely not yelling and reminding them to wash their dirty hands before touching her computer, she gave us a little insight to how she's dealing with some of her children's favourite subjects.
"Yes, you can 'play' your violin outside. It will keep the bears at a safe distance."
"Orchestra is CANCELED. You cannot 'play' your violin indoors until real school resumes," she said before changing her mind: "Yes, you can 'play' your violin outside. It will keep the bears at a safe distance." As for recess? Well, it's anything goes in her household for the foreseeable future. "RECESS TIME! You have extended recess," she said. "All doors to get inside will be locked until 4 pm. Consider it a self-quarantine."
Although Kim has always been supportive of her children's teachers, now that she's walked a few days in their shoes, her appreciation has increased ten-fold. "Teachers, we miss you! We love you. I am so sorry for all the things my kids are," she wrote. "I don't know how you manage 30 of them in a class and they're not even your own kids. I don't even want to deal with the [four] that belong to me. They have so many needs. All at the same time. When school resumes I'll bring you gifts of Starbucks."