Adults tend to fall into two categories. Either, we identify as a homebody or not at all. While some of us have been climbing the walls, wondering when we might be reunited with our suitcases, our counterparts have been basking in working from home in pajama bottoms. The recent pandemic has meant huge adjustments for all of us.
While funny memes and videos on quarantine abound, let’s not forget that home is sanctuary for all children. Some may prefer indoor video games and some may itch to do their school work outside on the trampoline. Either way, the world has become a much more uncertain place than it already was for kids. Home is the sanctuary, the safe place they need now more than ever.
While many parents have messaged me to ask questions about their home classroom, might I suggest we zero in a a more important aspect to children’s mental health; a place they call home. I have homeschooled two kids to adulthood and university. I can honestly say that while a home classroom helped ME as the teacher have an organized place of learning, my kids and their definition of a learning space was often different. It changed with the passing years. Kids can read and study in their bed, their fort under the piano, the kitchen table, the patio or in a tent by flashlight. They also do a considerable amount of learning in the woods, walking around a lake or playing their guitar.
Let’s face it though. Feeling safe is something that most of us adults cannot say they feel with certainty right now. There are too many unknowns and no definitive end in sight to this strange period of time. Think of how kids feel.
Before we as parents spend a lot of time (and money) creating a classroom for the upcoming school year, let’s have a long think about what makes our children feel happy and whole. We are what stands between them and the feeling of isolation, the reality of severe illness and the uncertainty of the future.