With the 2020/2021 school year ready to launch in my corner of the world, we (my husband and I) find ourselves, understandably, gathering our thoughts and ideas on how to navigate the ebbs and flows of our new normal: raising and educating children during a global pandemic as full-time working parents. We must acknowledge, in the first place, the pink elephant in the room–the fact that we both have full time employment during a deep recession is mostly a good “problem” to have, therefore, we are profoundly grateful.

Here are 8 guiding principles that I will be leaning on to help me with surviving thriving in the new school year:

1.Setting appropriate academic and social goals: I have been doing quite a bit of reading about milestones for third grade and kindergarten, as well as developmental milestones for 8/9 year olds and 5/6 year olds. This combined with my priceless knowledge of my kids’ own strengths and weaknesses has allowed me to delineate specific goals that I believe we can work together to achieve this year. The awesome thing about this year is that they are both at ages where they can participate in setting their own goals which creates powerful buy-in from the get go. Oh yeah 😉

2. Focusing on the ultimate goal–fostering a love of learning: If I see this academic year as yet another year to help my kids appreciate the magic of learning and the fun in expanding their funds of knowledge, then the bumps in the road, brought to us by the CoVid 19 pandemic, will be less frustrating regardless of hybrid/full remote/all-in pathway.

3. Understanding that though we may be physically distanced, we should remain socially engaged: I have curated a list of go-to social activities that will keep my kids safely connected with their peers. Board games, scavenger hunts, virtual lunch dates, letter writing, online story time, etc. Going on nature walks or other outdoor adventures can also be  safer options for kids to socially engage during the pandemic.

4. Meal prepping is KEY: I have created a menu of daily meals with my kids’ help. This allows me to shop, prep, cook and store their meals, aided by our deep freezer, more efficiently. This  has essentially eliminated all stress surrounding meal time. I find that I am  also able to give them more of a healthy, tasty, and balanced diet with much less hassle (did I say LESS STRESS!?!) Of course we have some flexibility /opportunities for variety built into the rotation. What I have found is that kids enjoy knowing what to expect, and as they  have a hand in building the menu in the first place, they are already sold on the plan from jump.

5. Instituting regular TV fasts and free play: Believe it or not, it is actually okay for your kids to be bored. We are helping our kids understand that we do not exist to entertain them and that smart people find ways to keep themselves from being bored. When our kids (especially the 8 year old) say “I’m bored,” we say “what do you want to do about it” or “let us know what you come up with.” I have been truly amazed by what they have come up with in such situations–both individually and as a pair. 

6. Counting blessings: We keep regular count of what the pandemic has inadvertently blessed us with and we use this exercise to highlight the importance of nurturing a grateful heart and as a foundation for teaching another family mission which is to always share what we have as we have been blessed with so much.

Photo credit: The Wall Street Journal–Amid Life in Lockdown, There’s Joy in Having the Family Together

7. Saying no: This school year is about prioritizing goals which means I cannot be everything to everyone. I have turned down great opportunities and suggestions from well-meaning colleagues/mentors simply because they would have thrown off my current delicate  balance of wife, parent, clinician and academician, skewing the balance in the favor of the latter roles. In the CoVid 19 era, every choice must pass the “is it essential for my thrive in 2020 goal” litmus test. 

8.  Remaining prayerful and mindful: I have seen God’s hand in my life especially in my darkest hours–the sudden death of my father, my brother’s illness, Trump’s “election.” Mindfulness teaches me to not rob the present of  its joy by getting distracted by the pain of the past or fear for the future. I always bear Romans 8:38-39 in  mind: ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Do you have your any guiding principles that are helping you thrive in this academic year? Please feel free to share in the comment section below so that we can learn from each other.

Happy 2020-2021 School Year–let’s go!

Love,

Chichi