An opportunity for a reset
Undoubtedly, there are difficulties that go along with being stuck at home with no one but each other for entertainment. But it’s interesting how this has brought about some measure of return to simple activities, as we replace gymnastics night with family game night and coax the kids away from their screens (at least some of the time) and toward art supplies and the toy box.
Instead of going separate ways for exercise — a parent to the gym, a kid to ballet — we’ve stripped things down to a walk or two each day with just the family.
While Sheri Hebdon and her wife try to keep their normal schedule from being too crammed, the weeks are full with two working parents, three kids, two dogs, house league hockey, dance and swimming.
While having all the kids off school while they work from home is a challenge, it’s also made room for activities the family normally wouldn’t have time for.
Eldest son, Nate, who turns 11 next month, has always been interested in the news and in government. These days he’s “having his heyday” tuning in to daily briefings by the prime minister, premier and public health officials.
A few days ago, he listened to “the Current” for a full hour, said Hebdon. “I couldn’t turn it off. I felt like we were in the olden days. He pulled up a chair in the kitchen so he could be right beside the radio.”
Daughter, Maya, 8, wanted to learn cursive writing. “We found worksheets online and rigged it up on an iPad with a stylus so she could practise with worksheets over and over again,” said Hebdon.
Instead of trying to execute a full homeschool curriculum, they’ve been having the kids do “curiosity projects,” simply researching something they’re interested in.
Maya’s project was on dogs, her twin brother, Zev, studied Kyle Lowry, and Nate’s was on COVID-19. Nate helped his younger siblings get their research into slides and each child made presentations to their moms.
And they’ve spent some time together learning in the kitchen.
“I’m never going to be able to teach them science, but we did bake bread last week and talked about why the yeast rises, and the measurement of it — we doubled the recipe — and why kneading the bread makes it rise better, and how all that works.”
That’s not the kind of thing their normal schedule allows for.
“Usually in our day we all just go from thing to thing to thing, and by the time we’re done at the end of the day, I’m not like ‘Let me just roll up my sleeves and bake bread with you.’ ” For Hamilton mom Flannery Dean, who works from home but normally counts on school to give uninterrupted time for her writing and editing job, a new routine of going for nature walks with her six-yearold son is bringing happiness in a stressful time.
“My kid is saving my sanity,” said Dean. “Every day we go for a walk and look for birds and squirrels and leave them peanuts. I’m grateful for his companionship. He’s a pretty happy kid and adults under stress need happy distractions, too.”
Levis Becker, a father of two from Kitchener, is home from his work as a high school teacher while schools are closed. He’s grateful to be available to spend time with his 12-year-old daughter Stella and eight-year-old son Judah while his wife works from a spare bedroom office.
Becker and Judah have been getting up to all kinds of lowkey, unstructured fun.
“He decided he wanted to learn about bear habitats, so we researched that a bit and he made a plasticine sculpture of a bear waking up from hibernation.” They’ve also spent time in the backyard whittling sticks and plotting where they’re going to plant their new vegetable garden.
The silver linings aren’t all tied to ambitious projects, though.
“I love to cook and my son has been tagging along a lot more in the kitchen. And he’s helping me fold laundry while we watch old wrestling matches on YouTube, so that’s been great.”
A new routine of watching a movie together every day after dinner is one they all hope to continue even after life goes back to normal, said Becker.
Through the forced isolation and emptier schedules of the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve got an opportunity for a reset. There’s a little space to reflect. There’s time to redefine what we want “normal” to look like before we simply get caught up in our previously hectic routines.
Despite the worry, uncertainty and grief brought about by this crisis, it’s teaching us how much we need each other, and reminding us about the beauty in some of the simpler things modern life has mostly left behind.
Let’s use this opportunity to reject over-programming and design more manageable, more connected lives for ourselves and our families.