Working from home with your kids around? How some local families are making it work

EASTON — So many parents are juggling working from home, while also playing the role of teacher for their children.

It can be overwhelming for many families right now, trying to keep their kids on top of school work.

We spoke with a few families, virtually, to get some ideas on how to make this all work.

Parents are learning how to create a school schedule.

“I think everyone is just trying to survive,” said Stephanie Doboer, a mother from Walpole.

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She’s among parents trying to help their children to learn from home now, with school out for the next few weeks.

“And then we have our computer lab here,” she said.

Several parents told us having structure is key.

“Either 40 or 50 minute allotted times to do certain things and then give them a change of pace, because if you do the same thing all day it’s not going to end well,” said Jack McCarthy, a father of three and a fourth grade teacher.

Doboer said her daughter has really enjoyed the online learning activities they’re starting to discover.

“We’re still waking up at the same time, we’re still brushing teeth and getting dressed we have maybe one or two activities that we plan for the day,” said Doboer.

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Parents told us it’s best to have a designated work area for their kids, and maybe even separate stations for different subjects, like science or reading.

“If you have a space where you can go from room to room or area to area it’s always good to work in some movement breaks,” said Melissa Levin of Westwood.

Movement is also crucial.

“They also need to be active, because they’re kids, they need that releases,” McCarthy said.

But if you’re having trouble teaching a lesson, McCarthy said just allow time for reading.

He said that’s important at any age.

“Even a quick thing you can say, ‘Hey, like give me a little bit of a summary, like what happened? Tell me a little bit about the setting – what did you notice? Tell me about the characters,'" McCarthy said.

And if all else fails, this may be a good time to teach kids some life skills.

“Kids are not learning how to make an egg, how to make their bed, now is the time to teach them those things that they may not be getting in school,” said Shana, of Easton.

This may just be the beginning of a very challenging few weeks.

But some parents say this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend more time with their kids.

“It’s going to be memories that will last forever, as stressful as it might be right now,” McCarthy said.

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