"Mom, I'm bored". I am guessing that most of us have heard this refrain too many times to count in the last week or so as we have been home bound. At our house, we have committed to no screens before lunch. We are sleeping until we wake up and eating when we are hungry so our schedule continues to be flexible. But on the "no screen" front I have drawn a hard line. My husband is working from home and I am planning to move instruction for my University students online starting next week. The children's school district will not be providing instruction for the next two weeks. There are no camps, appointments, therapies, sports, youth group or play dates. We are all home together and this leads to a fair bit of boredom. But folk, I am not an entertainer. FYI: Teachers can be engaging but we are not entertainers. So my kids are bored. Boredom is uncomfortable, but it is oh so valuable.
Oh dear parents, you have something that your child's teacher wishes she had more of everyday - Time. Time to let kids play and get bored and figure out something else to do and build forts and argue with each and negotiate those conflicts. What should you do as your child's new and perhaps reluctant teacher? I have two assignments for you - this may make you uncomfortable too, but that is part of learning to be a grown-up. So let's do this.
1. Spend some time listening to your child. (For real listening with no agenda). Ask them what they are passionate about, what they wish school was like. Then take a deep breath and listen some more. Don't interrupt with suggestions of how they could follow that passion or tell them how to handle the frustrations of "not-ideal school". Listen some more. Ask a few more questions, and a couple more after that. If you are feeling really energetic have them write for 5 minutes about that last question or an idea that your conversation brought up. If you are crazy energetic and want to write together try this video (it's about 5 minutes long and done by a friend of mine from UT). Please do NOT do this if you are not willing to do it with your child.
2. Let your child get bored. Do not rescue them (or yourself) from their discomfort. Do not placate them with screens in this moment. This is the golden amazing moment of learning about to happen. Try responding with, "Huh, you're bored, that's interesting. What is your plan for that?" If that doesn't work add, "I have some chores available if you need something to do." This almost always works in my house, either way it's a win for me.
Folks, we are going to be working in these crazy times for a while - order some craft sticks and glue from Amazon, put on your big girl panties and have some fun. Your kids are amazing people. I spend my days getting to know them and think they are so very interesting and creative.