Parents in the Bulkley Valley are doing their best to keep their kids entertained and safe during a time of uncertainty, closures and cancellations.
Lisa has one child, a nine year old, and is self isolating. She said she is lucky to be able to work from home. Lisa is getting up early to work and finishing up work after her daughter goes to bed.
She added they are taking things day-to-day and experimenting with different ways to adapt.
“This week there is a lot of screen time, but we will come up with a daily schedule with my daughter that includes time for learning, outdoor activity, and creativity,” she added.
Her husband is also working from home. They don’t have childcare or family nearby to help them.
Dianna is a mother to two older girls, 12 and 17, and is also trying to adjust their schedules.
“Well, it was a shock at first because the girls were supposed to go to different events for the week of spring break but those got cancelled. So we just [had] low-key visits with friends, overnights and games,” she said.
Her oldest daughter is helping out another family with childcare, but she is worried that her active and social girls will get bored soon.
“I’m positive or hopeful that it won’t be very long otherwise I’ll be figuring out homeschooling too,” she added.
Coby is a mom with two young children who has been affected by a daycare closure.
“It’s tough having the daycares close down, but I think it was the right thing to do to really push the social distancing. I’m fortunate that I can work from home, even though it’s a very hard thing to do with two little kids running around.”
Lauren is a mom to one two-year-old said she was only working part time and is lucky enough to have parents in town who help care for her son so daycare closures did not affect her.
She is also staying home with him now and practicing social distancing.
“The toddler innocence and ignorance of it all has been a great thing! From giggles to tantrums, we appreciate his behaviour being a constant in our lives right now.”
She started a new Instagram account to help other parents get through this time.
“Like many others, sitting with the unknown with COVID in our community is anxiety-provoking for me. I knew I wanted to do something with that energy and helping with my knowledge of learning resources seemed a good place to start,” she said.
“Staying connected and helping families to find tools for their home learning has helped me cope as well. I hope these activities, along with the plans and actions that we will have once the district is able to coordinate their planning next week, aids families to make home learning a smoother process.”
Lauren’s new Instagram account: @theunexpectedhomeschool