Homeschooling in the studio, in a pandemic.

The first week was rough. I was not on emotionally or mentally solid ground, and I leaned on the excellent advice of trusted friends and professionals, and made a schedule on the chalk board in the kitchen, with my daughters help. We were excited about it, we agreed, we dove in. And it was horrible.

I spent all my time “teaching” and she had no freedom. I wanted to paint and enjoy my time with her, and she wanted to do projects alongside me and with me. None of this was happening. This stage ended with me wiping out the schedule in a fit of anger, throwing a cutting board across the kitchen, and going for a loooong walk.

Eventually I found my footing. I am embarrassed to tell you my daughter is in kindergarten. I am not the kind of parent I described in the last paragraph, I do not know what happened to me. I mean, I do. A pandemic happened and I lost my mind a little bit. But when I found it again, along came our new rhythm.

And now we have pretty much abandoned home schooling. We watch her teachers morning videos, we choose the things that seem fun, we may or may not tackle them. I prioritize painting, especially in the early part of the day, and she does whatever she wants, which often involves writing and drawing and legos and guinea pigs. We count things. She makes books. We sing and go for walks.

And I love it. I don’t get nearly as much done, but my time has become concentrated again, in the same way it was when she first arrived and I was a new mom trying to find time to paint. And she’s delightful; I’m lucky to have a kid who loves quiet projects in the studio as much as I do, so we’re blessed with compatibility for this experiment.

I’ve been reminded about how it feels to play in the studio, as she is such a natural at it. It’s reminded me it can be as easy as walking in in my pj’s and picking up a project from yesterday and rolling right into my day, without any of the quiet prep I lean on to get centered. sometimes I still do those practices, and look to books and meditation when I’m not sure what to do, but in this moment I’m grateful for this child in my studio, teaching me how beautifully simple a creative practice can be.