By Ashley E. | Support Services Representative
Ashley E., from our Support Services department, shares her experience as she pivoted from working at O Bee’s offices to working at home. Here is her take on juggling the demands of working and managing remote schooling for her children in the age of COVID.
Oh boy! Remote learning is a rollercoaster! However, working with O Bee and having their support has made it possible for us as a family to be successful in our careers and to support our kids so they can be successful at school.
By the end of the last school year, we had done a pretty good job of balancing our work-from-home life with remote learning for our children. We developed a routine and schedule to keep us all on track. Ultimately, we had the girls get up to start the day with us and log on to their Google Classrooms at the same time we logged on for work. Each evening we made sure to go over their classwork to prepare for the next day. We worked hard to keep them in a consistent routine, so “school life” would be as normal as possible.
Throughout the day, we made sure to take breaks for walks, stretching, and some mental downtime. Lunchtime was spent together sharing a meal and checking in. We ended the school day at the same time as the regular school schedule, at 3 pm.
This year, with some practice from last year, we feel much more prepared to dive into the new school year. We have created a designated classroom area for our girls, with desks, laptops, and supplies. We went shopping for school supplies, just like we would for any normal school year. This helped them to feel good about school starting and excited for the new year!
Our most significant struggles were in the beginning as we tried to find the structure and schedule that worked best. The goal, of course, was for us to be able to focus on our workday and for the kids to be independent in their schoolwork. Through trial and error (some tears and lots of head shaking), we found a balance for a happy medium for all of us to be successful!