Working from home… with young kids… before they wake up… seems like a no brainer, huh?! Most of the time, it works out REALLY well for me. BUTTTT there are some not-so-glamorous moments as well.
I’ve mentioned before that my rowdy boys are 2 and 4 years old. They both sleep through the night (now). But my oldest sometimes like to take care of his bathroom business before I’m done teaching. You know, the #2 type of bathroom business.
So I’m in the middle of my second to last class and all I hear is “HEEELLLLPPP MEEEEE!” repeatedly coming from the bathroom. I know immediately that he wants help wiping. (He's not allowed to wipe independently yet, okay?! It just creates more messes at this point, if you know what I mean. But we're working on it...) Anyways… I know he’s not in any danger. Maybe he can wait for me to finish this class. So I mute my mic and yell back “Just a sec!” Nope… the yelling continues.
I’m trying my best to maintain complete focus on my lesson, but also not sure if the student can hear my son yelling for help. (Awkwarddd?) I spot some baby wipes within reach of my desk, so I muted my mic again and yelled to my son: “Come here!”
Yep, you guessed it. Definitely took care of the wiping juuust outside of the camera view, with the biggest, most convincing smile plastered on my face, praying nobody would notice my lack of TPR/prop usage for these bizarre 10-12 seconds.
I mean… are you even a VIPKid teacher if you haven’t wiped a butt during a class?! I wish I could say this has ONLY happened one time. Negative. I ALWAYS make sure I have a pack of baby wipes, a little trash bag, and hand sanitizer in my desk drawer at all times! For the love!
Okay so teaching online before the sun’s up is not always as AMAZING as I make it sound. But over the past year, I’ve learned some tricks that may help you keep your own kiddos content while you finish up your classes. (For some context, my boys share a room. The oldest is potty trained. The youngest is still in a crib and is none-the-wiser. Muhaha.)
My GOLDEN tip for you is to buy this clock if you have a toddler/preschooler in the house. NOW. It is magical. BEFORE purchasing this clock, my oldest used to wake up as early as 5am, ready to go! He has a serious case of FOMO. Now… he may wake up early, but he sees the clock and knows that it’s still sleep time. The clock turns yellow at 6:30 meaning it’s okay to play. The clock turns green at 7:00am meaning it’s okay to come out of the room. (Of course, my oldest is allowed to use the restroom whenever he needs to—as you may have guessed from the aforementioned saga—but he knows to go back to his room if his clock is not green.) I ordered this clock on Amazon, and by day 2 it was seriously working like a charm. Even my 2 year old understands the color system. It's. Genius.
If you are not convinced that this magical clock will in fact solve all of your life's problems, go back and read tip #1 again, and then go buy this clock. If you still don’t believe me (or okay, maybe you just want to have a back up plan), then keep reading:
Build your schedule around their schedule. If their sleep schedule changes for any reason, adjust your bookings. If you need to, use the option of Short Notice bookings while you test out a routine that works for everyone.
Don’t be afraid to leave gaps in your schedule. Teach one slot, take the next slot off, and so on. This will give you plenty of room to deal with a crisis that may happen during a class without having to rush off to teach your next class.
If your kids are old enough, let them know that you’re working/teaching and lay some ground rules so that they know what to expect. (ie: play quietly, sit and watch, do NOT pop in the camera, etc.) Talk it through with them before it’s game time. Model for them. Use TPR. ;) They'll get it.
Have a snack and a favorite beverage ready to go. If you’ve been anywhere near a small child, you know a snack and/or a drink can buy you a quiet moment at almost any time of the day.
Keep a favorite, quiet toy or book(s) handy (or be prepared to share your props). Choose something that is new, that they can play with independently, or something that you know will keep their attention for a while.
Don’t feel guilty about using screen time! If all else fails and you need to get through one more class, plan ahead to allow your child some tablet/TV time (don’t forget to charge your devices!). Before the magical clock entered our lives (have you ordered yours yet?!), my son used to play on his tablet when he woke up. I knew it was loaded with apps that I had previewed, the internet was off, and he was able to use the tablet independently.
Here’s my favorite tip: Include your child when you’re finished teaching! When this job was new to us, I used to sit with my kids later in the day and let them experience the VIPKid world for themselves! We’d look through a lesson together, play on Google Slides, sing the VIPKid songs, play with my props. Allowing this time for them to interact with all of Mommy’s cool teaching things during our normal play hours made it waaaay less tempting for them to interrupt a real class. They understand that their turn will come a little later.
Finally, of course, YOUR kids come FIRST. If there is an emergency at any time, I am not afraid to leave the classroom to tend to my children. My plan is to clearly motion and state to the student “one minute please,” and then take care of my child as quickly as possible and get back to teaching. (I have had to leave the classroom once before with no consequent issues.) I highly honor and respect my students’ time and money. I also trust that my students’ families as well as VIPKid value my own children’s safety, too.
I hope you can use some of these tricks with your kids to make your online teaching experience a more joyful one for your whole family. What are some ways that you keep your children quiet and content when you’re teaching? Do you have any bizarre “behind-the-scenes” stories?! I can’t wait to hear them!
<3 Teacher Chelsea
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