WAKE COUNTY, N.C. – Nicki Medford has been homeschooling her children for three years and had a lot of mom friends reach out to her after schools closed, asking for advice. She says this pandemic is making things more challenging, even for her.

“We take learning out of the home a lot,” Medford said. “So to be home primarily and have to figure out how to fill all those voids, I think has been the most challenging and interesting part of everything going on.”        

Medford is a working mom, on top of being a fulltime teacher to Audra, 7, and Caden, 9.

“I think one of the biggest perks of homeschooling for us is just the fact that I get to spend time with my kids,” Medford said. “And I get to see them learn in ways that I don’t think they learn in the classroom all the time."

She started homeschooling three years ago.

“The summer between kindergarten and first grade I was back with my son full-time and the amount of learning that I was able to witness and play an active role in during that summer break was enough for me to say, 'this is what I want to do all the time,'” Medford said. “I always say it may not last forever, but while we do it and while we’re still growing from it and they really are learning and thriving, that we’re going to keep trying, we’re just going to keep seeing what happens year after year.”

Some things have helped them during the quarantine.

“When the quarantine first started, I said we’re going to do three things every day to help us,” Medford said.

“Get dressed, do exercise and spend at least 30 minutes outside,” Audra Medford said.

“We sat down and read through a list of ways to make life a little more normal and set the tone for routine and those were the three things we set," Nicki Medford said. "That’s really helped us as far as setting, just a little bit of routine. I think whether you homeschool or not in the long-term, right now during this time, just having the smallest of goals.”

She has had to juggle work and homeschooling.

“A lot of the struggles, I think coming from us parents wanting to do it all and placing really high expectations and pressures on ourselves," she said. "Not only is there stress, but we’re trying to work from home, we’re trying to make sure our kids aren’t falling behind grade level-wise. But I really would say for me and if I had to give advice, it would just really be take one day at a time.

“Really having to find that balance of, it’s OK to let go here for a little bit, because my kids need me, but it’s ok to let them go for a little bit because my work needs me. And it’s ok to let go of them for a little bit because I need to paint my toenails and feel good about myself, you know?”

She's had to adjust their screen time.

“It’s temporary. This isn’t what our life is going to be like, hopefully, in six months or two years. Every Wednesday isn’t going to be 'Screen Time Wednesday' for them. It’s just right now, that’s what I need to survive. It’s what they need for me to be their best for them,” Medford said.

Medford has recommendations on how to use resources.

“I would really recommend taking it slice by slice and seeing really, do they even need something to supplement this, or are you feeling the pressure to supplement it because you think you have to? That’s the beauty about being around your kids all day is, you’re figuring out, you know what they actually have a pretty good handle on this. I don’t need extra worksheets, but we are struggling here, how can I get that to connect?”

“I think really slicing their whole academic life and taking it in pieces, and I do think that will make things less overwhelming for parents, instead of looking at it as as whole.”