A Day in the Life of a Parent of A Virtual Charter School!

With two children currently attending a virtual charter school, the days can run together very easily. The basic schedule of the day tends to run something like this:

Wake up
Get Breakfast
Start school work
Get lunch
Complete school work
Rest of day's activities (scouts, karate, etc)

Generally, there is no set schedule unless the teacher has scheduled an online class. Then there may be one or two times where they have somewhere to be/something to do at a specific time. As long as the school work gets done in a timely manner, it works. Some parents will actually set certain times aside for specific assignments (much like you'd have in a brick and mortar school). For many students, though, without parental monitoring, there's plenty they can get distracted by. Either way, it takes a parent's involvement to make sure they stay on track and get work done.

On the other hand, the day can be viewed a little differently from a student's point of view. Without actually crawling into their mind and trying to interpret what's going on, I suspect that their day goes something like this:

A Day in the Life of a Virtual Middle School Student

7:00a Mom wakes up and gets started
8:00a Mom comes in and tries to wake me up
8:30a Mom comes in and tries to wake me up
9:00a Give up and get up because mom's coming back
9:30a Take a break and get breakfast
10:00a Start working on a random assignment
11:30a Decide it's time to take another break and get lunch.
12:30p Mom is back and bugging me about school, better do another assignment
1:30p Mom is checking up on what work I've done, better look busy
2:30p Mom is back, I'd better turn something in
3:30p Declare myself done and hope Mom doesn't check on what I've turned in
5:00p Mom has checked what I've done, now I have to go back to work
6:00p Mom has called me down for dinner, time to take a break
6:30p Mom has sent me back to work, I'd rather watch YouTube
7:30p Mom is checking on me, time to turn in some work
8:00p Mom is checking on me, this is getting annoying
8:30p Dad is home and checking on me
9:00p Time to shut it all down and start getting ready for bed

If you're considering keeping your child at home for schooling, whether it's through traditional home school programs or a virtual school program, know that it's not as easy at it looks. There are days that will go almost exactly like the humorous one above. Whether you look at it with humor or acknowledge that those days will happen and will drive you crazy, make sure you're prepared for days like these!