Central Coast families choose to homeschool during COVID-19 pandemic

MOTNEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) In March, Brittnay Oliverez was in the same position as every parent. Her daughter's school in Prunedale was shut down and learning had to happen from home.

"Kids have so much energy. They're ready to go out there and learn and run around at recess. Getting them to transition and sit down at home and learn with us with packets, it was a hard transition," said Oliverez.

Five months later, the Oliverez family has decided to homeschool. They hope the change will get their daughter back on a more regular routine. "We will schedule out her academics, give her breaks, homework. I think kids are very comfortable with a routine," said Oliverez.

Luckily, there's a lot of support for families on the Central Coast who want to homeschool.

Julie Frandsen-Horner and Julia Keller help families get started with homeschooling. Over the past few week, they have noticed that interest has skyrocketed. "I think people are feeling overwhelmed and are looking for a little bit of guidance and support," said Keller.

Frandsen-Horner and Keller have offered help to parents through social media. The pair started a Facebook group for parents considering homeschool or wanting help with their child's public school distance learning plan.

"We've both seen and worked with families that may be homeschooling 6 or 7 kids at home. We've worked with that. How do you work multiple curriculums around the kitchen table? There are ways to do it," said Keller.

Oliverez is already preparing her daughter for the switch to homeschool and knows it will come with challenges. "Just getting her into the mindset that this is still school. I know it's at home, but we still need to focus. I think that's how we're going to go about it," said Oliverez.