Halle Berry Says Homeschooling Her Two Kids Is a 'Nightmare': They're 'Not Learning Anything'

Halle Berry said "it's really been a challenge" to get son Maceo-Robert, 6½, and daughter Nahla, 12, "to focus" on their schoolwork while at home

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Published on May 1, 2020 01:56 PM

Halle Berry isn't sugarcoating the challenges of homeschooling during the coronavirus outbreak.

While social distancing with her two children (son Maceo-Robert, 6½, and daughter Nahla Ariela, 12), the John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum actress has been taking on the tasks of many a parent right now, trying to balance regular life with her kids' day-to-day schoolwork schedule.

"It's a nightmare for me. It's a nightmare. This is like a wash of a semester," Berry, 53, told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday. "They're really just not learning anything and it's hard. ... What I learned is that when 6-year-olds see other 6-year-olds do things, then they do things. Like, they sit and they eat because there's 25 other ones doing it. They stay at their desks and color because there's 25 other ones doing it."

"At home, there's not 25 other ones doing it. So, to get them to focus and realize they're at home but yet they're at school, it's really been a challenge," she added. "But I have enjoyed having all this extra time with them. We have been making good use of the time when they're not in school."

"When I'm not cracking the whip for school, we do have a lot of family time, story time and bonding time that we don't often get to have, so there is the silver lining," Berry said.

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During a virtual appearance on Jimmy Fallon's at-home edition of The Tonight Show last month, Berry revealed that she and her kids have been spending a lot of time in their pool at home between school lessons. And their swimming every day finally took its toll on Nahla's locks.

"We're doing her homework the other night and [Nahla] goes, 'Mom, I'm scared to tell you this, but touch the back of my head.' All her hair, which is past her shoulders, has shrunken up into a tight ball that feels like matted fur," recalled the star. "I can't even get my finger in it, and I'm pulling and she's screaming."

The Oscar winner tried "to stay calm" and helped her daughter put conditioner in her hair to try and work it out — but "30 minutes later," it only got "tighter." So her mom had to "shave it off," explaining that Nahla is "bald in the back" now after the incident.

"She was not cool with that, but it was our only option. But now she gets it," Berry told Fallon, 45. "I was like, 'First of all, maybe you'll let your mother help you. And second of all, you learned you gotta brush your hair. Every day, you gotta brush your hair.' "

Halle Berry Kids Instagram — Halle Berry's kids. Halle Berry/Instagram

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Berry is private when it comes to posting photos of her children on social media and doesn’t often show their faces, but she has given glimpses at their life at home as of late.

Earlier in April, she shared a rare home video of Maceo-Robert passing the time by playing in his mom's fashionable high-heeled shoes, captioning it, "#Quarantine Day 12 🥴."

Some commenters were quick to criticize Berry for letting her child wear the pumps. But she was having none of it, saying in response to one user, "🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 harmless fun. Tryna survive right now. You feel me? ♥️."

When one fan wrote, "😍😍 she's having the time of her life lol," Berry replied with a polite correction: "Well it's a he (😂) and he is having a ball. Tryna cope the best he can. Laughter helps a lot right now ! ♥️."

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