Drew Barrymore says homeschooling during the pandemic ‘was a complete hot mess’

Drew Barrymore has been a bright spot for people everywhere during the pandemic, as she appears on television screens with The Drew Barrymore Show. But as fun as the talk show has been to film, and as necessary as the conversations that she has on it are for people stuck at home, the actress and mother of two admits that she's struggling just the same as other parents during the pandemic.

"I have so much empathy for parents right now because my kids have been in homeschool for a year and not seeing their friends," she tells Yahoo Life. "I was doing homeschool with them, trying to upstart the show in the afternoon. And it was a complete hot mess."

The 46-year-old mother to Olive, 8, and Frankie, 6, whom she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman, explains that their life at home used to have structure, starting with the girls putting on their uniforms and getting ready for school. As that daily routine shifted with the pandemic, however, she's had to implement new habits to maintain some semblance of a regimen — like starting the day off with breakfast together. Barrymore even teamed up with Kellogg's to stress the importance of an easy and healthy meal to start the day in an otherwise unpredictable time.

Still, with so much to juggle, Barrymore can't help but feel mom guilt when she can't show up in the many ways that her children depend on her to during this time. "I’ve had moments where I’ve just thought, my kids don’t look at me as the teacher. I’m not their teacher, I’m their mom. I’m not their friend and yet I’m all they have," she says.

Despite the difficulties, Barrymore admits that she's trying to show herself a bit more grace while navigating life as a parent during the pandemic.

"I saw this tweet and it’s like ‘Kids are not falling behind. They’re surviving a pandemic.’ And I thought, some days, does that even apply for adults as well? I’m definitely not taking things day by day, I’m taking things minute by minute, hour to hour," she says. "I hope that there’s a deeper appreciation for everything."

Read more from Yahoo Life:

• 'Schedules are out the window': How frontline moms have coped with parenting during a pandemic

• The pandemic has worsened the child mental health crisis. How parents are handling it all.

• Candace Cameron Bure says 'parenting never ends' with adult children: 'I have learned so much in the pandemic'

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• 'Sometimes I would just ride in silence': Amid virtual learning, moms are missing social interactions, solo time of school drop-offs

• 'Southern Charm' alum Cameran Eubanks says the pandemic heightened her anxiety: 'It was bad'

• As a working mother, Meena Harris is trying to survive amidst mess and chaos: 'I’m just taking it day by day'

• We’ve relied on mothers too much, says Reshma Saujani. It's time we start valuing their work.

• Drew Barrymore says homeschooling during the pandemic ‘was a complete hot mess’

• Holly Robinson Peete shares her son with autism's accomplishments to give hope to others: 'The possibilities are endless'

• 'I'm losing it': Why the pandemic is breaking mothers down

• 'Moms are more important right now than ever': Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein's mothers are making a difference

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• Why Jodie Sweetin is honest with her tween daughters about going to therapy: It’s OK 'to not be OK'

• Tia Mowry on conversations with her son, 10, about police brutality: 'It caused him a lot of anxiety'

• The Onyx family has 6 million YouTube subscribers. Here's how they've use their platform during the pandemic.