COVID-19 Homeschool, Day 24

TGIF! We're closing out week 5 today! Next week was scheduled to be April vacation, but based on a survey of teachers and parents, it was agreed to forego vacation, which would cancel out the four additional days of school which we could legally have, meaning that the last day of school (whether we're still at home or back in the schools) will be June 16th rather than June 20th. Massachusetts celebrates Patriots' Day on Monday, which will still be a holiday, hence the 4-day difference, rather than 5.

Anyway. One more day to get through before we are rewarded with a three-day weekend! (And probably some mid-April snow, which hasn't happened here since the early 90s, but I digress.) Here's what we did today.

7-8:30am: My son has been up since the crack of dawn. Our old desktop, which was "his" computer, finally died, and my husband ordered a new one with enough processing power that it can handle my son's favorite online games. The two of them have been setting it up over the past couple of days, and my son is eager to spend time on it. However, since it is in the same home office where my husband works, it's off limits from roughly 7:30am-5pm. So he happily grabbed some Roblox playing time while he could, before Dad got up. My daughter slept unusually late, not wandering downstairs until nearly 8am. I told them they were in charge of finding their own breakfast this morning, and my son immediately asked if he could make himself something for breakfast (as opposed to just a bowl of cereal or toast). He made himself pancakes, then offered to make some for his sister when she got up. Will wonders never cease! I had her help him clean up the kitchen, then sent them both off to get dressed, washed, and brushed.

8:30-9am: Since my kids are spending significantly more time online than in the past, particularly with applications that involve chat and video contact, I thought it would be an excellent idea to spend some time on internet safety. Both my kids are Cub Scouts, and BSA Scouting has an excellent cybersecurity program called the Cyber Chip. They watched the "Password Rap" video, after which we discussed why passwords are important, and good and bad ways to come up with a password that they can remember but that would be hard for a hacker or a bot to figure out. Then we watched the first two videos of the series posted on Netsmartz. 

9-10am: I suggested that they each do independent reading, followed by journalling. My son chose to journal first, then read one of his "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books, and my daughter chose to read one of her "Dog Man" books, then journal. I'm taking a video call with my friend Maryellen at 9:30 (Hi, M'el! Great to talk to you!!!), so let them switch over to math on their own at 10am.

10-10:30am: Both of them are working on online math, a mix of Zearn, Clever, Freckle, and some other apps posted on their respective Google Classroom pages.

10:30-11: My son had a virtual trombone lesson via Google Meet. My daughter watched a few videos that her orchestra teacher had posted.

11-11:30am: My son had a meeting with his Challenge Class, also via Google Meet. While he was doing that, I sat down with my daughter and we went over her Google Classroom postings, checking that she had finished everything suggested for the week. There was an art project involving painting with salt or sugar, so we worked on that project together, including making a FlipGrid video to show to her class.

My son's Challenge Class actually ran a little longer than 11:30, by which time he was BEGGING for lunch. I convinced him to hang in there until the class finally ended at 11:45.

11:30am-1pm: Lunch break and free time! My son has been begging me to cut his hair all week, so after I fed him, I finally sat him down on the porch and gave him a trim. I've cut my own hair before (just bangs and trims), and I've studied videos of haircutting techniques for years - plus I pay careful attention to how the hairdresser cuts his hair, my hair, and everyone else's hair in the salon - so I'm reasonably confident in my skills. It won't be perfect, but it won't be awful. Besides, my husband has clippers and we can always give him a buzz cut if he decides it's too terrible. Aaaaand...

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

It's not too bad! I sent him upstairs to take a shower and clear off all the little hairs, and I might thin the top just a smidge more while it's wet, but he's happy with it and so am I. Hooray!

1-2pm: You know what? We did an hour-long sing-along last night AND we made pizza together. I'm calling that music and home ec and giving them the afternoon off. We'll play some board games this evening, as well. We might even go for a walk before dinner - the sun is out, even though it's a little chilly, and we could all use the fresh air and exercise. So I'm calling this week DONE. Over and out, people. Elvis has left the building.

Enjoy your weekend everyone - eat some nutritious food, get some healthy exercise, take a restful nap or a relaxing tub or an upbeat exercise class or whatever else rejuvenates your soul and brings you joy. Be healthy, be happy, be safe.