COVID-19 Homeschool, Day 25

Day 25 of homeschooling. Day [does rapid mental math calculations] 40 of homebound isolation. Wait, we've been doing this for as long as LENT? Man, no wonder we're all going a little stir crazy. ANYWAY, we're still at it. For the last couple of weeks, we're been using a mix of assignments from my kids' teachers and our own projects and enrichment activities. So once again, we'll begin our week (I know it's Tuesday, but yesterday was the Patriots' Day holiday here in Massachusetts) by looking over each kid's Google Classroom account and planning out our day, and to some degree, our week.

Side note: This week was originally scheduled to be April vacation for our school system, but a survey of parents and teachers revealed that most of us would prefer to work through this break in exchange for keeping the last day of school (whether it's at home or physically in the school buildings) no later than June 16th. And the school board and other powers that be approved, so we're powering through. But the day off yesterday definitely helped.

7-8:30am: The 7:00 start time here is really more of an average, because my son was up at 6:15 and playing on his new gaming computer (it's in the office where my husband works, so he only has access from when he gets up till 7:30 or 8am, and an hour or so in the evening), while my daughter uncharacteristically slept in until nearly 7:45. But by 8:30 we were all fed, dressed, brushed, and washed.

8:30-9:30am: Since I don't have easy access to the kids' Google Classroom accounts, I wanted to sit with each of them separately and go over their assignments for the week. So first, I sat with my daughter while my son journalled, then we traded and she journalled while I reviewed his schedule with him. I asked them to write about at least three things that have changed over the past 40 days, fully expecting that my son would write about how he now has a gaming computer and can play lots more games than he could before. I was not mistaken. We ended the time by reading some more of both Anne Frank's Diary and some of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "On the Banks of Plum Creek," which my daughter and I have been reading at bedtime. We discussed what people could do, get, and make for themselves, as opposed to what they were dependent on outside sources for, and compared it to where we're at right now. We noted that we need to get flour from the outside, but that we can make out own bread, and could even make yeast if we needed to. We also noted that I can alter their clothes and make them new ones if they grow out of or wear out what we have, but that we have to order shoes from outside. It was a good discussion of the relative benefits of having specialized workers in society.

9:30-10am: I let them each choose one assignment to work on. My son is working on a FlipGrid music assignment on rhythm, and my daughter is doing typing practice on Typing Club. She followed it up with an episode of Mystery Doug on the invention of the alphabet. My son wrapped up his time by doing a quick Esti-Mystery.

10-10:30am: Since most schools are having April vacation this week, there's no Circle Time with Tracey O'Farrell today, and neither kid was in the mood to watch the Atlantic White Shark feed. So my daughter is re-reading a chapter from "Peter Pan" and answering some assigned questions, and my son is doing a ReadWorks assignment instead.

10:30-11am: Time for something fun that still requires some logical thinking (and math skills): A Hogwarts-themed virtual escape room! It took us just about 25 minutes to solve it, with my son doing most of the calculations but both of them logic-ing it out together. This was a big hit! We'll definitely be looking for more of these to try. I gave them a 5-minute break before we went on.

11-11:30am: Once again, I let them choose their assignment from their Google Classroom list. My daughter chose to do 20 minutes of reading, specifically one of her "Fashion Kitty" books; my son opted for math practice on Zearn.

11:30am-1pm: Free time and lunch break. During this break, the Governor of Massachusetts announced that schools will remain closed through the end of the school year. I had hoped this was coming, so I'm relieved that he made the call now instead of merely extending two weeks, than two more weeks, etc. I think it's a wise and prudent course of action, and as difficult as it is, I agree that it is the only decision that could be made. I also appreciate Governor Baker's calm, reassuring, and sincere demeanor during his briefings. I may not always agree with him politically, but his leadership during this crisis has been exemplary, and I hold him in great respect both as a leader and as a human being.

1-2pm: My daughter has a Google Meet with her class, and my son had a virtual band rehearsal. I let my daughter do a little more reading to finish up the day. Oh, and we also did a quick Messenger Kids video chat with filters, because what better way is there to end the school day?