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It's NOT easy as ABCs


I don't do plants. I've tried a few times but have never been able to keep anything alive. My husband got me a mini rose plant the week of Valentine's Day and I laughed as I asked him if he forgot my history with plants. Fast-forward a month, the plant is still alive and springing new buds; a mini beacon of hope in these trying times.

I've always said that homeschooling is not for me. Yet, here we are. Foolishly, I thought that all this time at home would give me a chance to make everything sparkling clean and organized. The joke is on me. On Thursday, I attempted to supervise three children doing schoolwork, while changing and washing sheets and towels, and deep cleaning our two bathrooms. It did not go well, there was definitely some yelling and tears. Lesson learned. There will be no more multitasking while homeschooling.

Apart from Thursday's drama, the homeschooling is not going too badly. We established a routine right away, and that keeps us focused and reduces our anxiety.

We start the day, around 8 am, with Scholastic Learn at Home. This free content includes videos, books and exercises. It gives me a few minutes to enjoy my coffee while the kids settle into their school day.

We do reading next, I think the kids are more focused earlier in the day and this is better for comprehension. Each child has to report on what they read verbally, in writing and, in a drawing.

We then work on handwriting. Sometimes I offer a handwriting workbook, or ask them to write their own story, or have them copy text from a storybook on to handwriting paper.

At about 10:30 am, we stop to wash hands, disinfect our workspace, have a snack, and a break.

After our break, we do Math worksheets followed by math games on Reflex Math and Brain Pop Apps.

Our kids attend a Spanish immersion school so we do about an hour of Duolingo Spanish before breaking for lunch.

After lunch, the kids watch one hour of Spanish language TV. Netflix offers many shows in Spanish. This ends the structured part of the day, usually about 1 pm.

Later in the day or early evening, we have art class with Mo Willems then we watch animal videos. A recent CBS news article provides a list of zoos and aquariums that are offering free content. We especially enjoy the videos from the Cincinnati Zoo.

It is my plan, as we get more accustomed to our new normal to go on virtual field trips. There are a number of lists of museums and attractions making the rounds on the Internet.

The resources available are endless and overwhelming. The best we can do is figure out what works for our own kids, establish a routine, and hope for the best.

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