In March when they said school was temporarily closing until April 6th I was a little relieved to be able to keep my children home and not get added absent days. I had my sons, my nephew and a friends kids. We had our good hours and our bad hours. I was both excited and nervous. I’m not very tech savvy but it pushed me to learn the new world of everything virtual.
Then we were told it was going to pass April 6th. Come pick up your kids new packets. All the uncertainty became annoying. I, like many other parents still needed to carry on their jobs during the day and make sure my kids were staying caught up and doing their best. I kept my same routine but sometimes my schedule got pushed back and hour here and there Mainly due to zoom meetings with their teachers but we did it! Staying on a routine was very helpful and the kids were able to keep stability in uncertain times.
Chill morning, breakfast 8:00AM
then I made sure every child was sitting down for no less than 2 hours every morning of learning. GoNoodle on YouTube was AMAZING!! Most days I’d have them work for a solid hour or two then everyone would enjoy a fun or silly BRAIN BREAK then back to work for a little bit.
No later than 12:00pm (sometimes they could get out by 11-11:30) I’d make sure they were able to get fresh air and enjoy the outdoors.
It was later than I’d like but I had to let go of my strict old schedule of lunch at that time. To ensure they had a solid morning of learning and outside we pushed lunch to 1:00pm then a much needed QUIET TIME! Nap if you want or don’t but you’re chilling out and watching a movie.
After the movie they’d have a snack and do another 30mins, 45mins or 60mins of school work. Then no school work after 4:00pm. The evenings stayed family time.
I’m so proud of all of them! The kids didn’t always like it. My youngest son would argue with me almost every single day or make a 15minute assignment last 45 minutes due to complaining but it was all so worth it. My son was included in a viral message sent from his teacher to the whole district showing off her TOP FIVE VIRTUAL LEARNERS then just last week the PANTHER PRESS (which is a 4 page newsletter sent to everyone in the districts area) my son, Maverick, was in it for completing his work. Great! I appreciate it. It shows him as well as the other students that you’re still being watched. People and leaders see your work!
I dealt with multiple teachers. Maverick’s teacher was good and sent very organized lesson plans daily. My nephew (2nd grade) his teacher did amazing! Not only is she a mom and helping her own children but she showed up for her 2nd graders EVERY DAY! My nephew had a lot of work. More work than my 8th grade stepson but his teacher was involved. Still teaching not slacking. She did group zoom meetings and individual reading group zoom meetings. She helped not only my nephew stay on track but was a huge help for me in keeping my nephew focused.
With that being said....here’s to hoping things go back to normal and school starts up in Fall!! I want my children safe, I want them to see their friends. Get out and learn good social skills and have their field trips again.
