Spring break started on March 16th, and the schools sent the older kids home with school tablets in case they should need them. And towards the end of the week, RISD suspended classes indefinitely. On April 17th the governor announced schools would stay closed through the end of the school year.
So it sort of feels like we stepped away for 5 days and instead got 500 days. It's a little strange that all their pictures are hanging in the hallway. Their folders are still in their desks. All the brand new boxes of markers the teacher requested at the beginning of March are probably sitting on her desk, unopened. And I don't think the kids fully grasp that they won't be going back to their classes again.
The girls will likely not see most of their classmates, who will spread out to different elementary schools next year. Tiago, luckily, will see most of his friends (although he claims he only has one friend: Jonah) next year even if they're in different classes. And who knows what will happen with all the 'stuff' thats in the school-- artwork, projects, writing, school supplies, etc.
"Home school" has been a work in progress. After spring break I got them all pumped up to start school with me. I turned our dining area sideboard into school central with all our supplies and an awesome pencil sharpener. Ideally 'school' happens when Enzo is napping, but that's not always the case. Ideally they wake up and get clothes on, but again, some days that doesn't happen. For a week we tried doing stations that they rotated through -- reading, math/science, ABC Mouse on the tablet, etc. But they were always mad when their tablet rotation ended. [side note: one of my centers was called "whatever-mom-feels-like-doing center" which the kids got a kick out of. They still talk about it, and ask why we don't do it. It's all about how you sell something! Especially with kids.]
Here's what we've landed on, and it's working as well as I could hope. We start school together. (Ideally they do 15-20 minutes of yoga to start.) We count to 30, they sometimes recite Articles of Faith, we read in the scriptures and pray, and say the Pledge of Allegiance (including the Texas pledge and a moment of silence, haha. These kids are all about routine. They rotate turns acting like the principal, who normally does it on the school intercom). They each have a checklist of things they need to get done before they're allowed to play 30-60 minutes of educational games on the tablet. Then we eat lunch. Over time, we've added some additional school activities (and so I let them skip other things.) But generally, Tiago does 1 page of a 'draft book'--picture with a few sentences, about 5 minutes of typing practice, 10 minutes of math exercises on the computer, a few minutes of spelling words/activities, and a piano lesson with me. We also created a timeline, and a few days a week he'll add new events. He reads all day long so we don't include that in school. The girls draw in their school journals (which their teacher was nice enough to drop off at our house!), do a piano lesson, read one BOB book with me, and alternate between typing and math exercises on the computer. It usually takes less than an hour.
At least a few mornings a week Tiago declares how much he hates school and thinks I'm the worst teacher, and he'll sit on the sofa and read books. But eventually he jumps right in and gets it done.
There are also mornings when they're just playing so well together that I leave them be and decide to skip school. (Their classes have optional assignments. They provide plenty of learning opportunities, and we thankfully get to do what we can. I send pictures to their teachers of what they're up to.) They're only in pre-k and kindergarten, so I don't feel pressure to do much academically, but it seems like a great time to build structure and learn skills that might not happen in a classroom setting (ie: piano lessons, typing, timeline, reading practice for the girls...)
There are also mornings when they're just playing so well together that I leave them be and decide to skip school. (Their classes have optional assignments. They provide plenty of learning opportunities, and we thankfully get to do what we can. I send pictures to their teachers of what they're up to.) They're only in pre-k and kindergarten, so I don't feel pressure to do much academically, but it seems like a great time to build structure and learn skills that might not happen in a classroom setting (ie: piano lessons, typing, timeline, reading practice for the girls...)
The silver lining in all of this is that we can hopefully continue throughout the summer, although with modifications of less 'school' and more chores. *fingers crossed* It usually takes me half the summer to establish a good routine and get the kids on board. Now we can just continue with what we're doing. (Particularly if we're still quarantined and can't go anywhere!) March through August! That's half of the year. So crazy.
I appreciate that my personality thrives on structure, and I don't honestly mind hanging out at home. But I do get burned out having people around me constantly, and lose my patience. It's nice to get out at least once a day, for a walk, or to drive somewhere. We've been doing school lunch pick up which is a lifesaver! It's nice to have someone hand me a bag of what to feed my kids and have one less thing for my brain to take care of. I don't give it a second thought beyond opening things and handing it to my kids. If they don't want to eat it, I don't care. Not my problem.
The rest of the day involves the kids playing (usually making a big mess all over the house.) I'm so glad they have each other to play with, and they're quite imaginative. As soon as Enzo goes down for a second nap everyone starts 'quiet time': each of them in a different room. The secret of this is having my "mom store" full of fun snacks. They each get to pick two things to eat, which gets them excited to start. (And bonus: I don't have to prepare an afternoon snack!) I wish the girls played more on their own, but they're literally content to just listen to audiobooks, or more recently use Epic on the tablets to have books read to them. They'll 'read' books for 1.5 hours, easily. And Tiago plays Legos, reads, or does other stuff in his room. I relaaaax and recharge. It's 100% necessary for all of us.
So this is us. Literally every. single. day. (Well, M-F. Thank goodness for weekends with Hyrum around to entertain them. I feel so burned out by then.) But is there anything cuter than a 6-yr-old typing? Little stuff like that keeps me going.
