Hello Virtual School! | Week 4

Hello! We are in week 4 of virtual school, and by we, I mean Miles and the kids. I, as of last Friday, have been laid off due to COVID-19, and am trying to figure out my place in the home and in this quarantine.

We are residing in San Diego County, CA, and are under a state-wide stay-at-home order and are recommended to wear facial masks until May 1, where it will turn into a mandated rule. Right now, essential workers are required to wear a facial mask, but we wear one as well.

The first few days that the kids and Miles had off (he's an elementary school music teacher), I was still working, and the kids were living like it was Spring Break. Then I was told, we would be closing our center due to the virus. So, for the next week and a half (or so), I was the kids' teacher. We spent the first day or two, working on a schedule that we could all work with. At this point, it was mid-March, and we were all still trying to figure out what staying-at-home meant.

We tried grocery shopping, but heard that everything in the grocery stores had been taken! There was no rice, no beans, no toilet paper, none of our day-to-day essentials were in stock. What had happened in the past few days? We couldn't believe it. It's like schools closed, and everyone went crazy and bought anything and everything as soon as kids got out of school!

No toilet paper to be found 

Once I got their schedule written down, it was time to put it into practice. Day 1 that I was at home, I had these kids up and ready to study. I tried to mimic their regular school schedules and had to make lunch for both at the same time, as well as P.E. Before school was over on Friday, March 13, Isaiah was given assignments to do via Google Classroom  like he had been doing since the beginning of the school year. Serenity, she did not have any assignment from her teacher and was not allowed to receive assignments from him for the time being. So, it was up to me to figure out what to assign these kids for school work.

The first draft of the kids' schedule

Just as the commercials say, our dining (really, kitchen) table, became a study area, office area, and learning center. I went searching for worksheets and workbooks that would be at the kids' level, and where they can learn off of, and then saw and landed on some Highlights! workbooks. I saw Target had them on sale, and I snagged them! I bought 2 workbooks, a 5th-grade workbook, and a 6th-grade workbook. It made teaching and learning a lot easier.

Both kids studying from their workbooks

We had somewhat of a strict schedule and the first week or so of "virtual" learning, it rained. Like A LOT! So we had to figure out what to do for PE. Luckily, Isaiah has a gardening class he is part of at school, and before this quarantine thing happened, he and Miles were gardening at home. So he would check on his plants, take a photo of them, and graph & document his findings for the day. Serenity, on the other hand, does not have a gardening club at her school, or at least in her grade level that she can be a part of, so we had to find something to help her exercise. Then, she remembered GoNoodle!

For those of you who are new to GoNoodle (I also learned what it was), it is a website that provides kids with movements and mindfulness videos for FREE! We did some yoga, some calming breathing exercises, and some dance videos.

The kids have been doing official virtual school since April 6, when their school district came out with their version of "Virtual School" and got some teachers from each grade level to put together some work for the students. At first sight, both Serenity and I were frightened as to how much work was being "assigned." Luckily, her teacher sent an email to the class and their parents to inform us they wouldn't be taking part in that. He was going to have them continue where the class left off on that last day.

Since April 6, the kids have had to adjust to learning virtually. Isaiah doesn't mind it and quite enjoys not having to go into school every day. Serenity has daily meetings and is on a schedule recommended by her teacher. She is so smart though, she does everything in such a short amount of time! Spelling tests are still happening, and sharing each other's company is still so special. Serenity's teacher had been sending us the homework and spelling lists from the first assignment of the school year, weekly.

Miles giving Serenity her spelling words. Isaiah watching a math video

So, I went through my email, and printed all the math and spelling worksheets in there, and had Serenity review as many as she could before her teacher took over. We emailed her teacher asking if there was anything else we can do, and he replied by saying that she's doing more work than most right now. We were so happy to know we were doing our part in helping her succeed.

Miles is making videos for the entire student body at the school, to help them continue to learn about music. He's even working on some choir performances. 

Watching how all three of them have taken this whirlwind of a hand during this uncertain time, and watching them knock it out of the park is amazing. Even though I am no longer able to work, and record videos for the kids at the preschool. I have been making videos of crafts, academics, and stories. I’m not sure if the kids from school are the ones watching, but I uploaded some to my personal YouTube channel. A few of us at school have also teamed together to create some videos for them on our school YouTube channel.

Since I started making these videos, I have gotten more comfortable recording myself, and being in front of a camera. I even got the (crazy) idea to start a vlog on the same channel. I’m still working on that idea, and all that it entails, but then realized I could asl o start a blog, and lo and behold, I came across all these blogs. I can’t believe that I had forgotten about all these blogs I had  previously written, and many were left unfinished. To see how many people had viewed them, even unfinished, was amazing to me! Thanks y’all!