It’s our second unofficial week of homeschooling for the 21/22 school year. I thought it would be fun to write a bit about each day and share resources and my thoughts for homeschooling planning along the way. The modus operandi for right now: “we’re starting off slow.” Here’s what I wrote last week.
Monday, 8/9:
We were a little preoccupied with one of our loved one traveling for the day, so we did many things related to play. We decided to come up with a list of fun activities do this during the week to keep our minds off of stress. This is also a great activity to do when the kids want to do something and I can’t get to it right now. I tell them “put it on the board” and we can get to it later. It’s helpful. We baked cookies, played Lego, re-watched the first Lego movie and started a new series “The Mysterious Benedict Society” on Disney+.
Tuesday, 8/10
We didn’t sleep well the night before, so we gradually eased into the day. We played outside for a bit after watering the garden. They kids always seem to enjoy sampling herbs and treats from the yard. We have several blueberry plants and a newish raspberry thicket. A few strawberry plants can be found throughout the yard and we have many herbs (culinary sage, pineapple sage, spearmint and thyme.) We are also growing cherry tomatoes, golden beets, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, melon, arugula and peas are some of the things I can think of right now.
The kids had an afternoon virtual craft workshop, so that motivated them to get through pages in their 4th grade math workbooks and 2nd grade writing workbooks. They made pencil holders out of yogurt cups. Since they’re both into this show called Mako Mermaids: An H2O Adventure | Netflix Official Site, there was a little “mermaid” inspiration behind their creations.
As the afternoon slipped into the evening, we watched another Lego movie. We were pretty tired.
Wednesday, 8/11
We were under a heat advisory, so decided to frontload the day with lots of outside play. I filled their kiddie pool and we watered the garden again to help it against the warm temperatures.
We did a few more exercises out of our math and writing workbooks and marked some time off our reading charts.
New virtual classes started today. A hip hop/jazz dance class and beginners chess class offered through King County Library System. The kids seemed to enjoy both.
Thursday, 8/12
Today was another sweltering day, coupled with the threat of wildfire smoke settling in. Thursdays we have “Tea Time” (virtual reading) with my mom. So the standing virtual date is affectionally called “Tea Time with Grandma.” The kids read all kinds of things to my mom. The kids got through their writing and math exercises for the day. My oldest proudly declared she likes subtraction better than adding. I smiled. Today, getting through the “school” part of our day didn’t seem to be much of a chore. We also watched a “Radical Reactions” workshop hosted by Pacific Science Center and King County Library System. Later that evening in anticipation of our loved one’s return, we watched a bit more of “The Mysterious Benedict Society.”
Friday, 8/13
Thick wildfire smoke rolled in Thursday afternoon, so we woke to a pink sun. There was also a heat advisory again. This time, temps reached near 100. The kids started the day with a Monopoly card game and imaginative play.
Other things:
Still working on our schedule for the fall. Some of our homeschool friends are also in the throes of it. One piece of advice I think is key in any homeschooler’s journey is continue building relationships with like-minded homeschooling friends. There are several women I’ve been chatting with over the last 18 months and it’s been so helpful for sharing ideas, sorrows and successes with them during the pandemic. It’s saved my sanity on more than one occasion. Homeschooling, after all, is much more than day-to-day learning, it’s everything else, too.
I’m continuing to update my Trello board for the upcoming school year. Trello is a great tool for planning, especially if you are a visual person.
Still investigating these extracurriculars, I’ve been so hesitant with the threat of the Delta variant.
- (new) creative jazz/musical theatre class offered through Vitality Dance Center (this is the studio we’ve taken ballet through)
- ballet with Emerald Ballet Theatre
- parkour class at Movefree Academy
- a karate class in Bothell
Other programs and activities that are still on my radar (but I haven’t done much with this week):
Labyrinth (another co-op) is based out of Sammamish. They have creative writing, parkour and gameschooling classes I think the kids would be interested in but I think I may have missed the window for fall enrollment. I will have to revisit in Winter, most-likely.
Heartwood Nature Programs (formerly Camp Roots) is another possibility. Before COVID hit, we were in a class together that we really enjoyed. I want to explore this option for the kids again soon.
Frog Legs Cooking School is close by. And while I love cooking in the kitchen with the kids, this could be a fun opportunity for them to teach *me* something.
Advantage Gymnastics is also a contender. They have a Ninja program that would be a good fit for the never-ending energy supply that is my youngest. Just weighing the risks again.
Digipen is also down the road from us. They offer enrichment classes in everything from art appreciate to game design. As of this post, most of their classes for the 12 and under set will be offered online.
Resources I found this week:
Live web cam of brown bears catching salmon in Alaska!
How to implement neurodiversity-affirming practices in your classroom.
“Every week, celebrities and PBS KIDS authors are reading aloud their favorite books on the PBS KIDS’ Facebook page and YouTube channel. Watch them all again here and find fun activities for the whole family to do.” https://www.pbs.org/parents/read-along
Dance Mat Typing – online typing
