Yesterday, as per our new quarantine school setup, Dekker helped Brady make baked oatmeal for breakfast. Laela was pretty furious that she couldn’t help, but she helps SO much that we wanted to give Dekker a turn to have the one-on-one time. He did SO well…
And we as VERY proud of the outcome!
It was delicious 🙂 He was SO happy.
In addition to that, our “schooling” is more about a routine for us than a high expectation of learning. Realistically, I’m nervous to teach new concepts. Not because I’m incapable, but I don’t want to teach them in a way that their future teachers will have to undo and re-teach. So Dekker had yet to touch on division, and I’m not sure I’m going to delve too deep into that unless it comes suuuper naturally!
Our current routine is that the big kids do some schooling for a bit during nap time. We were gifted an older iPad for the kids to work on, and Brady resurrected an old iPad as well, so each kid has a device. We try to jump around with them, not relying on the iPads every single day. We don’t want them to forget paper and doing things by hand. Laela received a TON of worksheets from her teacher, and Dekker’s teacher has him doing assignments and sending ideas from Google Classroom. Both kids have Raz Kids as well as Mathletics. Raz Kids is AMAZING because we don’t have ALL kinds of books in each of their reading levels, and this app provides that for us! Mathletics is a HUGE hit. Laela will opt to do module after module all through nap time, beyond the one or two we ask her to do. Its awesome. She loves it.
Beyond the apps and a few little assignments here and there (journal entries, games, and the occasional run through of flash cards) the kids read every single day. I like that I don’t have to force that at all.
I know what they’re doing is minimal, but its maintaining both their current knowledge as well as a routine. I feel good about it. I am proud of the system we’ve worked out, and that its stress free, for the most part. Who EVER saw this whole crazy thing coming?? Not me!
I love that you guys keep teaching, how ever it works for your family! I feel so sad about all our grandkids who love going to school and all the learning and interaction they get there! Also how the kids process all this staying away from school. How are your kids with that? I know some of them especially miss their teachers! We ve been at this for a month but it still seems surreal and not right!
Proud of you and Brady, Hailey! Keep on trucking…
We re praying for you! 👍😁❤️
I can definitely see a strain on our kids, losing their routine, their friends, and their time away from home. They’re comfortable here, and I think it helps that Brady is home, too, so we’re ALL together, but it’s definitely a strain. Dekker really misses his time away from the littler ones. And Laela just aches for school :/ Thank you for praying for us all!