Covid-19 Mask, joining the masses…
Even if I had a sewing machine, I would use up the thread it came with and not know how to reload it. So Hubs hopped online and ordered reusable masks, one for each of us, from a local company here in San Diego. De Soto Sport. I keep telling him he doesn’t need to because we’re inside, but The Boy insists on wearing it all day now. (Keeps the mindless humming and singing to a minimum so that’s fine with me.)
Spring Break, or the lack thereof…
A few weeks ago was Spring Break for the Boy, but you wouldn’t have known it. We didn’t go anywhere or hardly do anything. My “Lazy Saturdays” really are ALL WEEK LONG now. This year’s spring break was really no different from the weeks before or the week after. The Boy did some schoolwork to get caught up on some things that were overdue. He minecrafted and fortnited to his heart’s content.. He joined us to watch a few shows and movies. It was rather blah, but we are alive and well, so that is saying something.
Homeschooling, my new profession…
A few years ago, our company started using Trello for task management. I quickly adopted it for my everyday life and now we use it for every single thing. Travel planning boards, packing lists boards, home-to-do item boards… pretty much everything that involves more than one thing gets put into a list or board and assigned accordingly. The Boy uses it too, for chores and other to-do items (or when I want to make his day a living hell).
So when this whole Virus Thing began to affect us here, I started sorting out his boards. I had visions of The Boy practicing (and mastering) his typing and multiplication chart and churning out scores and scores of paragraphs in his blog. I had researched a whole wack of thought provoking articles tailor-made for kids his age and had them all lined up. I said to myself, “There is no way The Boy’s education should have to suffer because of this. We need these kids educated so they can take care of us old people, if we don’t all die off from the Virus Thing.”
Yeah. The Boy started attending school again on the 6th, (sometimes in just his underwear, because, you know, why not) at his desk in his room. This is vastly different than our life pre-pandemic and although I miss those days of making lunches in the mornings and lovingly shoving him out the door with a sweet kiss on the cheek, I’m cool with our new laid back version of life. WAY less stressful in the mornings. Cannot wait for a more regimented return to life.
Regardless of his being only 11 years old and the master of his domain, last week went really well. When Monday morning came he was rocking and rolling (and dressed for some reason) and ready to embrace his new (hopefully temporary) world of “ONLINE SCHOOLING”. And because his homeroom teacher is so freaking bad-ass and his school is so utterly progressive, the kids already know how to work online for the most part and I was assured through many emails that this would go smoothly. After the MMM (Monday Morning Meeting), we discussed his assignments in Google Classroom (and I ran up and down the stairs in an attempt to micro-manage him all day long to make every minute count.) Call it my exercise for the day?
By Wednesday, I made sure he knew in the morning what was due that day and then…? I left him to his own devices, literally. Oh I know he watched YouTube and I know he goofed off a bit, but I didn’t hound him and he got it all done and it was so much easier. WTAF? Then the same happened Thursday and Friday so I guess it’s working out well.
Perhaps he wants his loving parents to be proud of him, or perhaps he has a good twin hiding in his closet (I don’t think so, I’d really know about that)? Or perhaps it’s because the internet to the Xbox is paused until 4pm every day and he knows he can get on earlier if he has everything that is due that day done before 4.
Thus, that is how it has been since then. He knows what needs to be done, how to do it and when it is due. Self-guidance in this case, is winning. All the other items I had lined up for him aren’t getting done but the school work is and there’s enough of it, so I’m happy. I still wish he’d write in his blog more, but I’m very much about picking my battles at this time, so, you know…
Essbee (BestBee) Learning Center
I should also mention that, even remotely, The Boy’s favorite teacher, Stacie of Essbee Learning, along with her SUPER TEAM OF AWESOME TUTORS (special shout out to Rachel!) are also helping our future adults by providing support in their early education. This is totally helpful during this new “online learning” new normal we are experiencing.
I promised I’d say something wherever I could and I don’t know who is still reading here, but… If you’re in San Diego and have an elementary or middle school aged kiddo, you’d be The Best Parent in the World (LIKE ME!!) if you called Stacie right now and signed your kid up for some guided, custom extra help.
(Essbee Learning is the best.)
(Should be called BestBee Learning! 😉
Here’s Essbee’s FB Page, the website link and I’d give you Stacie’s home address, but that would just be weird.
