First Day of (Home/Virtual) School!!

September 8th 2020!  This first day was unlike any other.  We are doing our learning from home this year.  While our day started early in the morning, we forgot to take the traditional 1st day of school pictures in the morning.  We ended up taking them just before bed instead.  Oh well, it was still the first day.  

Our 3rd Grader! T wants to be a Hollywood Star!  Oh boy!!

Our 5th Grader is too old for declaring what he wants to be. 

Team Homeschool!  We made it through the first day!

I sure do love this guy. 

Our first day of homeschool and virtual school went so well.  I was quite nervous about M's virtual school.  He was nervous about all of the google meets and how things would go with the other kids.  I checked on him early in the day and he gave me a thumbs up under his desk to show me things were going OK.  I think I could actually hear my heart singing in that moment.  He really likes the virtual group.  There are 11 kids who are doing all virtual and they seem to get along quite well.  

T and I really enjoyed our time together.  One of our favorite parts of the day is read aloud time.  I love reading to her.  The first day I read a brand new to us Phil Vischer book.  It lead to lots of great discussions. 

T: Cuddling with mom is one of my favorite things!

Last year she was on the computer several hours a day.  This year she is still on the computer most days, but not in the same way.  She does typing once a week, she has mentor zoom and OT zoom once a week, science zoom twice a week, and we do watch videos relating to history topics each day.  Most of the videos are just a few minutes long and really help cement the concepts we are learning.  All of this might sound like a lot, but it is much less than last year and a much better fit for us. 

Typing Club 

I am not sure why I thought 100 fact worksheets would be a good idea.  We only did these for a few days and transitioned to much shorter ones.  

Math worksheet!

While taking a brain break T noticed a squirrel and was sure it was Teeny Tiny.  She need to take a picture. 

T: I KNOW that was Teeny Tiny!

M had a great set up in his room and sort of moves around the room to stretch his body and sit or lay in different positions. 

M: I like it more than I thought I would. 

Zoom Science!

M wanted to search pinterest for a cake and frosting recipe.  He made it all by himself and it tasted pretty good!  We are thankful for many opportunities to cook and bake together.  

M: I made it all by myself. 

There have been some tricky times in the first few weeks of learning from home, but many blessings too.  We are so thankful to have options. As the cases rise in our community and our schools, we are thankful to have a consistent plan for our kids.