Back from a blog hiatus, it’s hard to believe school ended five weeks ago. Life continues as before with social distancing lockdown since we’ll be joining the children’s grandmother in Florida later in the summer. More of the same for the forseeable future.

Today, a friendly neighbor asked how the kids are doing and I realized I needed to take the time to reflect on how to answer that question accurately. Overall, we are well in our home and family bubble but feel the change on the street with fewer masks and less distancing as lockdown fatigue sets in. The isolation has its positive and negative aspects. On the plus side, the kids are getting along better and we have more quality time than ever. They are enjoying creative play without an excessive amount of computer time. On the negative side, they miss their friends and have little interest in Zoom or Meet playdates. They are more “free range” than ever and struggle with a basic schedule… some days even getting dressed and eating breakfast are a major achievement.

Where are the children?

We have had little contact with other families so it is hard to assess how and what they are doing. One of the strangest aspects of this period is not seeing other children … anywhere. We live in an in-town Atlanta neighborhood with several elementary schools nearby, yet we have seen only a handful of children in the past three months despite spending time on our front porch daily and going to the park most days. Are children inside all day? Have families traveled away from the city? Or maybe they are staying at home or in the yard to keep it simple and/or as a reality of working parents and few options for outside care – almost no in-person camps, extracurricular activities, nannies, or even friends and neighbors willing to help out during these risky times.

Taking Stock

Grieving What was Lost. The younger kids were confused for several weeks about how school ended and Kindergarten was no more. So, I made it a point to acknowledge their sense of loss while celebrating the transition to first grade. We talk about what Kindergarten was like when they were in school and how it changed. We look at the pictures we have – including the yearbook – and they talk about the classmates they remember. Recently, I asked if they would like me to try to set up some Zoom playdates and they each picked a few classmates to contact. They are happy to have the contact, but still seem pretty disconnected during the time spent together online.

Gathering resources. Though it was not much, the five hours of weekly teacher online “contact” time and the many “must do” and “can do” assignments helped to provide some structure to the kids’ days. The resources and lessons provided by the kids’ teachers were useful in planning a daily schedule. Now, when the kids tire of the plentiful toys and workbooks and backyard exploration, we are using some of the optional lessons, computer programs they are familiar with, and paper resources provided by the school as a basis for weekly skills maintenance. I’ve also gathered school and art supplies, recyclables, magazines, kids’ activity books and so on to change things up when they get bored. Two of the kids’ teachers hold weekly check-ins – which has been a great way for them to stay grounded in school-based learning and a great bridge through the summer.

Recognizing What is Gained. The biggest gain for our family is time together and more unstructured time. During the school year, the school day consumed all the best hours of the day for the kids. It was a struggle to wake them up at the latest by 6:30am to scramble through breakfast, lunch prep, getting dressed and ready to catch the bus at 7:10 for an 8am school start. When they returned home at 3:10pm they were tired and cranky during the short time before a 5pm dinner and 7pm bedtime. This was our weekday routine and weekends where the only time to decompress, enjoy time, see friends, and go places like the zoo, botanical gardens, science museums, etc. During the last two plus months of school, we had exponentially more time together and no place to go. Yes, it has been challenging, but it has also been a joy. Trying to focus on our good health and the fact that we generally enjoy each others’ company is an act of gratitude that has helped us cope with the outside isolation.

Getting Help

Online Help for Parents. For those with online access and a device for their child, there is a lot of online educational content available for free or low cost (see Learning Resources posts on this website). The added benefit of parental engagement can help fill the academic and the social emotional gap of children.

Social Distance with a Nanny. National and local care companies alike are promoting and offering options for child care for which the caregiver social distances with one or a couple of families. The challenge is finding a caregiver willing to follow social distance guidelines adequately enough to limit the risk of contact with COVID-19 positive individuals within their family and friend circle (“bubble”). We are fortunate to get help 10 hours a week from a part-time nanny who only works in-person with our family and otherwise teaches online classes to other children.

Building Out a Summer Plan

To maintain a modicum of a schedule for the kids (so I can get some work done!) and to maintain and improve their online learning capacity, we use a variety of activities. We are generally a low-tech family that spends the majority of our time on traditional play activities – games, arts and crafts, creative play with stuffed and plastic animals, puzzles, outside time on a porch or in the yard, walking in the neighborhood, and bike riding. We have supplemented those activities with online learning. We particularly appreciate exploring Varsity Tutors’ free online classes on a wide variety of topics. My 10-year-old is also enjoying his reasonably priced Athena’s Advanced Academy class Cryptozoology. Here are those and a few other options (note that there are many more out there):

  • Varsity Tutors for K-12 https://www.varsitytutors.com/ (and simliar free online classes). We have tried and enjoyed the classes: Hands-On Science Lab, Songwriting, Mind & Body Connection, Primates Across the Globe, Around the World, Character Education and Social Skills, Chess Masters, Environmental Hero, and more to come. Most classes are one hour per day for a week, but others are 2-4 hours and several days a week for two or more weeks. Small classes at $10-40/hour are available for those seeking more interaction with the teachers than is possible with large classes that may have up to two thousand participants(!). We have stuck with the large classes to economize and avoid pressure to attend if the kids are doing something else when it is time to log in. Most of the teachers are very good at making the kids feel like they are in a smaller class and several respond to questions in the Q&A box in real time.
  • Athena’s Advanced Academy https://athenasacademy.com/ and Similar Low-Cost Options. A friend recommended this California-based company with classes targeted toward gifted students. The dashboard with opportunities to share comments with others makes the students feel like they are part of a school (albeit remote) again.
  • Outschool http://www.outschool.com. A couple friends have recommended Outschooled for single classes on a topic of interest to a child. We have not yet tried it, but will likely do so sometime before school starts.
  • Summer Camps Retooled for Online Participation. Many summer camps have retooled for distance learning, but we had not taken any. The pricing seems to be higher than other options and their relative lack of experience with online learning have meant this option is not at the top of our list.
  • Continue School Online Programs (subscriptions continued in the summer or available for free from the companies) and “Can Do” Assignments. This is an inexpensive option and one that is familiar to the kids.
  • Beanstalk Free Live and On Demand Classes for 18 months – 6 year olds https://beanstalk.co/pages/free-class-page. Example (How Love Works). A good option to introduce topics to younger children.

Programs Recommended by Our School

  • Khan Academy – all subjects (we focus on math)
  • Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. – many subjects especially ELA, history, science, social studies and more
  • Zearn – math
  • Lexia – reading
  • IXL – math
  • Studies Weekly – social studies
  • Flocabulary – ELA, math, science, social studies, life skills, and more using hip-hop
  • Minecraft Educational Edition
  • Go Noodle – silly exercise videos

A Few More Favorite Educational Sites

  • Ranger Rick (free summer subscription) – science and nature
  • PBS Kids (free) – Design Team, Wild Kratts, Word World, Word Girl, Xavier Riddle and the Secret MuseumMolly of Denali, CyberChase, SuperWhy, Hero Elementary, Let’s Go Luna, Nature Cat
  • Duolingo (free) – many languages options with vocabulary, speaking, reading, and writing language activities and reward system and reminders to motivate users
  • Chrome Music

Our Favorite TV Series (Amazon Prime or Netflix – we keep it simple)

  • Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (timeless lessons in kindness and community)
  • Daniel Tiger (similar lesson content as Mr. Rogers in a cartoon form with animal characters)
  • Magic School Bus and Magic School Bus Returns (science lessons cartoon)
  • Creative Galaxy (art cartoon with the end of each segment a kids’ art project explained by kids with no adults on camera)
  • Curious George (favorite standby with end of each segment with kids’ talking about a lesson learned)
  • Puffin Rock (Irish cartoon about nature)
  • Tumble Leaf (cute claymation figures with low-key science lessons integrated into story)
  • Inbestigators (Australian kids’ detective agency solve mysteries)
  • Sid the Science Kid (claymation cartoon about school kids science lessons)
  • Dino Dana (British based fantasy series featuring a South Asian girl who can learns about the traits and habits of dinosaurs only she can see)
  • Peep and the Big Wide World (cartoon with social lessons imbedded)
  • Motown Magic (cartoon featuring motown songs with some modified lyrics designed to fit a story with multicultural characters)
  • Carmen Sandiego (cartoon mystery with geography theme)
  • Octonauts (cartoon about nature theses with ocean characters)
  • Stinky and Dirty (cartoon with low-key science lessons with a garbage truck and dump truck friends)
  • Brain Games (for older kids)
  • The Worst Witch (based on book series that inspired JK Rowling to write Harry Potter series)