Well, we did it! We finished the school year and I’m going to say we finished it strong!! The last day they were in school was Friday, March 13th. We then had a few weeks off while the world figured out what was going on and then we officially started online school on Monday, April 6. We’ve done 6.5 weeks of school at home. There have been tears, there’s been lots of learning on their end and my end, but we have made it! They would start their work by around 8:00 every morning and were usually finished by 9:30 or 10:00. It definitely got easier as it went along and we got used to all of the different programs and adjusted to the new structure. We did school at the table…
at the counter…
in the dining room…
and even on the couch like this! ha!
Samantha didn’t get any assignments from school so I printed some worksheets and used workbooks for her to do a letter a day. We worked all the way from A to Z!
Like I said, we’ve all learned a lot. I had to be very hands on with it all and right there beside them while they were doing their work. Maxwell was pretty self sufficient most of the time but Spencer definitely needed help navigating everything. I’m so so grateful I am no longer working and was able to sit there every morning helping them do what was most important!
Maxwell did have two really big projects during quarantine that I am so proud of. The first was a research paper for his enrichment class. He had to research and write a paper on the history of Birmingham, complete with a bibliography! We tackled it together and he ended up with a fantastic, well written paper that his teacher was very proud of. This was a big project and one he had never done before and I am so proud of how he took it on and got it done!
The second big project was the 3rd grade biography assignment. In typical times, the parents get to go up to school and see the kids give a speech as their chosen famous person. Nothing about these times is typical so the speeches were done via video but Maxwell nailed his! He did it on Bill Gates and I’d say he looked pretty sharp in his Bill Gates glasses with his Microsoft computer…
He did a fantastic job recording his speech which was about 4 minutes long and got great praise from his teacher.
All three of the kids have worked so hard on their school work and have handled this strange situation with such grace and good attitudes. Proud just doesn’t even seem like a big enough word to describe how I feel about them. Fingers crossed we are back in regular school in the fall but, if we’re not, I know we can handle that too!
Congrats to you all! What an interesting finish to a wild second semester! Proud of you, knew you could finish with flying colors!
Super job to not only the kids but also to their Momma! She was not only the classroom teacher but also handled PE and field trips!
Great work Maxwell, Spence and Samantha; we’re proud of you! Looking forward to seeing a 4th, 2nd and Kindergartener shine next year!
You have a rare opportunity to learn about your children. Few people have that insight to their needs as this situation has required. Your field trips have been fun and diverse, your teaching them has kept their minds sharp, and it was all with Motherly Love.