Day 1 -- Apparently We're Homeschooling

2020 March 18

Wednesday

11:30am:

I wasn't going to start this until Monday — if being cooped up with 6 kids and a work from home husband isn’t worthy of documentation, I’m not sure what is! However, it's March Break here, and for me that means hanging out and doing nothing worthwhile (and certainly nothing academic).

UNFORTUNATELY, we already told the kids that their schools were closing due to COVID-19 measures for at least two weeks, starting next Monday. Since I told them last Thursday, I've had #Kid3 and #Kid4 whining about not seeing friends, complaining IN ADVANCE about how bored they will be, fighting (okay, that's kind of normal), and #Kid4 keeps asking me to send photos of her doing stuff to her teacher.

Yesterday it culminated in a full out meltdown from #Kid4, who misses school so much that she "might die", and #Kid3 telling me that he would rather do math than play on the computer.

So I hopped online and bought a couple curriculum workbooks, in the hope that they will keep them busy for a bit of time each day. #Kid3 told me that wasn't good enough, so now I'm committed to ensuring he spends 30min doing math on Prodigy each day, and at least an hour of reading.

My kids made me buy curriculum. They’re so weird.

#Kid4, listening to this, felt left out and demanded equal treatment, so now #Kid3 has to read to HER 30min each day and I have to make sure that she’s allotted sufficient colouring time "with plain paper" so she can also write numbers and letters if she feels like it. We decided together that some scheduled screen time watching BBC documentaries might also be a good addition, and I bargained with them to wait until March Break is over before we start.

Of course, now Canada Post is (understandably) no longer guaranteeing shipping times, so I'm Googling worksheets like a crazy lady for my husband to print off at work. For some crazy reason, we don't have a printer here at home.

Is purchasing a printer “essential”?

7:30pm:

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of my first date with my husband.

He’s a homebody, so he usually tries to wiggle out of going out to dinner to celebrate with ridiculous excuses like "Scouts!", "work emergency!", and "parent council meeting!".

This year he's claiming "PANDEMIC!"

Sheesh.