Diary of a Virtual School Mum - Day 1

Our school has worked very hard to set up resources for the children to learn from home. I fully appreciate all they've done, and can see that they care about the kids. But man, this is a lot of work for me as well. Here's a quick summary of our first day.

Pre-Monday work included receiving log in information for all three children on Google Classroom. There are also additional websites we needed set up, for different types of work. We need to order laptops, but since we haven't yet, I had to download all applicable apps to my phone.

Monday morning. I woke up thinking I would do a YouTube exercise video, but the girls wouldn't stop screaming at each other. They had gotten up and dressed as I had asked, so I'll consider that a victory. We had breakfast, then a short amount of free time before "school."

9:00 Clara logged in to a morning "meeting" with her teachers and classmates. She was excited to be able to see her friends, and her teacher talked for a few minutes about what would be happening for the day.  Clara's assignment was to decorate cardboard eggs and string them up on a garland. I fished cardboard out of the recycling bin for later.

9:20 Lily logged in for her morning "meeting." I must have had the time wrong, because for 10 minutes it was 4 or 5 children chattering until the teacher joined the call. It was another brief call explaining a few things, and then that was finished.

Miles' call was scheduled for 10:00, but two of his friends logged in early to talk. Miles joined them at 9:50, right before one of the teachers did. His main teacher showed them how to access a few things, and the morning meetings were done.

So the whole time the kids were on these video calls, I sat with them to make sure their microphone was muted, that they paid attention, and didn't do anything inappropriate.  I was able to do a load of laundry in between the calls.

10:30 I gave Miles and Clara a Lego challenge while I set up the computer for Lily's work. She had one maths lesson about telling time, and we worked through it together.

10:45 Next was science. We were supposed to find little creatures out in nature, take a photo if possible, and draw them out. Handily, Matt has recently started making terrariums, so we didn't have to go outside.

I uploaded the pictures above, and "turned in" her work.

11:05 Lily and Clara began decorating the aforementioned eggs, and Miles logged in to see his assignments. First was maths, which was figuring out the perimeter and area of a rectangle. There was a video lesson to watch, then a few questions for him to answer and return. I started making lunch (microwave mac and cheese).

11:45 Lunch time.

12:15 Miles gets back on the computer for English. We log in to another website, and he does three different activities. I have to charge my phone because of the video calls and checking the classroom app all day. And the teachers keep adding assignments and meetings.

12:45 Miles finishes English, and I try to find a delivery or collection time for groceries. It's fully booked for three weeks.

1:00 The girls play on their tablets while I relax on the television. The kids all have a snack.

1:40 It's almost time for Miles' music lesson, another video call. He starts out in the dining room with my phone, but I have to move him to the computer in the living room because he has to look at the words on the screen to sing along. A video call with several children singing a song they don't really know is... something. Miles keeps goofing off, so I keep muting him so he doesn't disturb the other kids. I notice that Clara is supposed to have a music lesson later on.

2:40 Music is finished, and the girls are fighting and running around like maniacs. I'm ready to be finished for the day, whether the kids have completed everything or not.

Here's a list of things we haven't done:

• Make more egg garlands (3 in total), and have Clara practice with a hole punch. We don't have a hole punch, so I'll skip that part. Maybe 3 eggs on the string will count (hopefully).
• Have Clara watch a slide presentation about birds building nests. There are questions for her to answer as well.Then she has to gather materials outside that a bird might use, and build her own nest. (This project can be done throughout the week).
• Have Clara watch a video about dinosaurs, and let her create her own.
• Lily needs to look at recipes (some given to her by the teacher, and find some in books at home) and answer some questions about what makes a recipe.
• All three kids have a rainbow art project to do.
• Miles has poem homework for Wednesday.
• Miles has a chapter of a book to listen to.
• Miles has to make a drawing to redesign the school garden.

It's now 3:30, and I have put on a movie for everyone. I need a glass of wine.

Stream of Consciousness - Coronavirus

I have more of our trip to Manchester to write about, but it feels a bit weird in the middle of a pandemic.

When we planned that February trip, we had originally wanted to go to London, but decided against it since it's one of the biggest tourist spots in the world. (I felt slightly paranoid at the time, because no one was altering travel in Europe yet).  Right before we left, we booked a pre-Easter trip to Rome and Naples, and days later, the outbreak in Northern Italy began. 

School has just been closed here, as of 2 days ago. Our school has been working extensively on setting up Google Classroom for the students, as we don't know when they'll get to go back. I've received several emails on how to access their work, and what time they need to log on to "meet" with the different classes. This all starts tomorrow, and though school will be understanding while we get used to this, I am nervous about keeping everything organized. I'm also nervous about being stuck in the house with the kids indefinitely. But I'm working on keeping my attitude positive, because I don't want my stress to rub off on the kids. Lily is already anxious about the whole situation.

So far we are all well. We can continue to do things like go for walks outside, we will just stay away from busy areas (not that many areas are busy these days). Matt still goes to work, but is on an adjusted schedule. We will keep busy with schoolwork, and we also bought a PS4 and subscribed to Disney+. There are loads of ideas floating around on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest on how to keep kids busy during this time, so if we get bored I will check them out.I'm also planning to start showing the kids videos about US history, so they can learn more about their background and culture.

This is by far the hardest time we've spent so far away from family. Even if we were in the US, we wouldn't be visiting everyone, but it's different to know that we can't get on a plane if there's an emergency.  The kids are really missing relatives, and I'm thankful for video chats.

Oh yeah, today is Mother's Day in the UK. Before school shut down, the kids drew and painted pictures for me. Lily brought a tulip home, and Clara made a bracelet. There is usually a Mother's Day assembly with the younger kids, but it was cancelled this year (hopefully just postponed - we'll see).

My portrait painted by Clara

Matt had to work, but the kids and I did go for a walk outside.

We passed by the park on the way home, and Lily desperately wanted to stop and play. There were a few families there, but I didn't feel comfortable stopping. It was difficult because she was upset, and I imagine there will be many more instances like that.

A near empty park on a sunny Sunday

For now I'll just focus on trying to help the kids with schoolwork and keeping myself busy. How are you all coping with everything so far? What is the hardest thing to deal with so far?

Holiday Season 2019

We had another busy December, with various school events, a trip, and a surprise visitor for the kids.

Here it is in a nutshell.

Clara was a Christmas cracker in her first school play, about decorating the tree. She delivered her line loud and clear, and did a wonderful job singing along with the songs.

Lily had her last performance in the Infants Christmas production, A Royal Christmas. She was a servant in the palace, and one of the narrators in the nativity.  She had all of her lines memorised, and did a fantastic job as usual.

Since Miles is now part of the Juniors classes (Year 3-6), he now participates in a carol service at a local church instead of a play. He read part of a poem this year. Matt went with him, and I stayed home with the girls because Lily wasn't feeling well.

I attended a live wreath making night at the school, with snacks and mulled wine. It was great fun, and I was happy with the wreath I made.

I hung it out back so I could see it

 
We also celebrated Lily's birthday. She had been asking and asking to have her ears pierced, so that was her gift from us. We took her to a tattoo/piercing shop, and she was very brave in the face of the big needle. She chose dinner at a great Greek place in town, which was much loved by all.

For Lily's party, we did a Harry Potter theme just like Miles had last year. We used the same cafe, and they did not disappoint. The games, crafts, and food were all very nice, and the children had lots of fun.

We squeezed in a couple of lunch dates and coffees with friends before school broke up.

I think this was Clara's favorite breakfast ever

Once school let out, the five of us took a quick trip (more to come on that), and when we returned, the kids were surprised by a visit from Uncle John! They were so excited to spend Christmas and Miles's birthday with him, and I think he was just as excited to see the kids. We were pretty boring during this visit, but sometimes it's nice to just relax.

Finally it was Christmas! I loved watching Clara open her gifts - she squealed with delight upon seeing each new thing. Miles and Lily were less excited, and need to work on being grateful, but they still had a great Christmas.

Coding

Namaste

 
We had a meat platter and cheese assortment for dinner, and on Boxing Day I prepared the big meal.

Betty's Christmas pudding, much better than the one we tried before

We had more relaxing time between Christmas and New Years, but we did take the new scooters out for a spin.

On Miles' birthday, we surprised the kids and Uncle John with a trip to the pantomime, followed by Miles' choice of lunch - McDonald's. Back at home, we had cake.

We said goodbye to Uncle John a couple of days later, which was hard for the kids. Now we're just trying to prepare for the return to school and our normal schedule. What a fun and exciting whirlwind!