Gearing Up For Online Schooling

School is just around the corner! In true Covid-19 fashion, we will be starting online at home. 

I went back and forth for a long time deciding whether I was going to home school the kids myself or follow whatever program our school offered.  Ultimately we decided to follow whatever the school wound up doing. Spring time wasn't the most fun, but we managed and the kids did really well with the distance learning. Also, they really want to be back in class, and I know eventually that'll happen this school year, so I didn't want to take that away from them. 

.....And to be completely honest, having the kids home 24/7 was hard and incredibly taxing. It was just a lot for 1 person to take on 3 kids and all their schooling. Yes, we survived, but there were some causalities along the way. I got zero of my own work done and fell behind, I got extremely tired of playing referee and turned into a bear of a Mama, and my health issues left me without the energy to be as present for them as I'd have like. That left me feeling defeated and completely inadequate. Yes, I love my children, and yes, I love spending time with them. But as kids do, they bicker, they procrastinate, they don't listen, and so on and so forth. You know, normal kid stuff.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week of constant with no end in sight is some rough stuff. 

So distance learning it is. Because eventually they will be able to go back to school. And that's what everyone in this household wants. 

This past Wednesday we met with all their teachers and checked out chrome books and other text books. Having those meetings reaffirmed to me that we made the right decision for our family. I love the teachers, the kids love the teachers, we all feel comfortable talking with each other, and I'm confident that the kids will receive good instruction from them via online. It might not be easy, and we might not like absolutely every aspect of distance learning, but we are prepared to make it work until the kids can actually be back in the class room. 

In the spirit of preparing for school, we got the kids desks! 

I scored Timothy's at a garage sale 2 weeks back. It was a mess. I peeled the top wood off, sanded all over, and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Sammy even sanded the inside, which was pretty rough and rusty. The result is a beautiful desk that Timothy is excited to learn at! I even fit all of his books and such inside the desk. He is pretty pleased with the end result. 

We ordered Anthony and Molly wall mounted desks off of Amazon for their bedrooms. We were happy to have them arrive a few days earlier than expected, so we already have them hung and ready! I had a fun time picking out items to decorate their desk with. I got Molly a cute little knitted cactus set, and Anthony a fun Spongebob pencil holder. I love that the desk has cubbies and the actual desk part folds up and closes when not in use. The desks fit perfectly in their bedrooms! I think having their own space to log onto school and do their work will help them stay focused and work better. I'm looking forward to seeing how well this works out. 

Some simple "getting to know you" assignments have already rolled in for them, and they've been completed and uploaded, but school doesn't officially start until Tuesday the 8th. 

I'm looking forward to taking their back to school photos sometime soon. 

Wish us luck for a successful start to the 2020-2021 school year!

With love,                                                                                                          Mama Hauck