Back from Break – Pandemic Homeschool Diaries

{Well, this is annoying. While working on the blog last weekend, I noticed this post, which I wrote at the end of April. It was scheduled to publish May 1, but for due to some mysterious technical glitch, it didn’t. Well, I hate to waste a blog post after taking the time to write it. So here it is now. Sorry about that.}

Coming back from a remarkably slothful spring break, in the sixth week since the school buildings closed, we entered our fifth week of pandemic homeschool instruction. Nobody was particularly excited to get back to work, and for the most part we skated by on the minimum effort. But it wasn’t all drudgery. We did some interesting things.

Back to School

We lazed around during spring break, but the kids’ teachers obviously had not. They came back from break organized and prepared. Everyone seemed to be on the same page about coordinated schedules, and the number of regular, recurring online sessions jumped. There was more homework, with better defined expectations and deadlines. Teachers had stepped up their tech game, too. We saw video editing in YouTube lessons and recurring links to online class sessions. I still feel the need to supplement the work the kids are getting from school, but it definitely began to feel like I was supplementing the school instead of vice versa.

Supplementary Studies

For my fifth grader, the district has abandoned subjects outside of math, science, and literacy.  Fortunately, I found the Last Chance to Paint art unit, which my daughter didn’t quite finish during the first week back from break. For social studies, she has decided to opt in to her sister’s supplementary history unit and watch the Chinese drama Arsenal Military Academy (more on that later).

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It has led me to undertake what follows. When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn’t much) and as she put it in front of me she would say: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” How about, “A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away”? So…here we go: Sonnet 1.

A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew) on Mar 22, 2020 at 4:28pm PDT

Both girls are getting assignments from their English teachers. But in the spirit of Katie Nolan, I’ve decided my kids need a daily dose of Shakespeare to elevate their souls. Fortunately, Sir Patrick Stewart is here to help. He is reading a sonnet a day on Instagram. He’s way ahead of us, but this week we listened to the first five sonnets. After listening to his reading, we visit this website, which dedicates a page to each sonnet with the text, a summary of the meaning, and a glossary explaining all of the archaic terms. When we get a little further in, we will do a short research project to find out why Shakespeare was so concerned with convincing attractive young people (or a particular attractive young person) to breed.

Orthodontist

My fifth grader had an orthodontist appointment this week. But dental offices are closed so that PPE can go to emergency workers. So the orthodontist texted us instructions to photograph my daughter’s mouth. We texted the photos back to the office. Later that day, we got a message that she doesn’t need to change her wires yet, but does need to brush more carefully.

Covid Count

I ignored the data for a while, since it’s not like I can actually use it. But now talk is starting about reopening some things in a couple weeks. On Friday, April 25, King County had reported 5,863 confirmed cases and 408 deaths.