When we first found out the schools wouldn’t reopen this year, I remember wondering if we would just keep homeschooling through the summer to make up for the inefficiency of distance learning. The state eventually decided to offer summer school as a remedial option. But by that time, I couldn’t wait for summer break. With only two weeks in the school year, we were seriously running out of homeschool steam, and instead of academics, my biggest concern was throwing a socially distant sweet sixteen birthday party.
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ByGD
Lionhead Messi
When my daughter got our first pet lionhead rabbit, she was on a soccer team. She named the messy little animal after the famous soccer player, Lionel Messi. Back when we still thought rabbits could be fun, we tried to find ways to play with Lionhead Messi. The moment captured in the photo is the only time that Messi approached a soccer ball – or any other offered toy. It’s as close as he ever came to living up to the name Messi – or, for that matter, the name pet.
ByGD
Pandemic Homeschool Diaries – Running Starts and Wrap Ups
It has been ten weeks since the schools closed, and all talk of establishing a “new normal” has died down, replaced the daily grind of normal pandemic homeschooling. I didn’t even have anything new to write about last week as we just keep on truckin – in place. This week, though, I’m starting to get some end of the school year vibes as some things start wrapping up and planning for next year gets started.
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ByGD
How to Write a Story
When my daughter was in the first grade, her teacher used this worksheet to teach them story structure. Never mind that I never had a lesson in story structure in any grade. Even studying story as an adult, this is still one of the most efficient ways to diagram a narrative that I’ve seen. I’ve hung onto the worksheet because I think it’s useful.
ByGD
The Bergen Farmers’ Market
We woke up early on Saturday morning in Bergen. Our entire Norway itinerary had been shaped around getting my daughter to the weekend family art workshops in the Children’s Art Museum at KODE. But first, we had to find breakfast. And in Bergen, that turned out to be harder than we expected, but in the search, we discovered another Bergen treasure, the Farmers’ Market.
