I haven’t given a Life Update since mid-July… but now that it’s September, it feels like the perfect time to do it again. The biggest change over here is… online school.
We had a form of online schooling in the Spring to finish out the year, but between March and June Jack had no in-person class time. All his schooling was asynchronous, meaning the teachers just uploaded a bunch of assignments that he had to complete and have me scan and upload. Much of the teaching of concepts fell on my shoulders, and I am NOT a teacher. It was super stressful and more than one day erupted into yelling or tears, or both.
This Fall, the school year is totally different with a mix of synchronous learning and asynchronous work. Here’s what Jack’s typical day looks like for 3rd grade:
| 9:30 – 11:30 am | STEM class, live instruction |
| 11:30 am | Complete STEM classwork |
| 11:40ish – 1:00 pm | Lunch/Recess Break |
| 1:00 – 1:25 pm | Specials, live instruction (PE, Media, Music, Art or Health) |
| 1:30 – 3:30 pm | ELA class, live instruction |
| 3:30 pm | Complete ELA classwork |
We’ve been following this schedule for almost 2 weeks now and it is actually working so much better for us. Jack knows when he has to be in front of the computer for class and I know when I have long periods of time where I can schedule my own phone or Zoom calls. Often the live instruction ends a bit early so that the teacher can split the class into small groups, which gives Jack time to complete his classwork before his next class (yay for no additional homework!).
Jack’s *mostly* independent when it comes to online learning, however he still needs my help with a few things at the start and end of each synchronous session. I’m hoping with more practice he can do more on his own. I also watch him submit his classwork once it is completed, to make sure that it is properly turned in (and that he will receive credit for it).
Both Jack and I tend to be ‘schedule’ people, so now that we’ve gotten into the routine of what a school day looks like, it’s SO MUCH easier on both of us. Typically, we wake up around 7:00 am, get dressed, eat breakfast, go for a 30-minute walk outside together and then he gets around an hour to hang out while I take a shower and start my own workday. Getting outside each day and taking a walk makes me feel a billion times better. At the end of each day, once he submits his last assignment and shuts the laptop… we have a “WE DID IT” dance party.
Oh, and I’m totally bribing my kid too. We knew that the first two weeks of online schooling would be the worst while we get used to a new schedule, so Travis and I decided that if Jack did the best he could and tried to be as independent as possible… we’d reward him with a new video game (Mario Odyssey to be specific). No shame in my mommy game and it’s totally worth it, mostly so he doesn’t complain the entire time we do our morning walk.
This new schedule is totally dependent on me working from home though. While I’ve been thankful that my office has had me teleworking since March, they have been talking about bringing us back into the office. Possibly in early October. Jack’s school has also been talking about switching to a hybrid format… in mid-October. So, while we are doing well with our current routine right now, it might all be blown back apart in a few weeks…
I feel like things are going better this school year for my daughter as well. We just picked up/dropped off packets of schoolwork in the spring, and I don’t know the she learned much of anything. I can’t really blame the teachers – they were thrown into this with no notice or plan! With the new school year, they can either go to class in person, or be a distance learner. We’re not ready for in person, so she’s home (as am I – working from home FTW!). I think they can do synchronous or asynchronous. She likes being able to sleep a little later and working at her own pace She’s 16, so she can handle everything by herself mostly, thank goodness. I just nod along when she checks in with me on a pre-calculus problem.
lol, I’ve been brushing up on my multiplication facts…
Maybe you could go to the office the days he is in school. That would be enough office time, right? Sounds good to me! If I were your boss, I’d let you do that. You could do any meetings on zoom, or by Skype. There you go. My bill is in the mail. Haha.
That’s what I’m hoping for!