Today marks our first day of mandatory homeschooling; and while I’m sure this will not be “easy” by any means (the isolation, lack of socialization with friends, or being self-quarantined with a tornado toddler ?), I am so glad to know Grey is home safe with us. It also doesn’t feel like too big of a stretch given that we’ve been doing a lot of home learning pre-pandemic (working on Spanish, writing letters and reading a whole lot of books). The part I am mostly concerned about is keeping us to a schedule. Grey had a tough time adjusting to the transitions in his school setting, and I want to make sure I keep the continuity in our homeschool schedule so when he returns, it will be as seamless as possible ?. Here’s our game plan:

8:00am – Circle Time. Outline our schedule for the day ahead. Calm our energy and give space to share any feelings/ stories. Introduce the letter of the day.

8:15am – Work Books. We love this book for letters and words, as well as this book for numbers. It’s great to be able to easily wipe away the pages after use and let them go back to the spots where they need more practice. We’ll also use this time to work on simple math, as well as telling time.

8:45am – Music. This “class” might look a little different each day, but I know it’s one he will be excited about. Some days we might be blaring fun tunes on the Sonos speakers and having a karaoke dance party; while other days might be learning how to play Twinkle Twinkle on his piano. We also love Preschool Prodigies on YouTube!

9:15am – Outdoor Fun. We don’t do cabin fever very well so on days where it isn’t raining cats and dogs, we’re headed out! I’d like to vary this time between long walks around the neighborhood, visiting local parks if possible, practice riding his bike, flying kites on the beach (Costco has great kites near the Easter aisle) – all the good stuff. If the weather keeps us in, we’ll get some energy out in the bounce house downstairs.

11:00am – Spanish Class. For this class time, we’ll be devouring this workbook, these flashcards, and utilizing these incredible video tools to work on Grey’s Spanish. (This will be the only part of the day where my degree is put to good use ?).

11:30am – Lunch. I’m thinking this will be fun to change up when we can – picnic style on the deck, sandwiches in our homemade fort, setting up a “restaurant”, and dining first class on a plane to Belize (a girl can dream!).

Noon – Reading Time. Thankfully we just stocked up on a whole bundle of books at our local library. And when those are done, we have our tried & trues on deck. Have you read any of these?

12:30pm – Rest. At school they typically take an hour-long nap (if all the stars align to get twenty toddlers to sleep at once). But at home, Grey will usually take a two-hour siesta ?. If not, or if he wakes early, we’ll use this block to foster quiet time/ independent play.

2:30pm – Crafts/ STEM. This should be a nice transition from waking up and going into a quiet activity. Some days might be building magnatile towers, or winding train train tracks. Maybe a marble castle? We stocked up on these (fine motor skills!), this bundle, and this set too. We’ll also put on our paleontologist helmets to dig dinosaurs (the coolest!), and start growing a garden. I love following this on Pinterest to get fresh crafting inspo. Do you have any favorites?

3:00pm – Gym! Again, this one will be weather dependent but we’re both excited to get up and around and get our bodies moving. We have our yoga mats ready for chilly days, plan to do some fun obstacle courses outside when it’s warm, and ready to hone our jump rope and hula hoop skills.

4:00pm – Math (aka Baking). Whether we’re prepping for dinner, or whipping up a yummy treat, I’m going to have Grey assist with measuring, setting the timer, helping when it’s safe to, and cleaning up together. There are so many skills we can work on in the kitchen!

And a very important component to our homeschool situation will be continuing to foster empathy, hard work, and kindness by finding ways to help those around us. We plan to pack lunches and hygiene kits for the less fortunate people in our town. We will keep checking in with neighbors to see if we can support them in any way. And lastly, send letters and homemade goodness to our loved ones to let them know how much we care. Have any ideas to add? We would LOVE to hear them in the comments!

((image via Cassie Schott Photography))