Katherine and Nathaniel are home 24/7. Like many kids around the country, they’re having to figure out how to occupy themselves–and, thankfully, help out around the house–while their parents get back to work. Sydney and I can largely confine our classes to different days of the week, but the work continues after we come home.
Our kids have both opted to be homeschooled this fall. Their arguments against remote learning were pretty strong, and they both committed to shouldering much of the responsibility for getting through their school work.
With the help of friends, we’ve equipped them with math and Spanish textbooks, and the kids have done well in making those subjects part of their daily rhythm. I’ve set both kids to reading and writing activities (based on books they were already reading), and Sydney’s informal logic workbooks just arrived in the mail (they have cartoons!).
We are jotting down fun and creative family activities we’d like to build in, but a big part of this fall effort is getting the kids to forge ahead with their own work even when their parents are too swamped to check their homework.
The kids have also slowly taken on more responsibilities at the farm and at home. Nathaniel is caring for the cats and chickens, and Katherine has stepped in to help with dishes and picking the tiny cherry tomatoes that are currently abundant at the farm. Both kids are also contributing to cooking: Katherine tends to prefer baking, and can be relied on for a good pan of cornbread, whereas Nathaniel’s signature dish is a big pan of roasted root vegetables. And we’re all making time to drop by the chicken coop in hopes of spying another egg, since the chickens just started laying this week.
Erin
Alan Schmierer