Our academic year ended three weeks ago after what felt like another year of drudgery. In fairness, within the year I got pregnant for the 5th time and during which, we tried to cover our curricula as much as we can so that we do not lag behind schedule as I expect to really slow down once the baby was born. Also, the boys did most of the work independently, but not before the was hormonal momma barked orders around. 

Some of the gems we found, and progress we made: thevirtualinstructor.com for art skills, Sitting Like a Saint by Greg Gotta do (a book on Catholic mindfulness for kids), Learning How to Learn course at Coursera, kayaking for M1, J3 unschooling herself and now she is [formal] Kindergarten-ready, rosary in Latin in the mornings, unsupervised use of power tools for M1, M2 progressing with violin lessons, M1 and M2 interest-led crafts (tiny robots, carton & styrofoam  battletanks & battleships in 3D, J4 potty-trained (at last!).

Yes, this time will be remembered in history as the year when the corona virus hit the world and had it on its knees. Friends said the kids were lucky because they were already homeschooling (indeed, in terms of education, we didn't have to fumble in the dark). But the thought that you couldn't go out felt like prison. The kids missed playing outside, and interacting with their friends in the neighborhood was severely restricted. So, for a time, for the sake of their mental health I let them out, with the constant reminder to do the precautions against Covid-19... physical distance of 1 meter between friends, wearing of mask, and hand washing. They play in the rain, and the mud with every rainfall. Every hug I get from them I cherish.