The year of the pandemic

 This should have been posted before school started, but here we are on our 3rd trimester.  Just for documentation:  I've added two things to help manage our homeschooling life. 

1) An organizer system. Made a box each for M1, M2, an J3 (unschooled last year, but now had to do a more formal Kindergarten) where they obviously keep their books and notebooks.  A space of their own, pretty simple.  Things still get lost, and pens vanish in thin air, but there's some improvement-- the boxes continue to be in use. 

2) I just want to keep the kids together, and spend time with all of them before they go work independently, hence, the "morning time".  We start with praying the Rosary (Mon to Thurs)/ Divine Mercy chaplet on Fridays/ St. Michael chaplet on Saturdays, and almost daily read up a Saint story. Then depending on the day, we read stories on virtue/character, Bible study, poetry, Filipino stories, classic literature, or do picture study. This morning time thing is specially helpful with a infant, and her ever changing needs as she reaches different stages and milestones. It has been like a... lighthouse. 

The rest of the "study time", the boys work independently on their Math/Science/Literature/Writing/Social Studies/Religion... depending on the day. Electives are Art, Music, Genius hour (where they pursue whatever interests them).

Writing has, and continues to be an area of struggle for the boys, especially M1, so I've invested on IEW. So like most of the world during the pandemic, they are also doing their learning by video streaming.  They're in fashion like that. (Seriously, though, I would highly recommend to most parents to explore homeschooling as there is such a huge difference from online/distance learning, where, as I understand, kids spend hours and hours staring at the screen.  If sitting in a class can be hard enough, how much more in that kind of set-up? Makes me wonder how much learning is really happening for most of the students?)

The boys are now also using Google and YouTube for their research.  Layers of filters in place, and enforcement of screentime.  Also subscribed to Epic!  With more kids reading, an ebook subscription platform can come in handy, and is cheaper. It's a techie-er year.  

Okay, it all seems like it's regular schedule.  It has been a blessing that we do not have to suffer such drastic change, school-wise, when the pandemic reached our shores.   But we do miss traveling-- visiting relatives, seeing other places, field trips, moving around in the city, and the kids miss their friends from the neighborhood, too.  I'm thankful for the wide open spaces in the village, and the 5 of them having each other for playmates.  It lightens the burden the of living through a pandemic.  If there's anything that we have to learn, it's to focus our energies on things that matter-- relationship, building up ourselves to be good people, and matters of faith and all things eternal.