Dear Moms,
I AM BAAAAAAAAACK!!!!
That's right folks- I have returned to the land of the living- well, I was always alive so.... maybe just the land of the writing? Anywho, I am back and in the swing of things again. I have truly missed creating content for you all and being able to vent my thoughts and feelings in such a cathartic way. I have been gone for around three years and it feels like I never left now that I am here typing my thoughts at a million miles a minute. Okay, I'm being overly dramatic- it's probably at 70 words per minute. You all know how much I love to embellish and be EXTRA! 😂
Speaking of that emoji I just dropped- we're NOT allowed to use it anymore? Okay- we CAN, but I'm pretty sure that your kid or kids have called you a boomer because of your usage of it. Apparently, only the "old folks" use that emoji. The cool kids use the skull emoji to imply that one has died laughing, or the crying emoji as in they are just distraught with the hilarity of the situation. They also said that old people part their hair on the side... McScuse me?! I LOVE MY SIDE PART!! That is where I draw the proverbial line. I was okay with the idea of the emoji shift, but don't touch my part. Period. There were some other things that I know I actually do as well and I can't tell you what they were because, well- it's not because I don't want to... it's basically because I'm getting older and I simply can't remember them.
I have also been homeschooling the kids for the last three years and we have been having a blast. No, seriously we have been enjoying it. Just last week the kids and I spoke about just how much we have accomplished in this school year. I have used a combo of methods to educate my children. We began a lot like most families do when they begin their homeschool journey- trying to stick with the curriculum and structure of the traditional school day. We crammed science, Spanish, and geography in from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. when the kids would break for lunch. Then, they would do art from 11:30 a.m. until 12:45 when we would do assigned reading and get spelling words for the week and assignments to correspond with them until 2:30 p.m. I created PowerPoint presentations for the lectures I created for them. I was teaching one elementary school student, one middle school student, and two high school kids together. There was a lot of "uplearning" for my elementary and middle school kids. (uplearning is when you teach the curriculum of a higher grade level to those established at a lower grade level.) You guys, I was swamped in research, presentation creation, as well as citing my sources. I was already in school earning my associate degree in Graphic Design, and I was becoming overwhelmed with all I was doing at the same time. I was looking for a way out and was beginning to feel guilty for stopping what I had wanted for my kids' education for so many years simply because it was inconvenient at the moment.
This system lasted for a solid year and a half until, COVID. I was about to enroll the kids in public school when we went on lockdown, and that idea went out the window! So, I was back to my own devices to figure out what was the best route to take with regard to keeping them on track. I did a little digging and I found Varsity Tutors. This service offers a wide range of services from one on one tutoring, test prep, and even online assessments to ensure the kids' development is within range of state requirements. They also began offering live online group courses at the height of the pandemic which was supes helpful since I was in the process of making the kids do assessments to see where they stood academically. They offer a number of paid and free classes, some are even taught by famous experts from NASA and other cool places like that. (Y'all, I was just checking to make sure I wasn't ruining their little minds over that past year and a half...don't tell nobody.) I also began using education.com as well. They offer free printables and lesson plans in lots of subjects for grades k-5. This site was helpful when I decided to actually separate Sophia (my baby- 11) from the group to do her own grade-level work. I also began using Shaw Academy for the kids to earn globally recognized career diplomas. They have a wide range of specialties and earning one or more can be a great addition to those college apps for your high school students.
I have lots more to recap with you all, but I have been working on this post for about two hours (cuz I'm the MOM and I keep getting interrupted!) and well, time is marching on and I have tons of things to handle before I go to bed. Until next time, Mamas- keep calm and be a crazy mom!
Comments
Post a Comment