Back-to-School 2020

Like most other aspects of 2020, back-to-school has been full of firsts. As I alluded to in a previous post, we have chosen to homeschool Oli. I'll be writing a lot more about that choice, curriculum, and our experience in the future, so for now I'll just say it's proven to very much have be the right choice for his unique learning pace and our family. 

The girls began grades 2 and 5 last week at our regular local school, which is 100% French. I'm often asked how our kids read so well in French and how they became bilingual, and I assure you, I had very little to do with it. The teachers and fellow students did it all! We simply sent them to French school. In Quebec this is the de facto option for most families though Canadian Anglophone families have the right to send their children to English school if they choose. We had the choice between English and French and we chose French. Though English schools have some French, they don't produce bilingual graduates (though I'm sure there are exceptions), and being fluent in French was very important to us. Brad and I both learned French in our 20's and it's been an uphill (though worthy!) journey, so we wanted to give our kids the chance to learn young. By being fully immersed in French education, the kids were all fluent in French by the beginning of grade 2, if not sooner. That said, all three are bilingual and Oli is still receiving a French education, albeit at home. 

For the girls, going back to school after six months off was very exciting and even Chloe, who sometimes hesitates about school, was thrilled to be back. I know schools everywhere are handling Covid-19 very differently, so I can only speak to our unique experience in Montreal when I say we feel very safe sending our girls back to public school. The rules at the girls' school are as follows:

• Students over 10 must wear a mask at all times, except in the classroom (during recess, when approaching and leaving school, in the hallways, in the bathrooms)
• Students under 10 do not need to wear a mask at all, though it is recommended - Chloe wears one
• Each classroom is considered a "bubble" meaning the group are exposed to one another's germs but no one else's. This means they're together in class, for gym, and at recess, and not exposed to other classes (the school yard is divided into separate areas for recess and classes don't do joint activities as they normally would)
• Parents must wear a mask for pick up and drop off
• Teachers wear masks everywhere except the classroom
• Borrowed books from the classroom are put in a "quarantine" for several days before they're lent out again
• Students no longer change for gym class, so on gym days they're asked to wear athletic clothing and shoes
• Water fountains are no longer in use, so students bring water bottles (most already did)
• Students must eat lunch at their desk, which is 2 metres away from every other desk. Our girls eat lunch at home every day, which is new this year.

I won't lie, sending them to school on the first day clad in masks felt surreal and a bit unnerving, but two weeks in and it's completely normal to us. I think as adults we find it more upsetting than kids because we have 30 or 40 years of experience without wearing a mask, but I've found our kids have been incredibly resilient and that seems to be the general vibe at school too. Masks have become a cute accessory. Every kid carries extras in their backpacks and it's become a fun activity to choose what mask the girls will wear each day (we have quite a collection now - some from small businesses, others from big box stores) If your child hasn't started school yet, you'll just have to trust me, it does begin to feel normal. Kids are highly adaptable and the teachers are doing an incredible job to make the classroom a comforting and calming environment despite the new rules. 

In all, it's felt very different this year, but that back-to-school excitement is still a real thing and the pandemic hasn't blunted it. Kids are still making friends, learning to read, and dividing fractions. Teachers are still connecting with students, working their magic, and establishing a classroom ethos. As parents, I think it's on us to carefully communicate our hesitations or frustrations in this season, because our kids really will be fine, though they're definitely shaped by our narrative. I'll admit I didn't do the best job of this during distance learning in the Spring, but I'm determined to do better this Autumn. Of course it's early days and the girls haven't even had any homework yet, but we're all feeling quite good about this school year :)

Summer Learning Bundle!

By now I know we're all *quite* over distance education, endless zoom calls, and makeshift homeschooling. I've learned so much by homeschooling through a pandemic, but I can't wait to shift to a more relaxed and natural style of teaching my kids through the summer months. 

I've written before about summer learning loss, and teachers assure me (as well as overwhelming research) that kids lose acquired knowledge over the summer months if they aren't mentally stimulated. I discovered this Summer Learning Bundle and wanted to share it with you, as we'll be using it this summer to encourage curiosity and learning. It involves poetry, nature journals, crafts, literacy and math boosting games, and so much more. 

This certainly does not look like homeschooling all summer (can I get a NO THANK YOU!?) but it involves incorporating words, numbers, language, and critical thinking into the relaxing summer days when you can. I have no schedule in the summer - we follow the sun and are often out of the house from breakfast until bedtime, so if you're picturing us around the table studying all summer, trust me that's NOT what I have in mind here! I always pack some books, spare paper and pencils in my backpack when we set out, and I'll definitely be printing a few sheets from the bundle each time.

There are resources from 30 different contributors from all over the world and it's valued at $500, but this week it's going for $25! It's only available for one week so if you're interested make sure you grab it by Sunday, June 21! 

full disclosure: I received a free copy of the Summer Learning Bundle to test out. All opinions are 100% my own.

What I've Learned Homeschooling in a Pandemic

If you'd asked me before March 12th what I'd rather avoid, homeschooling might have topped living through a pandemic. At the very least, both ideas gave a similarly negative notion. From the beginning of my parenting journey, which is approaching a decade, I've felt passionate about our family being active members in the community, and teaching this value to our children early on, beginning with public education.

Before COVID-19, all three of our kids were in public schools in Montreal (to my European friends, this means free, government-funded); our girls were in grades one and four at our neighbourhood catchment school, and our son was in grade two at a "gifted" school a couple of neighbourhoods away. There we befriended the neighbourhood kids, teachers and parents. We invited teachers over for lunch, got to know dozens of families, and had friendships go from saying "bonjour!" at school drop off to crying together over the death of a parent or being the last ones in a restaraunt nearing midnight. 

Long story short, we love our local school! We love that our neighbours all send their children there, and that most of the teachers also live locally. We've spent hundreds of hours as classroom volunteers, field trip parents, and special guests in the classrooms of our kids and have placed a very high value on our own friendships with fellow school parents. These are our people and we love them and this is exactly the place where we see our children and our family. 

Had the pandemic not have forced our hand, we would not have homeschooled our children, but still, I'm grateful for the opportunity. I understand that homeschooling in a pandemic is different in many ways than regular homeschooling - the confinement being the largest aspect - but what I have learned during this season will stay with me as a parent and has informed future decisions. 

photo by @camdgenereux

We typically start homeschooling right after breakfast and I teach for one to two hours per child. Some days this can happen simultaneously, which makes our "school day" really short and sweet. Other days, it's a six hour day of running frantically from child to child constantly reorienting myself between subject matter and learning style. 

The learning curve was incredibly steep at first, I don't mind admitting. I love change and yet also have a knack for structure so I welcomed the new season of homeschooling and quickly formed a routine. That first week was exciting and fairly smooth with all of us enjoying it. The seamless bliss was not to last, however. The second week I began to doubt myself and felt a lot of anxiety with three different teachers (at two different schools) e-mailing countless documents of ideas, suggestions, and instructions. There were more resources available than we could ever get through or benefit from, and sifting through it all was a very unpleasant task. Here in Quebec, homeschooling has technically been called "optional" during the confinement, yet the teachers have been sending countless documents, websites, apps, and new platforms for learning almost daily. I had to decipher what was necessary (numbers, words, and in our case, the French language) between what was optional (class Zoom meetings, interactive projects and activities) and then choose what I would prioritize for my three students. It was overwhelming.

On week three, I think I hit my groove, at least for a while (remember Brad and I's parenting motto? Nothing is too good, or too bad, for too long!) I'll share more specifics about our homeschooling days in another post, but briefly, I found a schedule that worked best for us (homeschooling from after breakfast until lunch, with the afternoon free for physical activities and reading) and narrowed in on what I wanted my kids to work on academically during this season. I bought some math workbooks online for the kids and have made up reading and writing projects for my older two, and focused on fluidity and ease in reading French with Chloe. 

What I've loved the most about homeschooling is the simplicity of schedule and quality time together. We are always intentional about our kids not being over-scheduled, and yet still life seems chaotic most days because of the school schedule. The girls leave the house at 8:10am for school, then I drive thirty minutes to Oli's school, drop him off, and drive 30 minutes home. In a few hours, the girls come home for lunch and an hour, then return. At 3:30pm I'm driving another thirty minutes to pick up Oli while the girls walk home to Brad. Oli and I are home at 4:30pm and then everyone does homework, most days until supper. Then it's the race to have time together, take showers and baths, and get to bed early enough so the early wake up isn't too painful. Educating them at home is so peaceful, so much less hurry and stress, and we're always together. 

Sounds glorious right? But that last bit about always being together can certainly fall into the category of challenges too. Having my three, who are so close in age, all home together means I'm not worried about "social interaction" one bit. It's not safe right now for them to play with their friends and none of them are really interested in Zoom calls, but the constant togetherness can pose challenges. I also find it hard to teach my kids things I'm not passionate about. All parents are teachers from day one, but the lessons and habits we instill in our children usually matter a great deal to us. We care about their character, their behaviour, and their worldviews. I also care a great deal about literature, so I love teaching them to read and helping them find books they'll love and characters they'll identify with. Am I passionate about science and math? Not so much. Thankfully Brad really loves those subjects, so when he's able to take a short break from work he'll often pop in and offer a lesson on electricity or fractions. But what if he weren't available, or neither of us were capable to teach those subjects well? Homeschooling is tricky in that respect. Thankfully at grades 1 and 4, and a gifted grade 2 (which is closer to grade 5), I can still handle their subjects and provide them with satisfactory teaching and help. Daily I think about how blessed we are to have kids in these fairly early grades during the Pandemic. They're old enough to learn independently (most of the time!) and young enough that if this semester doesn't go so well, they'll have plenty of time to bounce back from our mistakes! 

To close, I'll just add that I know it's a significant privilege that I've been able to be homeschooling my kids during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Though I do still take on some work from home, I've been able to be home with my kids and invest in their learning. We've had the money to buy extra school supplies and my mental health is strong enough to deal with the daily changing realities while teaching three grades. I know this is an enormous blessing and not one that every family has, and I'm thankful. I have made many mistakes, and most days I feel I've failed my kids in some way, but there have been more opportunities to invest in my kids' character and their relationships with one another than I ever could have dreamed. 

Back when I had a newborn, a two year old and a three year old, I was just surviving. We had two years of all three kids at home before Lily started Kindergarten at age five, and most of those years were a blur. These days homeschooling in a Pandemic have felt like a gift, and in some ways, like I'm getting back those years that felt lost, when we were all together but I was so dead tired I didn't enjoy them as much as I wish.  This season at home has been precious and I'm sure the sibling relationships of my kids are stronger for it, we're more connected as a family because of it, and I'm enjoying motherhood and homemaking more than ever as a direct result. The schools are set to open one week from today but remain optional as social distancing will be in full effect for the rest of the school year. We decided easily to keep them at home for the remainder of the school year, because though hard, it's been that lovely. I long for normalcy to return but I know I will grieve the end of this wild and unique season when it's over.