Today marks the third week that my family has been on lock down due to the Corona Virus Pandemic. I am learning how to navigate this new, No regular schedule for me, No regular schedule for the youngins, lifestyle, and I am literally, ALL OVER THE PLACE. With two adult children, 22 and 20 years old, and three young children, 12, 9, and 2 years old, each day looks, sounds, and feels different from the last. Today will be the first day that my young children will begin online learning, through ZOOM meetings and Google classroom expectations, we will work on not losing the basic skills, reading, writing and arithmetic. I, Mama, will worry about the heavy stuff, you know HIStory (explaining how their great grandfather lived through the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic), science (how to light the stove with a lighter), Art (No! Painting on the walls does not count, SMH), Music (yes, you can say the cuss words but learn to turn that filter on when, or if you do return to school), and Technology (if Youtube is loud enough to interrupt my quiet time, I am turning it off).
In the meantime, take advantage of picking up a Chrome book if your child is in the San Diego Unified School District. Look in to all of the free courses that are being offered online, for both yourselves and your children. For example, I have found free drum lessons, sip and paints, and hip hop classes. Read your emails, schools are doing their best to distribute educational resources to provide our children with some sort of normalcy so take advantage.
You see none of us seen this coming and like Parenthood, we all have to navigate this newness, this Pandemic, the best way we know how. So for now, take a deep breath, lay down some basic, at home rules, and figure it out, with your children’s needs in mind. Have conversations, cook together, play outside, read books, and BREATHE!
Resources for parents:
Technology distribution sites and times
https://www.scribd.com/document/455038565/Alpha-Distribution-List-Final
Free Sip and Paint with artist @pinklomein_
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-f6ipuJqMZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
ST Math for youth
https://1155307.app.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=18703092&c=1155307&h=f72fbe75c9f5c6cf5987&_xt=.pdf
Corona Virus Information
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/coronavirus.html
