I don’t know about you but when I was little, being a teacher was never a profession that I dreamed of for my future career. Fast Forward 37 years and here I am….HOMESCHOOLING!
I'm strangely calm. I'm not overly excited or anxious about what is happening in the world. I'm staying in my bubble and keeping my girls safe and healthy. We are spending LOTS of time together. I like my space. I'm working on creative projects. My career depends on people gathering, so for now, I’m supporting clients who I work with remotely and do more marketing services for and helping them cancel their events and help be a voice of reason and creativity as they try to dream up ways to continue on in business in a brand new way.
For me, this COVID-19 epidemic has really reminded me of 2012, when my daughter Cassidy was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and I was pretty sure the world was ending. Yet, here we are. I'm strangely calm because when your greatest fear hits you with a lightning bolt and comes true....you suddenly find freedom. My heart aches with every single human who all have a unique and different story of how the current circumstances in the world are affecting them.
I smile because I know that gifts come in the most uniquely disguised packaging and the stories, life lessons, faith and JOY that is going to show up here is going to be the stories told for years to come.
Because of Cassidy’s health condition, we made the decision to pull our girls out of public school before the schools in Saskatchewan were announced closed. Immediately, I went into Event Planning mode with my newest clients…my two daughters, Cassidy, 12 (Grade 6) and Lucia, 9 (Grade 3). The best part is…they are in French Immersion and my french begins and ends with ‘Oui Oui’!
I thought I would share some of the resources that we have been using to help inspire you as you creatively entertain your children over the coming days, weeks, months.
I created a Daily Schedule in Google Docs for each of them and Cassidy prefers her digitally, so I revise it every night for the following day for it to sync with her computer and Lucia prefers hers printed out so that she can check mark the things she has accomplished (She comes by the Type A, loving to check things off a list, honestly!) You can download the daily schedule here and revise it as you wish.
We have just been having a lot of fun and definitely not taking any of this too seriously. I’ve always believed that learning and life skills should be incorporated into everyday life so that kids can understand how to apply things to real life. Well, if being quarantined into our homes indefinitely isn’t real life, I don’t know what it!
A few ideas of things we have been exploring are:
SCIENCE
http://kids.canadashistory.ca/Kids/YoungCitizens
FRENCH
Tumblebooks: https://www.biblioenfants.com/BooksList.aspx?categoryID=67
Children’s Books Forever (Multiple Languages): https://childrensbooksforever.com/childrenpages/french
French Children’s Stories: https://www.thefrenchexperiment.com/stories
Kids French Books: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83Qz6QDA-nYrYpHZumhhWbSaT3XDy0AO
ART
Deep Space Sparkle (themed project ideas):
https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/category/seasons/spring-art/
Art Hub for Kids:
https://www.artforkidshub.com/
Disney Draw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv5qFYJNTbs&list=PLflf8xbnbx65Z2oa2F9uqKZxJJn-4Nynr
Noon hour drawings with Mo Willems
https://offspring.lifehacker.com/doodle-with-childrens-book-author-and-illustrator-mo-wi-1842376859
SOCIAL STUDIES
Virtual Field Trips:
https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/yell-mud-volcano-trails.htm
https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/yell-mammoth-hot-springs-trails.htm
https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam/
https://www.discoveryeducation.com/learn/tundra-connections/
https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china
MATH
Cool math games: https://www.coolmathgames.com
IXL Math: https://ca.ixl.com/math/
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/
Fun Brain: https://www.funbrain.com/
Math Playground: https://www.mathplayground.com/
Sheppard Software Math: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
That Quiz: https://www.thatquiz.org/
Toy Theatre Math Games: http://toytheater.com/
Xtra Math : https://xtramath.org/#/home/index
Study Ladder: https://www.studyladder.ca/?lc_set=
HOME EC
Lucia made the Best Brownies that lasted about 3 minutes before they were all gone! Cassidy has always loved baking and is challenging herself this week to try recipes that she hasn’t ever made before. Currently, she has a Sourdough Starter brewing from the Tastes of Lizzy T Blog and tomorrow it will be ready to use to make a fresh batch of Sourdough Bread. She also baked a layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting that she found on The Food Network blog today.
I’m not sure if you are hearing a theme, but I feel like there is a reason, Phys. Ed is the next topic I’m chatting with you about! The winter hibernation coat is not leaving anytime soon!
PHYS. ED
We have always loved Cosmic Kids Yoga and now more than ever, its a great way to get your Zen without having to leave your house! I have been struggling to have the energy to go outside and do my usual 4km walks but I really need to get back into the zone! Also, the girls have been pulling each other around in the sleds in the snow and playing Frozen. The options are really endless if you have a good imagination!
GAMES
Doubles Race to 100: https://shelleygrayteaching.com/doubles-race-to-100/?ck_subscriber_id=547131575
Target Number: https://shelleygrayteaching.com/target-number/?ck_subscriber_id=547131575
Salute: https://shelleygrayteaching.com/salute-a-great-math-fact-card-game/?ck_subscriber_id=547131575
READING & WRITING
Below are links to free Online Novels (PDF Format). You can read them and than write a journal response after reading each chapter or do a book report of your favourite part of the book once you’re done reading it.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Charlotte’s Web
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Stargirl
The One and Only Ivan
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Phantom Tollbooth
Stone Fox
Flora and Ulysses
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Wonder
Sarah, Plain and Tall
The Land of Stories: Wishing Spell
Shiloh
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Candy Smash
Matilda
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Because of Winn Dixie
The Wild Robot
Serafina and the Black Cloak
https://tinyurl.com/wgwmz33
Both of our kids’ teachers emailed so many amazing resources and I’ve also been following along my dear friend, Monique, who is a teacher, but has been teaching her own two kids from home for years and she might be the most creative human I know! Check out her blog A Pocket Full of Whimsy and get ready to be very INSPIRED!
I hope this helps you feel less overwhelmed and at the very least, able to tackle tomorrow! You’ve got this! I would LOVE to hear what you have been up to and working on at home to beat boredom with the kids!
Cheers to Celebrating Today!
