Once again it has been a while since I've written here. As you can see, there is a new baby at our house. Here is JP, almost two months old, on the day before the first day of Spring. It was about two degrees Celcius, and I wasn't sure how he was going to like it. Aside from a bit of gasping when the light breeze took his breath away, he really enjoyed every moment.
I just finished having a Facebook "watch party" with my Schole group. So many organizations have been offering free online resources this week as we all practice social distancing and/or isolation. We watched one of Wes Callihan's videos from Roman Roads Media, and had a video chat afterwards. It felt good to get together, even if it was only virtually.
We've been homeschooling at half power for several months now, first because of home renovations, and then because of the new baby. I've really been feeling the value of morning time, as that has been our constant, no matter what happens. Every single day, I've been reading aloud (and requiring narration from) a rotation of books: Pilgrim's Progress, The Odyssey, Until the Day Breaks (a biography of Lilias Trotter), and The Mystery of the Periodic Table. Then we review hymns and Scripture memory work/recitation in our "memory binders". Then I read the Bible, and the children narrate. We've been reading through Ezra and Nehemiah, alternating with Genesis a couple days a week using Ruth Beechick's Genesis: Finding Our Roots. (I use this book eclectically, picking and choosing things to share with the boys, or to spark discussion.) The boys also do math, and a few readings and narrations each day. This is all I seem to have time for with a newborn. I know it's a season, and we'll come back to full power again some day soon-ish.
While PEI is encouraging almost everything to shut down to try to "flatten the curve" of the coronavirus, there hasn't been a huge change in our daily lives yet. I had already been staying home most of the time, and the half-time homeschooling is going on as it was before. I have been very tempted by all the free resources that are being made available for the families who suddenly find themselves home together. For the most part I have decided to simply stay the course. Our lives are already full, and we'd have to take something out to add something in. Also, the lovely resources all seem to involve more screen time, of which the boys have enough already. (They have 20 minutes each after 4:00 every week day, except for summertime.) One thing I am considering: introducing the boys to the opera using the free streaming from The Metropolitan Opera House. However, since I'm not familiar with opera myself I will need to research which one would be best for children. I'm also considering a fitness app which is offering two free weeks. And lastly, audible is offering an impressive array of free children's audiobooks, and I will try very hard to squeeze some of those in if I can.
