Virtual Learning

 It’s Tuesday, our fifth day of the new reality: “virtual learning,” which means the kids are home with us, logging in to an online platform and doing all their schoolwork through the internet, essentially.

Let me back up a little...

Spring break seemed never to end, since school was cancelled while we were on break in March. The kids did some “online school” then, but it was just a handful of educational assignments uploaded by their teachers for them to complete if they could. There was rarely any face time with the teacher or students, and the kids went by my schedule as far as the way their day was structured.

Over the summer, rumors abounded and the plan for fall school reopening changed daily. Our district announced plans for a “Virtual Academy,” in which regular classroom teachers would be teaching fully online classes. Students had to apply and commit to attend this way for at least the fall semester. Otherwise, they could return to school in person but with lots of new protocols in place. Chris and I prayed and researched and agonized over the choice, and finally decided we felt best about Virtual Academy. Our good friends from church who recently moved out here by us, becoming our carpool and school bus buddies, weren’t sure what they would do. Chris urged me to offer our house for Scarlett and Oliver, since their parents work and we know they are respectful, obedient kids who would be great classmates and playmates for our kids. Scarlett is in 7th grade, starting middle school; Noah is in 6th grade now at the same intermediate school; and Audrey and Oliver are in 3rd and 2nd grades, both still in elementary school.

As it turned out, the entire district delayed in-person school by three weeks, so everyone would be starting virtually. We were fortunate to have gotten a head start on getting the technology in place that we needed. The district provided chromebooks or iPads to anyone needing them, but the way they organized the pick-up for devices was such a nightmare that it made the local news. Fortunately, Chris got my iMac and Noah’s iMac (a hand-me-down from Mamie) in good shape and all set up for virtual learning. We ordered Bluetooth headphones with built-in microphones, and Scarlett and Oliver’s parents did the same. 

The first day of school, the elementary kids logged on at 8:00. Tanya and I were bouncing back and forth, helping connect the headphones, mute the microphone, showing them where to “chat” (type), opening the different apps the teachers would use for assignments. At 8:30, Noah logged on to his first class and it was more of the same, then Scarlett at 8:45. The younger two kids have one teacher throughout their day while the older two follow a typical middle-school schedule with class changes, so they have to know which class to login to at which time. You can imagine how exhausted and frazzled we all were after that first day! I was so grateful Tanya stayed to help me for the first half of the day!

Keeping four kids on track is no joke!

We can keep an eye on the “school room” with our security camera 

River kept Oliver company on day 2

Days two and three went better. The kids started to familiarize themselves with TEAMS (the way they check in to class—they are on camera along with everyone else in the class and the teacher). We are all getting good at troubleshooting technical issues that arise, and learning to be patient with internet challenges, too. We also implemented more things to help our day go smoother.

Walkie talkies so the kids can call me when I’m downstairs

End-of-day reminders and white boards for notes

A digital clock, Kleenex and hand sanitizer!

Several timers so the kids keep track of their break times

Tanya found stacking cubbies for all the kids’ devices and supplies.
You can see one of our little charging stations with all the USB chargers!

Sometimes, snuggling a kitten is a necessity

The kids get breaks throughout the day, some longer than others. Oliver and Audrey love to play together when their breaks coincide!

The kitten favorite "Harry Potter," seen here in the stroller, will soon belong to Scarlett and Oliver!

Today for PE they watched a video about a cup stacking champion and were challenged to try it themselves!

All in all, the routine of school is setting in and I am pretty optimistic about the next few months. There are several drawbacks, of course. Scarlett asked me yesterday, “How are we supposed to make friends this year?” and I really didn’t have a great answer for that. It’s not ideal and I don’t want to do it permanently, but I am finding lots of positives. The kids are becoming extremely computer literate. They are gaining time management skills and are being pushed to be more independently responsible by listening to instructions and completing assignments without someone looking over their shoulder. They enjoy their little breaks to eat a snack or shoot some hoops throughout the day, and they like the immediate reward of being finished with class as soon as they have completed the required activities. We have found time to do a quick devotional and prayer before the day starts, and it's great to see the older ones helping the younger ones. Additionally, Audrey's teacher is someone she already knew from her school--in fact, she was a student teacher in Audrey's kindergarten class! Audrey knows almost all of her classmates. Oliver's teacher this year is the one Audrey had last year! That is the unique thing about the way our district is approaching the virtual academy--they asked teachers to apply to teach online full-time if they wanted to, so most teachers are familiar faces. We don't know how it will work next semester, but like we've learned during this global pandemic... don't make too many plans. Just take it a day at a time and make the most of it!