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A resource for families in Santa Cruz County
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Re-evaluating our family lifestyles...
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With this paradigm shift in lifestyle, we have a great opportunity to assess our values, to keep family first and strong, sharing tasks, meals, movies, finding the balance of togetherness with space & time alone, getting outside, helping a neighbor, finding the humor
AND to joining more intimately in our children's educations.
Have a creative and bountiful weekend with your family,
Parmalee
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Local heroes abound. T
eachers, schools and parents have swiftly rallied, innovated and adapted to the big educational shift caused by the pandemic.
Teachers:
"It has been exhilarating and exhausting" and "I love teaching this way, although I miss my young friends" and "Nothing like building the plane while it's flying."
Parents:
"We're developing new routines, trying to find a balance, make it work together"and "I have new respect for teachers."
Yvette Contois, owner and art teacher (pictured above) at
The Art Factory
, invited me to experience one of her virtual art classes using
Zoom.
After fumbling around with the technology, I made it "in" and was impressed with how she kept the lesson moving along, managed the technology. and engaged the children. The children were at ease as if they had always done distance learning. Yvette was able to teach several concepts while giving individual attention to each child's efforts. Well done!
Christy Hutton, Head of
Kirby School
,
grades 6-12 shared,
"In preparation for distance learning, some Kirby faculty imagined the possibilities of integrating the home environment into the curriculum and using common household objects in lessons. Others considered kits which would be sent home with students to engage in work that doesn't necessitate a screen.
Thinking about different modes of instruction and their intended outcomes has infused the spirit of collaboration and innovation into our community. Above all else, our teachers and student leadership are leaning into the task of creating community in a time of potential isolation and ensuring that students feel connected and cared for in the coming weeks. We are using new tools like
Zoom
,
EdPuzzle
and
Google Hangouts
to create digital learning spaces, all connected through our Learning Management System,
Powerschool Learning.
Our program rests heavily on faculty-student relationships, so we have embraced the opportunity to expand the dimensions that we use to interact and understand one another.
It is also important to note that schools--public and private alike--are collaborating with one another at an unprecedented level. We are all working together to look out for our shared community of children."
Gateway School
, K-8, is using the Google platform:
Google Classrooms,
Google HangOuts
, and
Google Meet
as well as email and live videos. We have just begun to use distance learning to deliver our curriculum and are confident that it will provide our students and families with the excellent education for which Gateway School is known.
"At Mount Madonna School (MMS) , middle and high school teachers are using web-based tools including
Zoom
,
Loom
, videos and
Google Classroom
, in addition to our regular homework website and other tech tools," commented MMS Head of School Supriya Mary McDonald.
"Our elementary teachers are emailing work packets and assignments, calling parents to check in twice a week and having students regularly use ST Math and other online learning programs. All of our teachers are learning new techniques and tools alongside our students. We don't expect that the learning will be the same hands-on experience, but
extraordinary times call for extraordinary action.
We are committed to staying connected to our students and families, and providing both educational and emotional support as best we can."
From Kirby students:
"We are doing great and today is Online Spirit "Sandwich" Day -- our student leadership is holding these and we are all sending in pictures of our sandwiches in hopes of having the best looking lunch! From our Student Council President, Liza Gull: "Online spirit days keep the community involved, and help people not feel isolated at home. It’s great to have my email inbox flooded with photos of teachers in their PJ’s and students’ pets! I personally am super excited for “Sandwich Day” and plan on making my fantastic brioche grilled cheese."
Well done Santa Cruz County Schools, Teachers and Families!
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These short and simple how-to videos are easily accessible via
YouTube
and will help:
- New users get basic Zoom questions answered quickly
- Seasoned users hone their skills and learn new features
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Suki: Temporary Homeschooling Tips from the World's Most Reluctant Homeschooler!
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12 years ago, I came home from my younger child’s kindergarten in distress. It was clear that his developmental issues were making it impossible for him to learn in a classroom setting.
I suddenly became the world’s most reluctant homeschooler.
That experience forced me to get creative—just like millions of parents around the US are suddenly being forced to get creative due to quarantines and school closures.
You may not be in a position to become a homeschooler full-time, but here are some tips for ways that you can keep your kids—and you—from going insane in the short term.
Cure your nature deficit
Have you heard of
Nature Deficit Disorder? It’s a thing. It’s one of the underlying issues in modern kids’ behavioral problems. It’s easily curable:
Go outside. Outside is a great place to be during an epidemic, as long as your family has not been quarantined due to an active infection. And even if you don’t live near actual nature, a walk on city streets gets your kids out in the natural light.
Raining? Snowing? Humans are resilient. Our bodies do fine anywhere from the edge of the Arctic to the rainforest. Put on gear, go out, get muddy, get ridiculous.
Afraid of making too much laundry? What else do you have to do?
Gamify!
Kids’ brains are wired for learning and investigation. The reason they like those video games so much is that they are engineered to take advantage of kids’ natural inclinations.
You can do it, too. Make everything you do into a ridiculous game. Have to walk somewhere because you can’t take public transit? Invent a contest for the funniest walk. Stuck in a two-level condo with energetic kids? Invent a game that involves going up and down the stairs…a lot.
Treasure hunt
There is nothing kids like more than a treasure hunt. Not convinced? Try it. If you’re not stuck inside, do a treasure hunt in your neighborhood: make a list of things they need to find. If you don’t want them to touch anything, give them a device and have them take photos. Kids are like little seeking machines—once they get into it, they’ll wear you out before they’re done. (If you’re stuck inside, hide small items like marbles around the house and give the kids buckets!)
Counting
This was often a last-ditch resort of mine, trying to keep a high-energy kid focused so we could get things done or get somewhere we needed to go. Ask them to count. How many telephone poles are there on our street? How many squirrels can you see in the next ten minutes? (Set a timer—timers are great motivation for kids.) Let’s find all the prime numbers up to a hundred.
A change of paradigm
What I tell new homeschoolers is that their new educational path is not a change of schools, it’s a change of paradigm. Your entire life shifts when you are suddenly at home with people you used to send off to school.
We’re all stuck in this new paradigm, for a while at least. Rather than fighting it, I suggest you embrace it. As the mother of one kid in college and another about to leave, I will tell you that these years go fast.
You might even create some fun memories during this time of stress and uncertainty.
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Homeschool Mama to Temporary Homeschooler
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Silo and Sage
To the mama whose kids are suddenly home for weeks, from a homeschool mama... I know this wasn’t in your plan. It’s inconvenient and a bit overwhelming. For some, it’s an incredible hardship. So here’s my advice, from one homeschool mom to another (temporary) one:
⠀
👉🏻 You don’t have to recreate school in your house. Desks and tables are never mandatory in homeschool... in fact, we tend to opt for sitting upside down on a couch or under a tree or even in bed.
⠀
👉🏻 Read everyday. Read to your kids, with your kids, listen to them read. Read comics and picture books and that book you loved when you were a kid. And when you need some time to yourself, turn on an audiobook - those count too.
⠀
👉🏻 Play. Play board games and card games. Play hide and seek and basketball in the driveway. Pull out the wii that is gathering dust and go bowling in your living room. Have LEGO competitions.
⠀
👉🏻 Write letters to grandparents and diary entries documenting your days. Someday their kids will want to hear stories about that time they were stuck at home.
⠀
👉🏻 Go on a hike. Stay up late and look at the stars. Plant a garden. Dig up worms. Draw the leaves and flowers and bugs you find.
⠀
👉🏻 Make stop motion videos. Watch BBC earth movies and plan an imaginary trip. Discover a new hobby... or resurrect an old one. Order some yarn and learn to finger knit. Paint pictures. Bake bread. They won’t fall behind or stop learning.
⠀
👉🏻 Enjoy a slow rhythm together at home... no early morning rushing to catch the bus, no running from activity to activity.
⠀
Yes, you might have to guide your kids in some virtual learning. But we homeschool mamas don’t hover over our kids all day long, making sure they’re always on task. Think of this as your chance to let your kids catch up on all the recess, art, music, and gym that have been cut out of your school district. This is your chance to let your kids do the things that get them excited... building forts, designing robots, baking muffins. This is your chance to help them see learning as something that happens ALL DAY LONG, in everything we do. Not just in textbooks and classrooms.
⠀
You can do this, mama. I’m cheering you on.
💛💛
🎉 Thank you for all your shares and the amazing response to this post!! I love that we can all support each other and cheer each other on! Everything in my shop is 15% off right now - including all my digital learning prints - to help you all have some boredom busters! The discount is automatically applies!
🎉
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Check with Spring Camps re Scheduling
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Covid19:
Stay connected and get the latest updates with 211 Santa Cruz County.
Text:
“covid19” to 211211 (you will be prompted to enter your zip code in message box)
Phone:
211 (800-273-6222)
KidPower Free Webinar topics for adults will include
Emotional Safety Skills
for staying safe with our feelings,
Boundary-Setting Skills for staying safe with each other,
Advocacy Skills for taking charge of our well being, and
Conflict Resolution Skills for working out problems when we are stuck at home together.
Details
Award winning authors reading children's books aloud,
Thursday, March 19,
Go to Instagram.com
.
Find an author's page using search bar. Relax and enjoy!
NASA
makes their entire media library publicly accessible and copyright free
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Explore Private and Parochial Schools
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Tell Your Friends
They will thank you!
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