Homeschool during Quarantine

Many people have asked me if this time of "Stay-at-home" order/ quarantine has been different for us since we already homeschool. My answer is "Of Course!" The schooling hasn't been terribly different, but plenty of other things are different! We can't take trips to the library (now only if we put it on hold first). Bethany LOVES the library. It closed without any warning for us on a Saturday or Sunday. We were planning to go there on Monday! Bummer! She has been reading a lot more on her Kindle, and Mallory too. We had also planned a few local field trips this spring, and those were canceled. Caleb and Mallory did not need to go to their schools for band classes. It was different because those were a normal way to break up our day, and they had to go online for assignments instead. That was an adjustment too!

In our homeschool curriculum this spring, we were researching a state, one for each girl. Mallory chose Hawaii and Bethany chose Arkansas. Great! Fun choices! But we could not use ANY library books for research... hmm... we used the internet A LOT. We did write to each of the states at the end of February, and we just got something from Hawaii for Mallory a few days ago. We were already done-- but it's still fun to look at the map and information. Oh well!

We used to go to Goodwill for various things, and we have done that much less. It's been months since we've been to Goodwill or thrift stores, partly because some of them were closed! We usually go to the pool now and then and haven't done that since February. We haven't had in-office doctor appointments, dental check-ups, or co-op classes either. We really missed the last 5 weeks of our co-op classes, including choir, dance, Spanish, sign language, and more. Our music lessons have been different too. We have done online piano lessons and drum lessons for several weeks (maybe 6?). It has a strange feel to see your teacher only on the screen!

But there have been lots of enjoyable things. I think we have grown closer together as a family. We have played lots of games, even games we haven't played before, or for a long time. We did puzzles during the school year. Usually, we do that only in the summer or in January. It wasn't too distracting during school time!

The girls made up their own game! It began with Bethany watching Mo Willems' "Lunch Doodles," where he posted a 20-minute lesson and showed how to draw some of the characters from his books. He answered questions from kids and talked about his books, how he got some ideas for them, and more. It was fun for Bethany and me too! One of the videos showed him making a game called "Super Bounce." Bethany made her own on a file folder, and it was cute. Then she and Mallory improved on it!

They improved it again, and called it "Jungle Bounce"!  Mallory added 3-D elements and beads, changed a few rules, and added construction paper trees, pandas, ladybugs, and more. It's cute! They played it with Caleb's girlfriend, and she made her own game too! It was a little different, and of course, Mallory and Bethany loved it. Then Mallory decided to make the game different again! They changed the name to "Fruit Bowl," made a box, wrote out rules, made a game board, drew stickers, found pieces for it, and more. The pieces are mostly from cute little erasers or old My Little Pony parts. I loved their creativity! It is simple but fun to play.

Our church has been different too. My hubby has been very busy getting it online, and videotaping his rehearsals, and then adding words to the songs, putting it together with a sermon, prayers, Scripture reading, and more. It has been nice to have him home on Sunday mornings-- no 8:00 service! He gets to sit in on our whole Sunday School class, instead of leaving partway through for praise team warm up. He sits by me every week on the couch, and stands next to me during the worship time, which I love! We have even had some big breakfasts on Sunday morning, which was always reserved for lunchtime here! It is nice to have things a little different, but we are really looking forward to getting back to normal church, fellowshipping and worshipping together.

I am thankful that God is in control, as always. He tells us 365 times in the Bible to not be afraid. I think God knew that we needed to hear that message every day of every year. Yes, 2020 has been different, but God never changes!

If you normally homeschool, how has it been different for you this spring?


Genesis 15:1
[ The Lord’s Covenant With Abram ] After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.