How can you start laying the groundwork now for summer learning under different conditions than what we’re used to?
Last week, we talked about what summer and fall might look like, not sure if camps will be offered, and wondering how students will return to campus while practicing social distancing. This week, we are taking a more upbeat approach: Looking at the things we *can* control to prepare for the transition to summer.
Inga offered three main ideas: (1) talking to your kids about their passions, (2) adding things to the calendar now, and (3) adjusting to our summer climate by shifting morning and afternoon activities.
We may feel like we are busy, but actually these days we have an unusual amount of choice over how we spend our time. While on a long drive, Inga asked her kids (a captive audience) what their dream jobs would be. Then they brainstormed about a skill that they could learn over the summer. She is enlisting her husband, a techie, to help find resources—software licenses, an online course, virtual tutoring—to help their kids reach their goals.
Do you remember how it felt to be on the second week of Spring Break? In some ways, it felt liberating to wipe things off the calendar, but then it started to feel weird and sort of depressing. Inga doesn’t want the first week of summer to feel that way. What are activities that be important in the summer, that they can start small now to build new habits? Inga gave the example of setting up homeschool PE in Google Classroom. It can start with just a few exercises now, and get more elaborate in the summer.
Finally, we’re sure you’ve noticed that the weather is getting hotter. Some of the habits that they have spent weeks establishing—like taking afternoon walks—will have to change. It’s not safe to exercise in the heat of the day, especially not when wearing a mask. This week is a good time to re-evaluate your schedule and shift some things, like exercising, to the cooler hours of the morning, and set up more academic and social (video chats) activities for the afternoon heat. It’s not clear when community pools or splash pads will reopen, so families will need to be creative.
