Wow! What a ride these past couple of weeks have been. School has been cancelled across most of North America, many (most?) people are working from home and businesses are closed everywhere. While it has been a trying time for many, I'll admit that I've stuck my head in the sand a bit, consciously focusing on the fact that I, and my kids, are actually on Spring Break and not yet subject to the craziness of work and learn from home. We needed a rest and I am doing my best to guarantee we are getting it, even if the world has gone haywire.

But. I've been watching.

I've been watching as parents take to social media to rant about how challenging it is to teach & work & parent. I've been watching as school districts scramble to figure out how to provide "continuity of service", manage equity and access issues and support our most vulnerable learners. I've been watching as teachers do their damndest to learn new platforms, adapt materials and connect with students in meaningful ways.

And I've been wondering how I can help. I've been wondering what this might look like in my own home when the time comes. Over and over again I've seen parents frustrated that their kids won't stay focused on the task at hand, that the work being sent home is too challenging/not challenging enough/confusing/in another language (literally. A friend posted that they were unable to do some of the assignments because the instructions were in Spanish and no one in their house spoke enough Spanish to understand them). Which leaves me wondering:

• What will I send home to students?
• What will I ask my own kiddos to do?
• Will my kids even do what I ask them to do?
• What is really so important that we can't just leave it until September?

It's that last question that really got me thinking. What CAN'T wait until September? What do our kids, everyone's kids, need to be learning and doing every single day, even without a coronavirus-induced isolation? What can parents support with a limited knowledge of pedagogy and curriculum? 

My answer came in the form of my main teaching mantra (you can read more about what a teaching mantra is here) - Literate, Numerate, Curious & Kind. This is what I want all kids to grow up to become and what I try to ensure I have targeted each day, each week, in my teaching. As you can see in the graphic below, I added Healthy to this list, as in times like these I believe it is fundamentally important that we also focus on our physical and mental health. I think that parents can support their kids in these areas in simple, fun and meaningful ways. It may not be what they would have been taught in school, but it might just be what they need right now.

​So, without further rambling, here it is - things you can do at home that will help your child (or your students, please feel free to send this to parents) stay Literate, Numerate, Curious, Kind & Healthy, while simultaneously maintaining your sanity. Just click on the image to download a copy.

You can find links to a wide variety of high-quality on and offline activities in each of these categories by clicking For Parents above. My hope is that these activities help you navigate this work-from-home-learn-from-home reality in a way that gives everyone in your family the time, space and grace that is needed to keep doing what you're doing in the best way you know how.

I hope this helps! As always, but maybe more so now than ever before, I would love to hear from you. Your comments keep me from feeling like I'm shouting into the void.

Stay sane, stay healthy,

"These are unprecedented times."  
I have read this statement over and over again, in my email, on my social media feeds, in the news. It seems to be the best way to explain the unexplainable, to lead in to cancellations of school and activities, to preempt questions with no easy answers. We, the adults, have never lived through something that has prompted this level of response locally, federally or globally*. We have no frame of reference, no past experience to reach for, no stories to tell. It is unnerving, to say the least.

Here's the thing, though. Kids don't understand big words like "unprecedented"; heck, most adults don't. Simply, it means that something like this has never happened before, sure, but that statement, the one at the top of the page? It means so much more than that. It means we don't know what this is. It means we don't know how to react. It means we're all swimming in murky, uncharted waters trying to make really complex decisions that may affect a lot of people, but maybe not, we're not sure, oh and by the way we also need to come out of this with some way to feed our families and maintain our sanity. 

So how do we explain this to kids? How do we maintain some sense of normalcy when even going to the grocery store causes us to second guess ourselves?
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Kids are incredibly perceptive little things. Teens are even more so. Hiding the truth or making up stories only leads them to wonder what you're hiding and why. At the same time, they may not be developmentally ready to hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth, especially when it is big, scary and pretty vague, even for the adults. Explain things simply and factually, without bringing your own fears, uncertainties or speculations in to it. Emphasize that for most people it is a mild, flu-like illness that everyone can help to prevent. Talk about the things they can do - washing hands, staying away from friends, coughing and sneezing into their elbow. Make it clear that the biggest challenge isn't that any one individual will get the disease but that so many people will get it at once that the hospitals won't be able to cope. The more people we can keep from getting it, the easier a time the hospitals will have helping those who do need help.
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This morning, I watched a couple of videos on YouTube with my kids that showed how germs are spread. It helped to explain why we needed to stay 6ft away from other people and cough into our elbows. One was a neat experiment that you could do at home (as long as you don't mind cleaning up confetti); fill a balloon with confetti, inflate it and then hold it next to your face as you release it. The confetti represents the germs and man, do they spread far and wide! It really helped my 8 year old understand why she needed to visit her friends from across the street!
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When this whole situation began unfolding, my oldest daughter experienced a fair bit of anxiety around it. Although we didn't want her to panic, we also respected her wishes so that she felt she had control in a very uncontrollable situation. It meant we missed a dinner with her grandparents but it made her feel better and showed her that her fears and anxiety were just as valid as our fears and concerns.  
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Situations feel scarier when we don't have a sense of control. Although it may not seem like we have any control over the world-wide impacts of the disease, there is actually a lot we can do to help control the spread of COVID-19. Taking small actions, like practicing social distancing, washing our hands, decorating our windows and helping out our neighbours are concrete ways that we can control the situation. You can get your kids involved by talking to them about ways we can safely help out, from buying local to boosting spirits with messages in sidewalk chalk.
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Talking to our kids about big, scary, nebulous things can be tough. It can be even tougher when we feel uncertain and anxious about them. Sticking to the facts, validating their concerns and finding simple ways to take action can all go a long ways to making this time feel a little less overwhelming.

*I realize this statement is not 100% true. WWII, SARS and H1N1 elicited significant responses world-wide. However, most adults of working age have never experienced closed borders, school closures or the quarantine of entire cities and countries. Pieces of it, sure, but not the whole kit and caboodle.