With preschools and public schools and daycares closed, parents have had to take on the role of educators. It is a weird space to be in and while I recognize the role we all have to play, I’ve gotta say – I’m not homeschooling, I’m love schooling.⁣
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When the girls wake up, they crawl into my bed and put their heads on my chest – listening to my heart beat, we discuss blood flow. Arteries away, veins back again. Love puddle as we start our day lazy and in sync.⁣
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We go downstairs to make breakfast. We talk about how blueberries have vitamin K, granola will give us energy, and greek yogurt has protein to keep our muscles strong. We talk and laugh and love.⁣
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Time to get dressed. Choosing clothes and getting dressed offers independence, autonomy, creativity, and strengthens gross motor skills. Is it a stay in pyjamas because it’s still forking snowing day? Love. We love comfy & warm.⁣ Or is it a tshirt and shorts day because the sun is shining and we’re ready to run? Lots of discussion to be had.
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Jumping on the couch and making forts and playing playdoh and skipping rope mazes and diaper box cars at the drive in theatre and lego castles are the basis of Love Schooling. Bodies get moved, creativity abounds, fine motor skills get worked on. We swim in the bath & pretend we’re back in Hawaii playing with ancient sea turtles.⁣
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Afternoons bring cartoons because Mama is Tired. Mama is Sad. Mama is anxious. Love School has quiet time and screen time because it helps mama recharge. Subtitles on because “look mama! Daniel Tiger said dad and the word below says d – a – d so that spells dad?!?” – words and letters come easier this way.⁣
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Dinner offers more chances for me to make it right. Kraft dinner and hotdogs with cucumbers? It is what it is. We love that and this is Love School after all.⁣ Bellies get filled and the manner in which we do it changes day by day, but the constant is that mama is doing her best.
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More cuddle puddles at bed time while we read and laugh. We apologize for what went wrong in the day, and we discuss what new fun thing to tackle tomorrow. Kisses & hugs, funny voices with the bedtime stories. Little one wants to snuggle in the dark, big one takes 10 books and a flashlight to bed. I say yes to both.⁣
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I never went to university to become a teacher. I wasn’t prepared for this. But the way someone made you feel will be remembered longer than the things you did. And I don’t want the girls to look back and remember self-isolation during covid-19 or how we had to talk about the germs so often – I want them to remember Love School. The times I said yes instead of no. The extra cartoons. The treats. The little bit too late bedtimes because we were having tickle fights.⁣
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Perfectly imperfect.

School should reopen this fall but what that looks like remains to be seen. My oldest is slated to start kindergarten, and there are talks of medical masks for 5 year olds, with hand sanitizer breaks, and 6 foot distances between teachers and classmates. I feel like the ramifications of these measures, while entirely intended to keep kids physically safe, may inflict undue trauma instead. In my province, kindergarten isn’t mandatory. Depending on what our district’s school re-opening strategy is, we may opt to keep her home for her kindergarten year.

Because of the uncertainty that lies ahead, I am slowly planning  for what a year of Love Schooling at home might look like and how to best support both my daughters with their gross motor, fine motor, educational, social, and emotional needs. I am slowly but surely building a well rounded “unschooling” space within our budget and on our own terms – stay tuned for that blog post coming soon as I showcase what I have put together for them to support them going forward should public school not offer what they need.

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This Bento : @stuckonyouofficial large bento box (my mama lunch today at Love School)

• fancy cucumbers and carrots
• dried organic apricots, dried mangos, dried strawberries (fresh fruit is LOW, #pandemic problems)
• leftover steak (that I put on skewers and made bunny lollipops with)
• spinach and garlic potato thins
• roasted cashews
• 2 twix bars because…..milk chocolate is dairy and the section said dairy so I felt like it was best to fill it….

 

Like most others, the swiftness with which covid-19 spread through the world and morphed our realities into something out of a science fiction novel was really unsettling. Normal as we know it no longer exists, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. I have shared bits and pieces of my thoughts and feelings over on Instagram, but after countless requests to share more in-depth, I am detailing it in entirety here today. I want to make it very clear though – this blog post is NOT meant to incite fear or anxiety, it is just how I am processing my own feelings, my own anxiety, and how I am intending on preparing my family.

Much like every financial advisor ever suggests you have 3 months of savings to cover all household expenses in case of emergency, the same should be said for household supplies. Even outside of covid-19, any number of things can happen to impact our ability to finance the day to day supplies we rely on. Be it covid-19, job loss, layoffs, other sickness or infirmary, house fire, etc – I think it’s smart to be prepared for a rainy day.

From the beginning, elected officials and medical health authorities made it clear that the self isolation and social distancing and shelter in place orders they were enacting were NOT going to eradicate the virus – it was being done to flatten the curve and lessen the load on our already taxed medical system and hospitals. There was going to be no way to eliminate covid-19 from our society now that it was here and BEST case scenario was that we slow the spread and minimize the damage while scientists race towards an effective treatment or vaccine.

Now we’re 2 full months into the pandemic (here in Canada) and restrictions are slowly easing.

Most people are taking deep breaths and feeling like we’ve weathered the storm.

*I* believe we have only just experienced the first wave. Most skeptics point to the Spanish Flu, and how the second wave killed exponentially more than the first outbreak did, and while I am not at that level of doomsday in my own beliefs, I think it would be negligent to not physically and emotionally prepare to go back to self isolation day 1. My husband works outside of the home, and I am routinely solo parenting my daughters for up to 2 weeks at a time. My usual childcare help is all aged 60+. If we see a resurgence, I need to ensure I have the supplies we need at home for a full 2 week stay (and beyond). Here is how I am preparing for the Fall:

(*Note – your family’s needs and budget may differ from mine, simply adjust as you see fit – and let it be explicitly known that under no circumstances do I suggest panic buying or overt stockpiling which will negatively impact our supply chains – a few things purchased here and there as your budget allows will suffice. My intention in posting this now is to share my own planning strategy and offer ample time if you choose to prepare as well)

• Pantry essentials – I am aiming to have an extra few week supplies of OUR family’s essentials. This will look different for you. I will store mine in my regular pantry and for items I deplete during regular day to day cooking, I will replace and rotate – ensuring my stores always stay fresh.
  • Baking supplies – being self-isolated in the fall/winter will have an impact on how I approach holiday baking, which is an extremely important tradition I hold onto. It is one safe holiday tradition I will be able to engage in if we need to self-isolate again. If I can’t get to a grocery store or stock is gone when I get there – I won’t be able to bake. To prevent this, I am aiming to have a good supply of flour, white/brown sugar, chocolate chips, butter/margarine (this freezes for up to a year, wonderfully), rolled oats, baking soda/powder, and shredded coconut on hand.
  • Bulk pasta, canned beans, canned soup, canned corn/beans, canned fruit
  • Apple juice and Gatorade (the latter works much better than Pedialyte if kids fall ill)
  • Nuts and seeds (shelf stable protein source)
  • Pet food and supplies, if applicable
• Cleaning supplies – no need to go crazy, but making sure you have an extra jug or two of bleach on hand to disinfect surfaces is smart. Laundry soap, vinegar, paper towels, dish soap, garbage bags, toilet paper, etc. Dishwasher pods are a necessity in my life, so I will make sure I have an extra box of those.
• Personal hygiene – hand soap, kleenex, feminine hygiene supplies, diapers and baby wipes, eczema cream, etc.
• Medications – this is a huge area of anxiety for most people but please know pharmacies will NOT close, so if you take prescription medications, rest assured your access to them is unlikely to be disrupted. Insurance companies will not let you stockpile either. What you can prepare for is ensuring you have fever relieving medication (Acetaminophen) for both you and your children, a good thermometer, and any other over-the-counter medications you take regularly. What *I* am preparing for my family is making sure I have an extra month’s supply of  probiotics, multivitamins, vitamin D, and omega 3’s.

I typically try to keep an extra of our usuals on hand anyways, but this list is a bit more comprehensive going into the Fall. Your list might look different! I know many people are big into bread making right now, you might want to look at having extra yeast in your pantry if this applies to you. If you’re a local maker or baker, perhaps you’ll look at supplies who may need on hand if mail slows to a halt as Christmas buying ramps up.

My anxiety manifests in a way that needs an actionable solution to move forward. These are the steps I am taking to help set myself up for what we may see if/when round 2 of covid-19 returns.