So now you're a homeschooler. Welcome.

Hey all. It's stressful out there. And in here, a little, I'll admit. But that doesn't mean that we have to let that internal feeling of stress/worry/anxiety dictate how we live our lives. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to do something that I don't usually make time for- actively posting here. I will let you know cool resources as I know about them, assure you that you don't have to do anything for schooling your children at home (and they will still learn!) and help you find some sanity. I hope.

Feel free to reach out. Ask questions. Let me know if it's helpful. Let's begin.

________________________________________________________________________

Portland Public schools are closed until April 28th. I know it's the right thing for the community safety, but I'm worried. I'm worried about those kids for whom home is not as safe as it could/should be. I worry about how kids who rely on school meals, and school library books and school friends are going to manage.  And I also worry about all those parents putting all that pressure on themselves and their kids to school at home.

Worry has done so little for me in my life, but action and gratitude have done so much. The actions I can take around kids' safety includes checking in on friends with kids and encouraging them to do the same. I can share information about where to get meals (schools are providing meals and sites are updated here, so is Laughing Planet) and how to keep those kiddos entertained for one freaking minute so their parents can get some work done (Reese Witherspoon and Oliver Jeffers are reading books every day as are several other folks, Carson Ellis is doing a drawing class every day around 9am and at 10am, so is Wendy MacNaughton ).

And while we're in this crisis, I'm going to use this little blog space to talk about how schooling at home does not have to be horrible/stressful. Yay!

First things first. It's the first week. Take it easy. Your first day of work probably wasn't very productive and your kiddo's first day at home probably won't be either. Maybe not even their first week (or two).

At least, not productive to your mind.

Kids are always learning. And teens are always processing. And adults are often trying to get that to look like something. It's okay if it doesn't. This is the time to start setting up the space. Do you have paper to draw on? Pencils to draw with? Okay, good start. Do you have some books? Have you downloaded Libby yet?

Did you do it? Okay. You're done for today. Take a break- you earned it.