On March 13, 2020 at 2:18 PM, I received the official e-mail from DoDEA Europe East District announcing the closure of all Europe DoDEA schools. A good two weeks before the official letter, the teachers were speculating the closure and were beginning to prep the students by making sure they all knew their google e-mail sign ons. They also started to create web based school sites and had the kids practicing signing in. Little A brought a backpack home on Friday the 13th filled with books and school work packets and magazines. Every day the kids would come home from school with talk about all the chatter at school from students and staff about the schools closing due to the Coronavirus. Corona is spreading like a wildfire and has the entire world in panic mode. People just don't know what to do about it, so they have been buying out toilet paper. Of all things, why toilet paper, I have no idea. No one wants to shake hands, and if anyone sneezes or coughs, they get super dirty looks from everyone around them.
So, just like that, we are now homeschooling all the kids, in fact, pretty much the entire nation is now in mandatory homeschool status as everything is shut down and closed, from schools, to churches to businesses. We don't have enough devices for three kids to be on the computer at once, so luckily the school provided the opportunity for families to check out Chromebooks. I checked out a Chromebook for Big Sis, M&M is using Kevin's laptop and Little A is using the old laptop. Every once in a while the old laptop protests, so luckily I have an iPad that I was able to download all the needed apps for her homeschooling and we are able to use that when the computer freezes. So this is what our morning looks like, every school day now, Big Sis is in her room doing her google meets all morning, M&M is either at the table, on the couch or in her room working on her school work and in google classroom meets, and Little A is at the table, with me by her side to help her get through all her school work, and Monster is protesting as loud as he can because he is getting ignored. He just doesn't understand why all his siblings are home, yet all of them are on a computer and totally ignoring him. I think it has been the hardest on him.
I think the only family member who is in heaven with the homeschooling is Bailey, our toy poodle. She now has attention 100% of the day. One of the kids always has her on their lap while they are studying and working on school work. She is getting so spoiled right now, and is loving every second of it.
I have been super impressed with the district and with all of the teachers. They have worked really hard to create a virtual classroom and school work that meets the needs of the kids and the families. Things have been altered, and revamped and changed a few times to make it easier on the kids and families. We are one of the lucky families who has really good internet. Most families in Germany don't have good internet, so they can't accommodate more than one child being on a google meet classroom at a time. The school had to change the virtual school schedule to accommodate for those families. They created school block learning times, so the middle school and high school aren't in google meets at the same time. So M&M has home work and school work all morning now, and her google classroom meets start at 12:30. Big Sis is in Google Classroom Meets all morning and ends at 12:00, then after 12:00, she just has school work and individual work to do.
We have had some really amazing great things come from this mandatory homeschooling. For one, I finally am getting an understanding of what Little A comprehends and what she doesn't. I have been able to sit down with her and help her understand math and have been helping her memorise multiplication facts. Another great thing is that Little A is reading more now than she ever has in her entire life. She has really gotten into the Magic Tree House series, and reads about one book a day. Luckily, Christy Turner in our church ward had the first half of the books and dropped them off on my doorstep. Once Little A finished those, we found the rest of them on MackinVia. I love MackinVia and I am so glad the school has an account. It has been wonderful seeing the love of reading grow in my little girl. Another great thing that has come from homeschooling is Big Sis has grown a love for her violin that has become deep. She practices now more than she ever has her entire life. I don't have to ask her to practice ever, and I am always hearing the amazing sound of her violin. She sounds so great and I love hearing it. I will miss the violin greatly when she is gone at college. I would say the absolute best thing that has come from homeschooling is the time to study our scriptures. Every single day, we are all studying our scriptures and then talking about it together. This is the first time Little A has consistently done scripture study. She is gaining understanding in the scriptures like she never has before. I also spend the time to read the scriptures aloud to Little Monster too. It has been a wonderful spiritually growing experience for us all. I have loved watching my kids grow secularly and spiritually. I have loved the spirit of love and peace that has grown in the home since we all started putting the Lord first. I love the understanding of the gospel that each and every one of have been deepening and strengthening. I know that with the Lord on our side, all things are possible, including loving homeschool.
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