How we are handling COVID-19

As we head into "March Break" we know that schools will be closed for (at least) two more weeks following that.

Social Distancing 

Some venues we would normally go to (libraries, museums, maple syrup festival, Royal Botanical Gardens) are closed, and some other options (theatres, bowling alleys, playdates) should be avoided in support of social distancing.

Our church is closed for the next couple of weeks, but we gathered as a family this morning and "attended" by viewing an online sermon.

Work

My workplace, a Library, is closed however staff are expected to go in to work. We have plenty of work we do behind the scenes, and will need to process items being returned over the next 3 weeks among other things. Since the public will not be present we will be able to wear gloves while handling things that may have been in bathrooms and exposed to various germs - a common problem. The closure also provides social distancing for our vulnerable customers - we have many who are elderly - and for us. We are often handed library cards that have been held between customers' lips, or have been stored in unsanitary places (bras and socks to name a couple). In order to assist customers at computers we are very close to them, touching keyboards and mice they are using. Children with runny noses, people who cough without covering, and newspapers taken into bathrooms are among the exposure we experience. 

So I'm thankful to have a reprieve from the exposure, as well as the opportunity to catch up on many tasks we have barely enough time to do. However, my four children are off school for an additional two weeks and need care. My husband and I are splitting the time off to care for our kids and stay on top of our workloads.

Children 

All children benefit from schedules and routines as it gives them a sense of control knowing what's coming next.

We held a family meeting on Saturday and explained what our schedule and routines would be, what each parent will be doing, that there will always be a parent at home to care for them, that we have plenty of supplies to get us through the next few weeks, that we will not be having any playdates to reduce exposure and try and keep our home a germ-free zone. We answered questions about COVID-19, symptoms and how we would take care of each other. We gave them a chance to ask questions and we provided answers.

We will dedicate the morning (9-12:30) to education, with time in the afternoon for physical activity (hopefully outdoors), chores, free time (during which they can phone a friend), and the usual 2 hours of screen time. I'm hoping to spend the evenings doing family activities like board games and movies.

Since we had previously homeschooled our two oldest it was pretty straightforward to create a plan to homeschool for the next few weeks.

I started by checking Classroom to see what their teachers had posted - projects or assignments they would normally be working on when they returned to school. 

The highschooler has 4 courses so we'll continue with those. For the other 3 kids we'll focus on English, Math, and Science. We'll also do some Art, DS2 will have French as he's in French immersion, and I'll work with DD on some phonological techniques for the letter R. The 3 youngest will also continue to work on their piano skills, although their piano teacher has canceled during this time.

Once I ran out of things from Classroom I had a look at the Ontario curriculum for their grade to see what they will be covering by the end of the year.

Emergency Preparedness 

We have always had "get out of dodge" backpacks ready for each of us. These have a change of clothes, toiletries, basic first aid kit, and water. We have also always kept an extra weeks worth of food on hand, along with water we could boil. Three weeks ago I replenished all of our first aid supplies, especially items to treat COVID-19 symptoms, and my husband and I saw our doctor to get our prescriptions refilled. We did two weeks worth of groceries over the past 3 weeks so that we currently have a 3+ week supply, including toilet paper. All of this without panicking or hoarding.