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Awesome Field Trip to the Toronto International Film Festival!

October 5, 2020 by Mara Sweeney 2 Comments

Happy Homeskool - Blog Our Day at TIFF

As part of homeschooling last year, we had an awesome field trip to the Toronto International Film Festival. It was one of my favourites! This is what I wrote in my journal about how much I loved TIFF:

“My favourite thing about homeschooling is that we go on lots of field trips. One of my favourite field trips was to the Toronto International Film Festival. We took the train and a subway to get there. We saw two movies and my favourite movie was And We Go Green. It was about electric race car drivers in Formula E (Formula E is car racing like Formula 1 but with electric cars). I liked it because Formula E cars are better for the environment and I got to meet people from the movie afterwards!

Next, we went to dinner at Momofuku, which is my favourite restaurant because I love ramen noodles and David Chang is my favourite chef! After dinner, we went for dessert.  I had sponge cake with fresh strawberries and whip cream and it was delicious. I want to go back to TIFF every year!”

  • Mara ready to take the train downtown TO to TIFF
  • Mara in front of TIFF screen after our movie
  • Mara excited to start eating her Raman noodles at Momofuku
  • Mara enjoying her Raman noodles at Momofuku
  • Mara having a mocktail and sponge cake at Shangri-La
  • Mara and Lisa having dessert at Shangri-La

Since it’s harder to go on big field trips now, we’ve been doing smaller activities. I really like music and art so I have outdoor drama classes, I watch concerts online, and we’ve visited provincial parks such as Crawford Lake and Mountsberg. We’re also planning a visit to the ROM since it’s back open now.

I hope we can go on big field trips again soon but there are fun things to do even if you have to stay home during the pandemic. Here is a list of museums that you can visit online. Here are more free online websites that I use for all subjects!

Quote of the Day:

“The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic…music, dance, painting and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment.”

  ― William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education

Happy Homeskooling!

Mara

Filed Under: Homeschool Field Trips Tagged With: covidfieldtrips, fieldtrips, homeschoolactivities, homeschoolfieldtrips, homeschoolresources, onlinemuseums, pandemicactivities, pandemicfieldtrips, TIFF, torontointernationalfilmfestival

Homeschooling During COVID-19

May 4, 2020 by Lisa Violo Leave a Comment

Happy Homeskool - Homeschooling During COVID-19

Many families have started “homeschooling” due to the unexpected impact of COVID-19.  Our family didn’t know this was going to happen back in September when we started homeschooling, but it was certainly fortunate that we had a few months head start.  

Remember “homeschooling” during COVID-19 isn’t truly homeschooling because you’re using the school’s curriculum, you’re likely still working full-time and you’re together with your family members 24/7. Actual homeschooling is when your schedule allows you the time to homeschool, when you get to pick your own educational resources and when you’re not stressed out about income and health during a pandemic. Right now we are pandemic schooling, not homeschooling. 

Here are a few tips that we have for you during these difficult times:

1. Don’t worry about your child falling behind or missing something. It doesn’t matter if you follow a specific curriculum. In fact, it doesn’t matter if your child pauses schooling altogether until after this is over. You can simply encourage your kids to read books they love, create art, play outside, watch documentaries, play boardgames and hang out together around the house. Your child will learn through their natural curiosity and by observing you. Remember, there are many types of schools (public, private, Waldorf, homeschool etc.) and they all have different curriculums. The only similarity between them is that children educated in any of these environments all turn out fine. Your children will be fine too! All you need to do is love and support your children during all of this.

Happy Homeskool - Mara playing a board game
Mara playing a board game

2. You don’t have to follow the program that your school gives you. Some schools are sending home projects and tasks to complete at home. If this works for you and your children, great. If it doesn’t, then don’t do it. Teachers can’t mark assignments completed at home and your children will catch up whenever they go back to school. Take this opportunity to encourage any type of learning that your children enjoy. Figure out what interests them. Do they like watching videos of reptiles all day? Great, let them do it! There won’t be repercussions if you skip all or some of what your school has sent home.

3. Get outside. If your family is self-isolating (not under quarantine), you are allowed outside. Get your kids playing outdoors! If you don’t have a yard, take a walk or bike in your neighbourhood. Fresh air gets kids moving, helps them sleep better and may give you a much-needed break from being around them all day. We go on a daily hike together as a family, but Mara also plays outside on her own too.

Happy Homeskool - Mara finding fungus during a hike
Mara finding fungus during a hike

4. Video calling. To keep your kids connected with their friends, try video calling!  We schedule a daily FaceTime for Mara with a friend or cousin and she LOVES this! Sometimes they just chat, play a game together like Truth or Dare, or play an online game together like Roblox. Mara enjoys having a daily social connection besides her ol’ mom and dad! Lol!

5. Resources. There are many resources to keep your children engaged in learning when you have limited time. One of our favourite sites is called Outschool.com.  Mara has taken 10+ courses on Outschool and she loves it! They have academic subjects including Math, English and Science as well as fun subjects like Card Tricks – Mara is registered in a combination of academic and fun courses. There are so many benefits including: 1) academic and fun course content, 2) your children learn from someone other than you, 3) your children are online with other kids, 4) your children learn how to use the computer and video conferencing technology and 5) you get a break! There are varying costs to these courses, but they are worth it. Be sure to pick instructors with high ratings.

Happy Homeskool - Mara in a card tricks class on Outschool
Mara in a card tricks class on Outschool

6. Parent groups. Many parent Facebook groups exist to support homeschooling families. We’ve provided a list of these groups on our Resources page, check it out here!

If you are struggling with homeschooling during COVID-19 or being at home with your kids all day, don’t go it alone. Join a local homeschool parent Facebook group or reach out to us at hello@happyhomeskool.com for support. Some of you will send your kids back to school once this is over but some of you may decide to continue homeschooling! We’d love to hear from all of you. Be safe and be well.

Quote of the Day:

Dear Parents, don’t stress about schoolwork. When school resumes I will get your children back on track. I am a teacher and that’s my superpower. What I can’t fix is social-emotional trauma that prevents the brain from learning. So right now, I just need you to share your calm, share your strength, and share your laughter with your children. No kids are ahead. No kids are behind. Your children are exactly where they need to be.”

  ― With Love, Teachers Everywhere.

Happy Homeskooling!

Lisa & Mara

Filed Under: Homeschool Tips & Tricks Tagged With: covid19homeschooling, homeschoolcovid19, homeschoolhelp, homeschoolingduringcovid19, homeschoolresources

Free Homeschool Resources Online

April 13, 2020 by Lisa Violo Leave a Comment

Happy Homeskool - Blog - Free Online Homeschool Resources

Whether you homeschool all the time or just during COVID-19, it’s always handy to have a list of free homeschool resources at your fingertips! Here is a list of some of the free homeschool resources that we’ve discovered over the past few months:

General Learning Resources

  • Harry Potter At Home
  • The Canadian Homeschooler
  • We are all Teachers Now

Math Resources

  • Prodigy Math
  • Corbett Math
  • Transum.org

Language Resources

  • ABCya.com
  • IXL
  • Dance Mat Typing
  • Duolingo

Science Resources

  • Ripleys Believe It or Not
  • Ripley’s Aquarium
  • National Geographic for Kids
  • Free Virtual Tours of Parks

Art and Cooking

  • Artebula App
  • Library of Congress – Dav Pilkey Drawing Videos
  • Lunch Doodles with Mo Williams – Drawing Class With Famous Author
  • Live Cooking Classes

Music

  • Fender – Free Guitar Lessons
  • Piano Nanny

Let your children explore some of these websites to see what interests them.  Always try to involve your kids in their learning process as they will be more engaged. These sites are also an educational way to give “screen time”.

We hope you and your kiddos find these sites educational and fun! If you would like to see more homeschool resources, both free and paid, visit our Resources page here.  

Quote of the Day:

Too often we give children answers instead of problems to solve.”

  ― Roger Lewin, Prize-winning Science Writer and Author

Happy Homeskooling!

Lisa & Mara

Filed Under: Homeschool Resources Tagged With: freehomeschoolresources, freehomeschoolresourcesonline, freeonlinelearningresources, homeschoolresources, onlinehomreschoolresources

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