It’s been a month of the LONGEST YEAR EVER since we began to shelter in place due to the outbreak of the Corona Virus. This is an unprecedented time in our lives. What we’ve relied on and always assumed to be a constant in our day to day lives has shifted, or in some cases disappeared entirely. Many of us are left scrambling to maintain some sense of normalcy that just isn’t there any longer. That makes finding rhythm and routine in our daily lives difficult at best.
Many of you find yourselves faced with the reality of homeschooling your children when that was never on your radar before. We’ve homeschooled for several years now, so while this isn’t entirely new to us, it certainly presents its own set of challenges. Our trips to the library and park are on hold. We’re learning to connect digitally with our co-ops. And, we’re figuring out how to cope with the aimlessness that some of our days find us immersed in.
I’ve had quite a few friends reach out asking for resources, worksheets, apps, and websites that will aid in their new home education journey. I’m not the greatest help there as my kids are mostly feral, but what I can offer is something both parents and children will love. Here are the three biggest resources I can recommend.
Read to your children -NO MATTER THE AGE, read to them. Just sit down in the same room and begin to read aloud, no announcement needed. Think your kids are too old? Think again. You’ll be surprised to see many an older child finding excuses to linger in the room as you’re reading a story to your littles. Think you don’t have the patience to read aloud? That’s okay. Audiobooks are amazing! Especially when voiced by actors such as Tim Curry!
Play – Play is an essential component, and arguably the most important one, for the growth and development of children. When children play and use their imagination it gives them a sense of control of their immediate environment. When their little worlds feel as if they’re falling apart, they can control their play world. Remember, as much as our grown-up day to day lives have changed, theirs have changed more. Let them play.
Get outside – Take a hike! Literally! Socially distanced of course. If you can get outside, do so. You don’t have to have acres to enjoy. It can be as simple as taking a spoon to a spot of dirt and pretending to garden if not doing the real thing, or doing leaf rubbings. Not only will the fresh air and vitamin D do your health a wealth of good, but it also changes the scenery and acts as a reset button.
By now you’re probably asking yourselves what does all of this have to do with goats and caramels.
I get it. This post is a big deviation from the norm here at Jolly Acres. But, hear me out.
During our quarantine, everything about our day to day lives is now a deviation from the norm. We’re going to have to learn new rhythms, routines, and methods of doing things. From educating our children at home to selling caramels at modified farmers’ markets, everyone is learning a new normal. We can’t just pretend this chapter isn’t being written.
What does that look like for Jolly Acres? It means some of our markets have been postponed. Some have been modified. It looks like new ways to offer our caramels through local food hub aggregates and co-ops as well as maintaining and expanding our presence in local shops. We’re researching our options of extending our shipping to year-round in temperature-controlled environments. And, it also means the same comforting quality of deliciously handcrafted goat milk caramels.
The world, our community, and all the way down to us at Jolly Acres is learning a new way of doing well, everything. We don’t have all the answers. But, we have each other. And, that goes an awful long way.