Showing posts with label sahm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sahm. Show all posts

Friday, October 23, 2020

Life of a Virtual School Mama

 Here we are! Week 6 of Virtual Learning!

Here is a little glimpse of how our day looks like :)



I wake up around 7am and get my mama self ready for the day. 

I'll usually plan one of my Instagram posts around that time too :)

I set my coffee timer for the night before so it's ready for meeee OR i'll run out for a quick Tim's run. 




Around 8am I wake up the kids and head downstairs to make breakfast. We have super simple breakfasts during the week. Cereal/Milk, Waffles or Granola bars. Fast and Easy. The kids usually like to watch some cartoons as they get ready for their day. 

Google Home is our assistant. Ha! Yup! We set all the timers on it so we can easily stick to schedule. 




As soon as the timer goes off around 8:50am the kids go and sit at their Chromebooks. We have our set up in the kitchen.  We did start off in the office, but we noticed that the sun coming into the kitchen and having more space was just better :) So Monday -Friday my kitchen table is School! We have all our supplies and books set up in easy to move baskets. (Friday after school I move everything to the office to have a clean kitchen table for the weekend) 

The kids have a set schedule that consists of online meetings with the teacher, break times and independent learning. Just like a regular school day. 




They adapted really well to their schedules. I am more of their hall monitor haha! ensuring they are listening and controlling their volume haha. 

I usually make their lunch during their first break. That way their second break in the afternoon they get a good 40 min to play with eachother.  They usually go into the backyard for "recess" or up to their playroom. This is also my mama break too and I catch up on my reading or any online work I have. 




We have SK and Grade 4 here and their schedules are bit different. SK has the last hour of school online and my Grade 4 has the last hour offline for homework.



During their independent learning I help with homework. It's also great for me to really see the kids strengths and areas they need a little more help in. I can also regulate their day, say for example if they had a "big" learning day with "big" milestones, I'll make sure their Homework time is shorter so they don't over stress themselves.   Or if they had a light day, then I know spending that extra time on a topic they need more help in is the day to do it. 


Afternoon donut breaks happen sometimes too.



The kids are usually done around 3-3:20 , They close their laptops and run around  ha! I tidy up and go straight to dinner prep! 

It's definitely different here, but I must say, we are fully embracing this different way of learning. It feels more like 1-1 learning and with mom and dad around to help ha! (oh yes DH is also home, working from home). Our routine is super simple and it's working best around here for these crazy times. The kids really enjoy it and love learning from home so it makes it easier. 




Today is Friday so we will get takeout and have a movie night with lots of popcorn, oh and definitely hit the swimspa to relax for the weekend!

For more about my day in the life go over to my Instagram page! @aka_mama_t



Sunday, April 26, 2020

Health and Wellness INSIDE OUT

When it comes to our overall health, we can't forget about our Mental Health!



Health and Wellness 100% starts from the inside. The foods we feed our bodies, the daily choices we make, the way we speak to ourselves, how we treat ourselves, how we treat others.



I've been reading Personal Development books ever since I was a teenager! I've been working on ME, ever since I can remember. I have been to therapy to help me grow from my trauma. It’s set me free from my limiting beliefs and has helped me learn how to grow and understand that learning and growing never stops! I'm always picking up a new book, or audio book. I want to hear other peoples stories. I love being reminded that we are STRONG, and WE CAN DO ANYTHING we put our MIND to! No one is perfect, we are all just trying to live our best life. We make mistakes, then grow from those mistakes. Life will throw us a curve ball now and again. How will we react to them? Some harder than others too.



Now more than ever, I have my book selection at my fingertips! As soon as I finish one, I'm on to the next. Our minds need the training, just as much as our bodies do!

Every book I read, teaches me something new. My latest book was Mastering Your Mean Girl. And boy does my mean girl like to take a hold over me sometimes. This book reminded me to lead with love. It can get confusing at times, so I've been repeating to myself "lead with love""respond in love" . Do I always? Nope, I'm still learning haha. This is life though. Learning, growing and evolving.



Are you reading any books right now? Drop me a comment below. I'll add what you recommend to my list!

Here's my list of my current Personal Development Books!
https://www.amazon.ca/shop/aka_mama_t

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Stay at home/school



Hey Mama’s how are y’all  hold’n up! 

I really wish I blogged everyday since the beginning of this pandemic because the waves of emotions and adjusting has been, ummmm sorta like a rollercoaster. 

We are on DAY 40!!! So let me recap for my blog records :)

This all started on the first day of the kids March break! I won’t lie, it was all pretty exciting in a weird way. Being lucky enough to work from home and keep our family inside and staying home.  The kids were up late, lots of movies and screen time and junk food as mommy and daddy were glued to the news with anxiety but smiling faces to keep everyone in as normal and fun state as possible. 



The news talked about the rise in cases and the extra precautions we all have to take. Articles and news stories about washing produce and wiping groceries, wearing masks and gloves when you are out. It got very overwhelming at times. I panicked about food in our fridge and if we had enough of there was a total lockdown.  I made list after list of things we needed. Thankfully we haven’t had a strict lockdown here in our province. 

Whatsapp chats with alll our groups of friends and families kept us super busy exchanging thoughts and support.

And now here we are day 40. 

I think we are on week 3 of the official roll out from our schools for homeschooling.  Something that is new for all of us.  Teachers working extra hard to provide their students with as much support as possible. Parents trying to juggle homeschooling, work, multiple kids and a household. The busiest kind of busy! 



All while keeping it together.  Every family dynamic is different and every family does things differently. What works for me, might not for you. These are not normal times and we all have to make the best of it. 

These are the things that work for us during this crazy time.  





We have a light schedule. It’s not a strict one either. If the kids need extra sleep then they get it. They are usually up for 9am anyway. 

We enjoy breakfast together, no rushing. Plus mama needs a full cup of coffee before we fully start our day ha! 

After breakfast we head over to our workspace. Getting the boys to pay attention when they want to play instead and giggle and distract each other is no easy task haha! Some days are easier than others. We just roll with it! 

While I try and help my grade 3 with math and English, I get my 4yo to practice tracing and coloring. Then I switch over to help my 4yo with reading and site words. 





We work on school stuff for about 2 hours in the morning. The amount of work the school sends is about 1 hour a day, but we usually take 2 hours.  They complete their lessons that their teachers send by 12pm each day. 

Then it’s a free for all! Haha. They get to play in the backyard, have lunch and snacks, figure out fun games to play, relax and watch movies. I also have my time to work on my project and do house work while they have fun playing. 

This is what is working for us. This is what keeps my kids happy and having fun at home and not feeling the stress of the outside world. 

We have open communication with them, and help them understand what the whole world is going through and the changes to society right now. We have donated to food banks and those in need and pray everyday for the world and those who lost their lives to this virus. 🙏🏻



I want them to remember this time as calming as possible. I want them to remember how we were all lucky to be home together for months with love. Staying home to keep us and others safe. FaceTiming and phone calls to stay connected to those we love.



We are making history right now and we all need to be as gentle with each other as possible. 



Here’s to another day at home :) flattening that curve! 

Thursday, April 11, 2019

I’m back!

Whoa! My last blog post was in July! I’ve been struggling with whether to continue the blog or just let it be something of the past. Hmm!

The other night I came over and began reading all my past posts. Whaaa!! I documented soo much of my life over the past 10 years! But these days Instagram (@aka_mama_t) and FB do the same thing, in less words haha. Sooo I’ll just check in, now and again until I figure it all out.





Soooo much has changed this year!!! And boy did I miss a lot of good blog postings haha. 

Where to begin! I don’t even know!

Ok, so the biggest change in our lives has been me quitting the corporate scene to stay home with the kiddos. 


With life being so busy with 2 kiddos, 2 working parents, our house location at the time  and long commutes, it was soo draining! To the point the kids were being vocal about it too! So we made the decision to sell our home, (it didn’t happen over night! We had plan A B and C  because it took a year to sell) but it did sell and we made a move that would allow me to stay home with the kids too. The best decision for my family at this point in our lives. 👍🏻 


As I began scrolling the pics to post here, I went through thousands haha because umm my last post was July 2018! Maybe I shouldn’t take a break from blogging again! 🤭 

I have tons I want to share now that I got started! But I’ll have to come back to post! Yay! I think I may be back again for good! Stay tuned!!!