Many parents are adapting homes, routines and equipment to teach kids from home. I know this is a big shift for our five grandkids and their parents. Who would’ve thought that the interior decorators would be looking at floorplans to include desks, technology corners, recess and cafeterias on top of coordinating transportation to field trips.
Schedules , mobile learning , whiteboards and pods to facilitate concentration and learning are all a part of it.
Well , sometime ago I married a kindergarten teacher. I recall the early days when our house was covered in crepe paper and big whiteboards covered with letters , numbers and activities to entertain 30 kids.
It has been sometime since these days , but raising three daughters brought it back in waves with ways to entertain, occupy and teach kids during trips, weekends etc. as a complement to full-time school.
When our kids started having kids ,I thought we were pretty much done with housing all this equipment , activities, toys and games. Boy was I wrong.
Blessed with five grandkids in as many years , it was gradual, but our house is now resembling a school, toy store or staging area to try out the latest kids gadgets . A pantry closet is filled with dolls, noisy buzzers , train sets , card games , high chairs and who knows what else.
If you’re looking for a normal pantry stuff, boxes of food and condiments and utensils , check the bin stored beneath the bed , as the pantry is more accessible and visible to the kids right as they enter the house. Furniture , a den and bookcase filled with children’s books , coloring books , tons of kids DVDs , writing material and a collection of Hardy boys and Nancy Drew books ( my contribution with limited takers thus far).
I didn’t see this coming . It’s a chance to relive my childhood and be a kid again and see the delight in our grandkids eyes and the excitement of going over to Mimi and Papa‘s, especially for a sleepover.
My last request to deal with clutter and get organized was that with every new toy an old toy has to be donated ; that was met with a blowup tent overtaking the living room, which sleeps five kids by coincidence.
I’m not complaining , no time to do that, I’m trying to make s’mores on the George Foreman and seeing how to get chocolate and marshmallow out of the carpet.
Kindergarten Klosets were in my past and looks to be in the future of many of us for another month or two if not longer.
This makeover is happening at workplaces globally; it may as well take over the house too . Hopefully, two six-year-olds don’t decide my bedroom would make a nice corner office for them.