Hi. Today we’re in a mellow groove and getting ready to make some bean soup. Are we grateful for videoconferencing? Yes. Are we grateful for podcasts? Yes. Are we grateful for the generosity of others, in digitally offering up their talents and time on behalf of the world community? Yes. Am I grateful I stopped drinking alcohol and switched to decaf coffee years ago, so I’m already comfortable with everyday, boring life off of the beverage induced roller coaster? Yes. Am I grateful for friends, who are making incredulous faces at their screens right now and asking me why I’m such a beverage martyr? Yes. I am grateful for all my friends and all your judgy faces. xo
MUSIC:
Fellow uke players–these are our three favorite, free online teachers:
- Cynthia Lin: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD2q6i-C0ZLJUK-VCp49TJA
- Bernadette Teaches Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHF88ovEEPETzNtEUbgGBuw
- Aldrine Guerrero: https://ukuleleunderground.com/course-level/beginner/
Fender is offering 3 months of free guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons for the first 100,000 people to sign up. https://www.fender.com/play
Younger kids might like this sweet little song right now; Light a Candle for Peace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lazbjWMWHzc&feature=youtu.be
MATH:
For homeschool math, we have been using Beast Academy this year and we love it. (For ages 8-13.) They are offering 1 month of free online lessons if you sign up by March 31st. Use the coupon code FlattenTheCurve at checkout. The site does require you to enter your credit card number, unfortunately. A subscription is $15 a month after the first month. The cancellation policy states you can cancel your subscription within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. If you sign up and intend to only use the first month, I recommend going into account settings to turn off auto renew to protect your card from a charge for the next month.
https://beastacademy.com/online
Facebook Users: https://www.facebook.com/beastacademymath
KIDS’ CORONAVIRUS QUESTIONS ANSWERED
If you have young concrete thinkers in your family, they might be making partial understandings of what’s going on. Many of us have seen our children latch onto one little piece of information about something, that gets stuck and makes a cute or funny or odd “truth” we get to help them out with later, once we find out. Kids can harbor these little misunderstandings for a long time before we ever find out.
Since this is a little different and could be scary or anxiety provoking, it might be helpful for them to understand the science of what’s going on. For others, the information might make them more anxious. You know your kid best. Give it a listen first? Maybe there are specific parts that will be helpful for your child, and maybe there are parts that will make them more uncomfortable.
If your kids are into this sort of thing or are curious about viruses, check out this NY Times Podcast. It’s 31 minutes long, specifically for kids, featuring kids’ questions from across the country. I recommend stopping it at 26:36 or so, because everything past that point is advertisement and updates on coronavirus that talk about “thousands of deaths.” Not soothing, and kind of a miss. Parenting Pandemic Pro Tip: Don’t walk away from the podcast!
Special bonus resource: the handwritten letter you see in the link is written by Nate,
