This idea emerged from seeing a need in our community for a safe and practical schooling model for September 2020. In Ontario, we are currently unsure about the safety status of schools reopening, especially for younger kids in large groups not being required to socially distance or wear a mask.

As a childless adult with an affinity for working with kids, I would like to help. Having lost my jobs to Covid-19 (primarily as a contracted performer), I am also looking for creative ways to reimagine how our community can step in to help one another. Having spoken with many parents and community leaders, I have decided to offer “homeschooling” to other families to allow parents the option to work.

I will offer more details as my planning and job situations allow, but here are the basic ideas:

• Take in up to 5 kids from Grades K-3 – in a community location TBA
• Offer a flexible 10am-3pm “school day” five days a week, allowing buffer time on both ends for parents to work
• Charge slightly more than local daycare fees (for the materials and prep needed to provide a full-time learning experience!) – brainstorming ways to keep it accessible for families
• Follow the Ontario curriculum guidelines to ease transition back to schools when the families choose to do so
• Tap into traditional homeschooling resources and offer enrichment activities in all subjects, including French for all students
• Use the extra time (as teaching a smaller group results in less “lost time”) to teach life skills, such as cooking, sewing, tying shoelaces, etc.
• Offer an “after-school” music program as funding allows

I am excited to start this new journey and fusing my previous experiences to create this new “pandemic-times-inspired” model of schooling for families in Thunder Bay!