How is your family adapting to life? What are some new habits and daily routines?
New Skills
Here’s one our family has just employed. My software engineer husband is now cutting hair! Instead of spending the $30 to cut my oldest son’s hair, he is retooling and paving new ground — and fast becoming a pretty good hairstylist. Initially, I was skeptical; now I am so proud of him. Job well done!
Before 
After
Another Adaptation
Our Bosch dishwasher is 7 years old now. In the past 2 years, we have had a service man out at least once a year to replace the motor. In the last 3-4 weeks, I have heard what I describe as a “death rattle” in this appliance. Sure enough, Friday night–it did not complete the cycle. Luckily I stocked up on a few bottles of real dish soap. It breaks my heart, as I know we will not be able to replace it for a while. Due to the way our flooring has been laid in, we need to take some of our new hardwood flooring out to even be able to switch out our machine. So long—beautiful Bosch. RIP 3/21/2020.
We are doing things the old fashioned way now. Thankfully I bought some dish washing gloves a few years ago. (My kids have sensory issues with soapy water.)
The California Story is a Tale of Adaptation
The idea of adaptation reminds me of another story, a relevant tale for our moment — the history of California. This year I have been teaching a California history class at FUNdamentals homeschool co-op in Arcadia, using my California Out of the Box curriculum. As we have read each of the historical fiction books telling people’s story coming to California—for gold, for income, to build the mission system—they have all had to adapt to live in this place. Sometimes leaving their families behind seeking economic advancement (Earth Dragon Awakes and By the Great Horn Spoon!); sometimes re-figuring their life due to family members perishing due to Small Pox (Valley of the Moon); sometimes having their whole people group wiped out (Island of the Blue Dolphins). All of these characters left their home, or comfortable place, because they had to. The story of California is enriching and completely relevant for our current challenges with Covid-19. Californians are a people group needing to figure out again how to survive given this current challenge. For age-appropriate inspiring stories for kids in grades 3-6 (and parents!), check out our curriculum!* (And even if you don’t buy our curriculum, read these stories!)
*The curriculum is a teacher’s guide that uses 5 historical fiction stories plus 2 other resources to explore the history, habitats, geography, geology, and more in California. The literature books must be purchased separately, but are available as a literature box set on our site.