Morning Dads: Eric Johnson thinks creatively to teach his 2 sons
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Today's Morning Moms segment has a different look. It's another edition of Morning Dads.
A North Philadelphia father put his creativity to the test when he had to start homeschooling his two young sons.
There's nothing like an exploding volcano to liven up quarantine.
Eric Johnson of North Philadelphia has been keeping his sons Edward and Sincere busy, from volcano science experiments to superhero parties to arts and crafts.
"I got creative, and I called my best friend Amazon, who I got a lot of stuff from," Johnson said.
At first, Eric, a single father, worked his full-time job from home as an early learning specialist. But by April, he decided to take leave from his job until the end of the school year to support his boys' online instruction and supply his own enrichment, for a now rising second grader and preschooler.
"You get to learn a lot more about your kids, and they get to learn a lot more about you," Johnson said.
A former preschool teacher himself, Eric felt at home, at home; he transformed the kitchen into a classroom, took nature walks, and spruced up their back yard.
But there were also tough conversations, about the pandemic and the civil unrest.
"Being a single Black father of two boys, it was very difficult, very challenging," Johnson said.
And now this family is gearing up for more remote learning this fall, with Dad back working.
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel, we just don't know when the tunnel is going to happen," Johnson said.
"Just take one day at a time and count your blessings."
