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"It's been interesting" | How one family handled the first week of KCS@Home

Lee Forgety has a 6-year-old daughter, and each day they work and learn from home together.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Since "KCS@Home" launched on Monday, 6-year-old Emma sits at the family desk every day while her dad, Lee Forgety, sits at the kitchen table. 

He takes calls and works on the computer, while she either watches a Youtube lesson, works on a packet or reads. 

"It's been fun to watch I guess because of the novelty of it," Forgety said. 

Along with millions of kids across the country, Emma is learning at home.

"She's doing the 'KCS@Home' through the Youtube app," Forgety said.

The first week kicked off with plenty of reading. Then, Emma did some exercise and made interesting artwork with her shoes. During one of her lessons, Emma watched as a teacher traced her shoe to make a picture.

"She's a 6-year-old off school, so she's gonna do some stuff sometimes," her dad said. 

By 'stuff,' he means sometimes making a quick change into a princess dress.

"Right now I'm doing chocolate chips cause those are brownies," Emma said as she worked to come up with a recipe in her blue dress.

Lee said the process wasn't too bad overall, but it did have its challenges.

"It's hard to make sure she has the time and the internet connection that she needs as well as to get my work done," Forgety said. 

That is something he believes many parents will probably identify with.

"It's really just trying to find the best way for her to learn and to stay on task and be successful," he added. 

Emma is a first-grader so she can either work on packets or pop on her Pokémon headphones on and work online. 

However, Forgety said not all parents may have those resources, and that is something he understands.    

"Nothing but love to the teachers because they do a fantastic job," he said. 

Learning from home is not only a new experience for students in East Tennessee, but also for students across the state and the country.

"It's all a complete adjustment and you just got to be patient to know how to do that best," Forgety said. 

In the meantime, Emma and her dad are doing what they can as they figure it out together. 

"We will see what week two has to offer," he said. 

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