We are thankful to be healthy and safe. We are thankful our school district continues to pay us. We are doing our best to make the most of this pretty intense, strange situation. Some snapshots of how we fill our days...
orchestra of nemnes
listening to our old CDs
playing Guitar Hero
[I promise we gave the boys turns.]
We've also been watching movies with the boys, which, in our prior life, we didn't often make time for. We've watched Pee-wee's Big Adventure, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Back to the Future, and Karate Kid.
Steak and homemade French fries
rum cake
rolling powerballs
[peanuts, raisins, chocolate chips, oatmeal, peanut butter, honey]
playing Rack-o
Quixx is really fun!
Burke and the boys got this green assembled. It was a Christmas gift from JCCE. We are borrowing a putter from my dad. Evan was making obstacles and longer courses for us.
They invented this game in our driveway, rolling golf balls and landing them in the cracks. There were chalk drawn obstacles and a whole points system.
We've ordered a couple books from Amazon. We are also using Libby for ebooks. Evan is very much into Spy School. He recently asked to order 2 more to complete the Spy School series.
Burke and I have been busy collaborating with colleagues and adapting our curriculum to push out the most essential of essential learning standards in the last 7 weeks of the academic year. We are up to our eyeballs in Google Meets. It's sure nice to connect with everyone.
The middle school teachers put together a photo collage of teachers holding letters that spelled out a positive message for students. Ryan made this fancy letter for Burke's contribution to the collage.
There was a community initiative a few weeks back to put bears in windows for families to go on a bear hunt while out on walks. It was a fun way to connect with community. It was a fun diversion for the boys to look for bears in windows.
My school staff collaborated on a project, similar to Burkes. Ours was a video with music showing pics of school staff. Staff was invited to hold messages in their pictures.
The buildings have been closed to staff. Last week, we were allowed to make quick trips into our buildings to grab any supplies we may need to help us with remote learning in the last 7 weeks of the school year. I am a sentimental and reflective person, and I know that about myself. But I was caught off guard by how emotionally jarring it was to enter the building and our classroom. There may have been some sobbing as I collected my things.
We had just started Reading Month activities at school before the shut down. The theme had to do with Reading is my Super Power. This is Evan's Superhero Identification Card. Students were invited to enter raffles, as they read from various genres and marked them on the ID card. Obviously, the event was canceled with the closing of school. He worked to complete his card anyway...
We try to get outside at least once a day, weather permitting.
rough housing outside
The boys got a frisbee stuck in a tree at my parents. You can see the red circle faintly a quarter of the way down from top, near the middle. Watching everyone try to get that down was a very amusing diversion that lasted a couple days. It was a full team effort, but it did finally come down. All the stuff we were throwing up there to knock it loose, reminded me of the children's book Stuck by Oliver Jeffers.
We have yet to go in each other's houses, and are physically distancing, but we do visit my parents from time to time to say hello and/or deliver groceries.
One day, we were all kind of in a funk. We took a family walk to this open field near our house and threw a frisbee around. The sun, laughs, and physical activity helped us adjust our attitudes.
a recent favorite - noodle battles
Then it snowed a bit last week, which felt strange. April snow usually doesn't last long, of course. But while it was on the bushes, Evan played in the snow by filling his water bottle with it. I found that amusing for some reason.
Lots of LEGO fun
They emptied their "dump" of mixed up pieces, and organized them by color.
Nana sent a potholder loom and some colorful loops. This fine motor, pattern type activity is right up Evan's alley. Thanks, Nana!
Gas is shockingly cheap!
Ryan was trying to upload a social studies project, but our speeds at home are very slow. We walked/rode bikes up to our local library and sidled up to the building to see if we could borrow their wifi speed. It was not better than our home speeds.
So, we drove to Ryan's school, and to borrow their wifi/upload speed! It worked!
We want in! :(
Click here to view Ryan's project on Singapore. The Google Earth video that is part of the project is linked on Ryan's You Tube channel, which is thoughtfully curated for a 12 year old. Click here to view his channel, and subscribe if you'd like to follow what he creates.
Then it was Easter!
The Easter Bunny did not enter our house for COVID-related safety reasons, and left a letter explaining the situation taped to our door from the outside. A few eggs and treats were hidden in our yard.
We went to my parents to share an enjoyable, physically distanced meal. They were nice enough to cook ham, cheesy potatoes, and more...
Baskets from Bunny at Grammy & Grampy's
Cheers to being in the moment and making the best of whatever situation you are given!
To wrap up this post... cutie Evan and an Easter card sent through the mail from cousin Caleb.
Hope everyone is staying a healthy and positive as possible!
