Another Month of Virtual School

 COVID infection rates took a spike again in mid-November which landed us back in 100% virtual school from November 16 to December 14. Evy's basketball was shut down but Charlie's dance and gymnastics were allowed to stay open as long as all participants wore masks and stayed 6 feet away from each other. 

Virtual school is labor-intensive for me as Will requires 100% assistance on all lessons. The girls both do pretty well but require help with math and some projects. We have gotten much better at this than we were in September. We have our processes down. The kids have had great attitudes and I've been impressed with their drive to get work done and turned in on time. I'm very thankful for that!

Will is typically done with his assignments by 11:30. I allow him to skip portions of the optional work because he goes to after kindergarten and I know they work on reading and math there. Evy and Charlie finish up anytime between Noon and 2 depending on how difficult the assignments are that day. 

Will read his first book at home! 

He loves the at-home science experiments. We watched a video about how wood is made and then we did an experiment to determine the differences in the types of wood when they are put in water. 

Charlie's workspace is at the desk in the kitchen. This causes a few hiccups with hearing as I am working with Will in the next room or if anyone needs to do anything in the kitchen. We have solved this by asking Charlie to use headphones!

By the early afternoon, everyone is bored and they have been doing quite a bit of art. Here they are drying their paintings with a hairdryer. 

Will's workspace is the dining room table. I set my laptop up next to him so I can try to get some work done here and there. 

A Total 2020 Vacation

I needed a break so I scheduled a last-minute trip to Clearwater Beach, FL. Direct flight, no rental car, easy quick little trip. This is 2020 so I should have known better. A few days before we were set to depart warnings about Tropical Storm/Hurricane Eta started entering the forecast. Of course, Eta was projected to hit Clearwater. We had two great beach days and then Eta decided to head our way. The beach was closed, our phones were going off with tornado, hurricane, and tropical storm warnings and we were stuck in our hotel room for about 24 hours. 

Lunch in a hurricane.

Greetings from Clearwater Beach!

 

Mask Laundry

 

Washing masks! Everyone has their favorite couple of masks which means I am washing masks all of the time. I make it a point to wash them after every day at school and after every time the kids wear them to an activity (basketball, dance, baseball, gymnastics, etc). Who knew?

The 2020 Election

I feel compelled to write something about the election so that I can look back at this day in history. The nation was on edge, all anyone could talk about was the election. Biden vs Trump. Families split. Friends becoming unfriendly. Even the kids were keenly aware of what was going on. This is the first year that we have ever had a yard sign supporting a presidential candidate and it's the first year (I think) that Scott and I have voted for the same person. I am glad we could be aligned in this choice as it felt more important than ever. After the ballots were cast we watched election night results roll in. At first, it appeared that Trump would win easily. But, this year a record number of people voted early or voted by mail because we are in a pandemic. As the early and mail votes were counted Biden started to take the lead. It took several days to get final results in about 6 key states. And even then there were several legal challenges to certifying those results. It is now December 9 as I write this and President Trump has not conceded and continues to challenge the results in court. However, Biden is president-elect and he is assembling his cabinet. Way back in the January caucus Biden was not my guy. I caucused for Amy Klobuchar. I wish the candidate running against Trump would have been different but he wasn't. There was never a question if I would vote for Trump. I despise him like I have never despised another human. I'm glad the election is behind us but no doubt there are still major challenges ahead. 

Drawing by Evy.

 

Halloween 2020

 Just another weird thing this year - Halloween COVID style. Johnson County Public Health put out guidelines that advised against handing out candy at the door. Our neighbors got creative and made trick-or-treat a great time for the kids! We met up at the Austen's for pizza at 5 p.m. Evy and her crew took off by themselves, Charlie and her friends were escorted by a couple of parents and I went with Will and the younger kids. People threw candy from their porch, lowered a basket of candy from their deck, set out cups on the driveway, and all kinds of great ways for the kids to secure a LOAD of candy! The weather was beautiful and we walked a long way. A great change from the snow we experienced last year.  

Evy Turns 12

Evy had her birthday plans and menu all figured out! On the morning of her birthday she requested cinnamon rolls and then we hosted the Grandparents for Chinese that evening. On Friday afternoon we took her and some friends to Bloomsbury Farms and then she hosted a slumber party. She got an iPhone from Mom and Dad which was a source of much excitement! 

THE BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Purple or Yellow.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Lark and Owl Chicken Fried Noodles and Coffee Cake.

 Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Sophia

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Have a sleepover with friends. 

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: Dynamite by BTS.

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: Funnel Cake.

Q: What is your favorite drink?

A: Diet Coke.

Q: What is your favorite show or movie?

A: Signs and The Office

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Bo Bo

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A: Watch a movie, except not with Will because he is disruptive.

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: Disney World.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: The Who Was Series

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: An Interior Designer or a person who pets dogs.  

Q: Are there any other things you want to tell me about being 12?

A: I'm almost a teenager!

Q: What’s your favorite thing about school?

A: Seeing my friends or getting off-topic with Mr. Haren.

Q: What are your thoughts about COVID-19?

A: It's scary. I hope there is a cure. I'm most annoyed that COVID ruined all of our summer vacations and Wapsie. 

Halloween Happenings

 Time seemed to get away from me this year so we crammed most of our Halloween/Fall traditions into the very last week of October. We finally had some decent weather so we made it to the Pumpkin Patch on Evy's birthday - Grandma and Papa went with us and we were glad to survive the maze for another year. Scott took the lead on the annual pumpkin carving extravaganza and I would say this year was the first one that the kids stuck around at the table and actually kind of participated. The girls enjoyed taking all of my fall decorations and creating a little photoshoot.