Back to distance

 Distance learning started again this week! Thankfully it's nothing like distance learning in the Spring. The kids have their own desk spaces and materials and the days are fully planned out. The distance learning day follows a regular school day which is nice. Last time, Kasper could get all of his work done by 10 am then would be on a screen for hours. 

Marlo had some rough moments this week. She really isn't made for distance learning and it's a big adjustment for her. Thankfully the first grade teachers are adding a weekly 10 minute 1 on 1 session for each kid to just chat about whatever. That's something that really helped Marlo in the Spring. I think she feels lost in the shuffle. 

She continues to be super into art. I think she's so talented! 

 

It was a warmish weekend! We all got outside for walks, bike rides, disc golfing, etc. Rob took the kids out for a bike picnic adventure.

 

The picnic

 

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Thanksgiving 2020

We got through a pandemic Thanksgiving! Weird year this year. Obviously.

The kids had their last days of in-person learning Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was no school then Thursday was Thanksgiving! It was just the 4 of us but I think we made the most of it! I ordered a cooked turkey breast from a grocery store and made a couple sides. It was very simple but we didn't feel like we sacrificed anything on the meal! Marlo helped me set the table. 

I'm realizing now that Marlo is still in her pjs but that's the norm. 

After dinner we set up a little tree in the basement and watched a Christmas movie. 

The rest of the long weekend mostly looked like this. Pretty typical.

I've been reading Harry Potter to the kids at night and they've been obsessed. They even go to bed early to read longer.

 

Grandma Sandra dropped off some bags of baking supplies yesterday so the kids could bake cookies with her via Zoom today. She really thought of everything and the kids (and their helpers/ taste testers) had a great time. 

 

We got our live tree yesterday and decorated it this evening. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Called it

Well, I was right: school will be moving to distance learning next week. The kids are disappointed, of course, but with COVID cases rising like they are we get it. This way it'll be easier for us to appropriately quarantine before bringing this circus on the road for Christmas! 

As for our week, it was pretty standard! This is Marlo and me every morning.  

We're back to being busy during the week and relaxing on the weekends. Marlo has rediscovered her love of drawing lately. And she's really good at it! She watches how-to-draw videos to get ideas then makes about a million of each design. She was really excited about drawing "stackers".

 

(That's a taco)

Her list to Santa even includes "printer paper". Haha! She's got a lot of creating to do. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Beginning of the end

If I was a betting person, I would guess this is our last full week of in-person school. Covid cases are exploding all over and I think the kids will switch to distance learning after Thanksgiving. It was great while it lasted! I know the kids have really enjoyed being in school the last couple months. 

That means I can look forward to exclusively online violin lessons. 

 

I can also expect a lot more of this. 

 

We played Ticket To Ride Friday night while we had pizza. Marlo was into wearing Rob's clothes this weekend for some reason. 

Getting doughnuts yesterday morning. 

 

Legos

Kasper went to the tae kwon do studio for the first time since March! He is supposed to test for his black belt next month so he had to go in for a prep class. I think he really liked being back with his fellow students and teachers! 

Today we hung around the house and did homework, read books, colored, baked cookies. Marlo is pretty good at finding her way around the kitchen! She can make herself a sandwich, pour milk, make toast, cut an apple. She can also use the oven with parent supervision. She's very comfortable!

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Finally some good news!

 Obviously there was one major story this week.

Our horse won but not without much gnashing of teeth on our end. Honestly this week felt like a year and it's going to take some time to recover. 

We spent our days glued to the news. Marlo was free to run wild and create. I think she went through a whole ream of printer paper and a pack of masking tape. She did some of that with Rob's glasses on.

We also discovered our next dental project. 

 

So that will be fun. 

We enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend! I took the kids for a long walk/bike ride yesterday and today Rob took the kids disc golfing! The weather will change again this coming week so I'm glad we got to be outside.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, because the world as a whole absolutely did!