Tis the season!

Today is Marlo's birthday which kicks off the craziest 16 days of our year. Add to it distance learning and isolating and things get crazier from there. 

Distance learning went pretty well this week. Marlo had her moments but she went a couple days without tears.

We got out for recess every day but one this week because Marlo had a zoom call mid-recess time. We rode our bikes/walked the long way to the park, played at the park and wrestled. The weather has been nice so it's been easy to be outside. 

 

Today was Marlo's seventh birthday! She had a couple requests and I think we covered everything. 

 

I got the same dog for Christmas when I was 6!

Every year we look at these photos of brand new Marlo. 

 

Marlo had a couple drop bys today. Her best friend Lucy dropped a gift off then they met up on FaceTime to open it. I know it made Marlo's day to see her BFF through the door. She also got to see Grandpa Steve and Carol who stopped by to give birthday wishes and gifts. She got FaceTime calls with the rest of her family so I think she was feeling well celebrated. 

Dinner was Culvers and DQ Treatzza Pizza. I think it was a pretty good birthday for the new 7 year old.

 

 

We have a short week of school then our long awaited trip home for Christmas. We CANNOT wait to see family for Christmas. 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

SEVEN

Holiday prep isolation

This week we started our two-week isolation in preparation for seeing family over Christmas! Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all isolating too, and we can't wait to see them in person again. 

Thankfully everyone but me was already home so it wasn't a huge adjustment. I worked Monday through Wednesday, frantically finishing up a bunch of work because I'll be out for over 3 weeks. Then I got to jump right back into distance learning facilitation. 

Basement learning one day.

Reading time

This week went really well. Marlo cried much less at the beginning of the week and by the end didn't even try it at all. The 1st grade teachers added a 10 minute, 1-on-1 session this week which I think was a fantastic idea. Marlo chattered away the whole time, showing her teacher all the art she's been making (believe me, it's a lot). It seems like a bit of undivided attention from the teacher goes a long way in helping the little kids not feel so lost in the shuffle. I have to give huge props to both kids' teachers. They each have a group of 3 teachers and 2 paras so the days feel very well thought-out and supported. Those teachers work SO HARD. 

I think the kids are VERY SLIGHTLY getting bored with screens. They won't necessarily pull themselves away on their own (Kasper especially) but once we suggest a walk or that they play a game together, they are pretty into it.

 

One more full week of distance learning before a short week and then Christmas! That happened fast, didn't it? Hope everyone had a great week!

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!