Joshua was not excited about going for a hike this morning so I said, "Bring something that will make you happy." I had been thinking sunglasses or pants instead of shorts or something like that, but instead Grey Bear came with us! I was rather excited...it's been a while since Grey Bear has joined us on an outing.
Things that are somewhat missing...
My pants: I was getting dressed yesterday for work and felt like I had significantly fewer pants to choose from than normal. One had a stain on them, but I don't think that any were in the wash.
Joshua's underwear: Joshua said "Did you know you can wear two pairs of underwear at once?!?" earlier this week, and there seemed to be a ton in the wash this week.
My beginning of school excitement: Joshua and I worked on the classroom a bit more today and we could easily start. I'm sure a few things will change and there are some minor things I still want to move around, but it's pretty ready.
Well, this week is flying by. I just realized I haven't posted since Monday. I don't have any pictures so it's hard to remember. Not much happened.
The babysitter started work and it seems to have gone well.
Isaac spent the night with Larry and Cheryl and had a grand time. Joshua stayed at home. We made a cat tent and had too much screen time. We almost made raspberry jam, but we were about one cup of raspberries short. There'll probably be enough by tomorrow.
My second class today finally seemed to get the timing correct. I got through all the material and there was time for the students to practice.
I picked up Isaac and Joshua's supplies from school. It was uneventful. I got Isaac's first week of school schedule and it doesn't look too bad at all, but the teacher also said that it will change the second week.
Isaac used his all-day screen time day today. Although he wasn't feeling great this evening, so we moved tonight's screen time until tomorrow.
I got a lot of work done today because of this, although I relaxed a bit too.
In other news, Joshua made his next recipe: cup sandwich. He had it for dinner, but the first thing he had to do was slam it out of the cup. So I'm not really sure what the point of the cup was, other than to make it hard to spread the toppings. He had Nutella, honey, and peanut butter. The peanut butter was "to be healthy". Oh, and there are three layers of bread, cut with a cookie cutter.
Today we got another email from the school. It gave us some information, but seemed like an email to let us know more information would be coming...again.
I've been waiting for this email because we have stuff to pick up for school and school starts in a week. We were at least given the dates and times (Thursday and Friday, 5-7pm) we will be able to come, although no information as to whether we need to sign up for a slot or anything like that. (That email will come on Tuesday.) Oh well, at least progress is being made.
We finally changed a plug that hasn't worked well for years. It's one of those things I should have done a long time ago, but just never got around to it.
Isaac helped. He got to learn about the fuse box and did several of the wire changes.
We heard back from Isaac's teacher. She's one of a pair of teachers that Isaac will have, which makes me feel much better.
Today was the second day of classes. Students did a better job of keeping masks over their noses, but there were still two (4%) that had a hard time. While I'd like to think it's getting better, there's also been some ...deserved drama... amongst the faculty about students congregating without masks. I'd like to be optimistic that we'll be able to finish out the semester, but I realized I don't have a feel for anything other than the few hours I'm there. Also, the second class was slow again. I'm going to need a new plan for them.
Isaac and Joshua got their teacher assignments! It came with a list of supplies to get, which I've been waiting for. Isaac's class has 29 virtual learners and 10 in-person learners. What what??? I could understand a *slightly* larger virtual class, but why does a 3rd grade class have 39 students? I'm concerned but guessing there is a reason, even if I don't like the reason. We weren't given info like that for Joshua's class. The good news is that both teachers are at the boys' school. We were only promised that the teachers would be within the school association, so that was good news. It would be nice to have a date for picking up supplies from the school since school starts in just over a week, but I suppose one thing at a time.
It was a nice day today, although pretty normal.
We got a bit more of our classroom set up. Joshua is pretty excited about his desk, although I'm going to add something soft to one of benches yet. They also got their mice, so those went on the tables right away. Now it's just too bad that we don't actually know many details about school. We get several emails that information is coming, but few emails that actually contain information. I know they're busy and have many more details to consider than I need to worry about, but it's a bit annoying too.
I started work today.
It went better than I was expecting. All the students were wearing masks, but about 10% of them had a hard time keeping them over their noses. Of these 10% it ranged from not seeming to care to having the mask bother them and they'd fiddle with it and a few minutes later remember it should be over their nose.
The second class was surprisingly behind though. The first class ended with about 15 minutes to practice on their own. In the second class I skipped several things and there was only about five minutes to practice. I know there were a few more questions in the second class, but I'm usually not that far off between classes. It was somewhat flustering.
Not much new over here this weekend. Yesterday we went blueberry picking. It was near the end of the season and you could tell. The berries were plentiful, but really small. We stopped early and I bought a box in addition to the small amount that we picked. The boys were allowed to play on the playground, so they were happy about that.
Today I starting working on converting the guest room into a school room. It involved quite a bit of clean up first, as for some reason boxes were getting stacked on top of each other instead of really being put away. Then I took the bed apart. The mattress and box spring are just standing against the wall, but it still adds a few feet to the room. Now to keep it clean until I get the tables in...
Isaac's having a sad time again, but is handling it better this go around.
Time flies when your kids aren't around.
In other news, we've gotten two applicants for babysitting while I teach. One has a slight time conflict so probably wouldn't work quite as well, but the other has no conflict. While no one has been hired yet, having some applicants has been a huge relief! There are back-up plans, but they are not as ideal.
Well, Ben and I were on the same page regarding schooling, so the boys will still be in virtual school for at least the first trimester. I think we both have different "main" reasons, but the end result is still the same.
I cleaned a gutter today. It was completely blocked. It's one of those things that if a child had been doing it I would have taken their picture for the blog. But the kids don't think that way, so there's no picture.
My calf is sore. It's rather surprising. We walked several steps up and down yesterday, but I didn't think so many that my muscle would be this sore. Maybe it's from something else?
Isaac and Joshua are leaving for two days tomorrow. They're so excited. Here is Joshua's packing list. The things with the checks are packed, the others are warnings because they're not packed yet.
Well, we did get more school information today, as promised.
The new news is that masks are required for all people, regardless of age. We can change our option around Thanksgiving. Everything else that they told us I had already assumed would be in place.
We have been given until Wednesday to (re)make our decision.
Last weekend Joshua drew a book. We stapled it together, and he read it to several people several times this week.
This morning I was greeted by a ghost once I woke up. The ghost had made a bunch of scary things: slimes, spiders, snakes, and monsters to scare me.
A day or two ago Joshua was SO excited because he had made a special dessert for everyone. It was the first thing he said to me when I got up from my nap. It was the first thing he said to Ben when he walked in the door. ...but it was a surprise so I couldn't look in the freezer.
Well, he had put food coloring in water and frozen it. He paid careful attention to the colors though and tried to give everyone their favorite color. When we had drunk some of the water, he offered to upgrade it at a later time. Sure, why not. I put mine back in the freezer.
The upgrade came today. He put frosting on top of the ice and refroze it. He excitedly got them out again at dinner time, although I'll admit mine didn't make it to the table. I tried a bit later and said the prerequisite, "yum", after which Ben told me the boys thought it tasted a bit funny.
Well, we're (somewhat) signed up for virtual school. We did not receive any additional information or answers to our questions. (Although we could probably make a case to change next week if the information that is supposed to come out on Monday changes our minds.)
So I don't love this selection, let's be honest. I was really, really looking forward to both kids being in school. The main reasons we went this way include:
1) No masks are required in K-5 classrooms. This troubles me.
2) While I'm sure they will try to social distance, I've been in those classrooms. There is not enough room for 6ft apart. With however far apart they are able to go, I expect the kids will have to sit there most of the time and that's not fun either.
3) I would not be at all surprised if everybody is changed to a remote learning plan at some point. I feel we have a small leg up with a teacher that was already expecting to teach on-line. (This could be offset by the kids not seeing their teacher in person, which would be a bonus of in person schooling.)
4) Both kids are ok with virtual schooling. Isaac's been listening carefully to some of the discussions I've been having and doesn't want to get sick. While the boys getting sick is actually rather low on my list of reasons to virtual school, Ben and I could get sick and we still don't know the long term effects of the virus if the any of us get sick. Joshua wants virtual learning because he just likes to stay home.
Now, if you're reading this and chose the other way, that's a good decision too. Well, maybe I should say that it is an equally bad decision? I went back and forth so many times and could give you a very similar list for having the boys actually go to school.
