The Sum of Weeks

Ahhh, let's see. 

In the past few weeks.

Dahlia got a very big haircut. She said it was one of the happiest moments of her life. I've never felt strongly about a haircut, myself, but I understand why she does. ♥️

Escher completed his first jigsaw puzzle and wrote his full name.

Fireworks were blown off. Good times were had! 

Spore Printing Mushrooms

This past week we've seen some mushrooms popping up in the garden. Rick suggested we do a spore print, so Escher and I got the paper and we made one. 

When it came time to use that information to identify the sort of mushroom we did... not so helpful. There seems to be a discrepancy between what I'm supposed to see and what I actually see? 😂 Oh well. More education necessary. 

Escher's Spore Printing

Putting together robots: Escher version

Escher and I built a robot together from a little robotics kit from 5 Below. Because he's both engineering AND sweet / sentimental, he give his robot a kiss and sleeps next to him during naps. 😑

He got off track a lot but for his first foray into building a machine with moving parts he did a pretty good job.

Here's a video of the finished project. I finally figured out how to orient the phone so it would take video correctly, so that's what *I've* learned this week. 

Escher's Robot!

Eschie got a bug bite!

At 2:30am he dragged his favorite blanket in and climbed into our bed. He seemed fine, other than climbing in with us, which he doesn't really do anymore. This morning, he looked like a boxer! 

Poor babe! I gave him topical Benedryl gel and chewable diphenhydramine. He doesn't have a fever, chills, clammy skin, or any behavior changes. But there is a tiny puncture wound so I suspect that's where the bite occurred. My husband agrees. 

So it sounds like we need to have an easy day and give him ample time to rest. It was scary that I couldn't figure out the origin of the swell, but he's fine and cuddling his favorite blanket now. 

We're going to grow 🌽

At some point we decided that we wanted to grow corn. We also researched about sister plants when we were in Chicago (before COVID hit). That means we are going to grow corn, beans, and squash!

First we had to carve out a place for the corn to grow. There was an overgrown area covered in vines, which we raked, removed sticks from, and weed whacked out.

Second up we had to use a rototiller. Here's an action shot:

Eventually the entire area is going to be leveled and corn seeds will be planted along with beans and squash. All three of these plants will grow together and aid each other in various ways. Some will provide nitrogen, some will provide insect repellent, and all will provide nutrition to our family! We will keep you posted. :-)

Baby Bunny: Fred!

So. While visiting the great-grandparents part of the homestead, Micah (the dog) got a hold of a baby bunny. We assumed the bunny was dead. It wasn't! Dahlia and Escher named the baby bunny Fred. We looked up care for bunnies (having heard humans can't touch baby bunnies without the scent driving the Mama bunny to kill the baby). We learned that wild bunnies are not good pets because they get so stressed they can die. Wow!

Eventually, Fred was released into the nest hole from whence he came. He jumped out, as it was probably abandoned. He ran for the fence and stopped to rest a few times. Eventually he made it past the fence!

Bon voyage, Fred! 

Esch Gardens on YouTube

In addition to the distance learning, Escher is also learning to homestead. He's seen his family cut down giant trees which led to him helping collect sticks and stack wood. Because he loves kids who have videos on YouTube, I figured he'd enjoy seeing himself on our big TV. He does! Feel free to subscribe to his channel!

He's continuing his alphabet, writing, and reading in addition to his regular distance CPS assignments and activities.

He's continuing his yoga series, and still loves Jamie from Cosmic Kids. I think we all love her because she's capable of keeping Escher focused on one activity for 20 whole minutes. 😂

Both kids have gotten air plants! The black one with the crazy "hair" is Robert Smith. Yes, like THAT Robert Smith.

Dahlia has gotten a Dahlia plant for the yard. 

She learned how to ride a bike VERY well, with the help of 5 separate adults. 😂 Her legs got pretty beaten up from all the diving off the bike, and falling with the bike. We all encouraged her to keep trying and never give up. She did it!

Why didn't she learn earlier? Well, she was legally blind in one eye so she didn't have much depth perception - which made it too hard for her to balance on a bicycle. Her Dad and I did patch therapy with her (lots of frustrated tears and meltdowns), and also she would try to recreationally use the weak eye to focus. Now she's no longer legally blind and she is able to ride a bike! Next up, 3D movies! 😁

Beginning CPS Distance Learning

We began by identifying the date (with day of week, month, and year as well). We put a weather sticker on to indicate it was cloudy. We spelled cloudy. We began discussing birds.

Then we did the distance learning lesson from his usual Pre-K teacher, Ms. K.

He went around the house and identified lots of items that began with the letter B. I asked him to spell bird first, without help. He spelled B-E-T. After we saw the words a few times, he spelled B-I-D. I asked which sound he forgot. He said R, and spelled it correctly. Being a distributed proofreader for Project Gutenberg, I only cried a little. Hahahaha!

He was tasked with making a nest out of household items. Yesterday was Easter (we're mostly atheists in this family, but we still celebrate all holidays - especially at our UU church), so that was pretty effective.

Speaking of Easter, here's some tiny snapshots:

The kids got 4 baskets (2 from us, 2 from their grandparents), super soakers from their great grandparents, and I made "carrots" (croissant type things stuffed with egg salad). There was zero Jesus talk, which was delightful. We all colored eggs on Saturday night (glitter unicorn & foam swirl & regular). There was an egg hunt arranged by their grandma the next morning! I made sweet cheese crepes with raspberry sauce for breakfast.

Rick made special grilled zucchini and spinach lasagna with bechamel! Great-grandparents were celebrating with us and a lovely time was had by all.

Monday's school exercise time was the Ryan's World Exercise Dance Party video. 

There will also be lots of outdoor time today.

Quarantine - Homeschool: Redux.

Due to the COVID-19 executive orders and recommended guidelines of the CDC and WHO, we are sheltering in place.

 What place? Tennessee! With our loved ones and grandparents aplenty. :)

 There are all kinds of differences and challenges here, but I'm so glad we're with our big extended family. We totally miss Beer & Chocolate Tuesdays with our friends, as well as the kids' friends, and our preferred places in Chicago. But the clean air, no confirmed COVID-19 cases around us, wide open spaces, and our ability to expansively garden on acreage are a great thing for us. So far we have onions, garlic, and seeds we'll be planting shortly (radishes, russian kale, leeks, etc). Escher is starting to identify more plants & get more outdoor time than in Chicago. Dahlia is much less depressed than she was in December. She's still struggling a little bit with anxiety, but she's managing well with her therapist's help.

And onto the subject of them being out of school. Since I have more time on my hands than usual, I decided to do an easy homeschool routine with Escher. We do a journal page where he writes the date, then draws four quadrants. Each of the quadrants contains some information about what he's doing, how he's feeling (so I can keep up with his emotional state), something he'd like to do someday, and a fun activity (which allows him to consider what to do if he gets bored). Here's the first day's journal page:

Teaching him to read and write has been on my agenda for a long time (Dahlia could do both by the time she was 3-4 so even though I'm not supposed to compare them for milestones, I kind of do). But I was working full time, hosting a weekly get-together, doing volunteer stuff as needed, tending to Dahlia's emotional & psychological well-being, and other important things - so I was too tired. But now:

He's still getting homework assignments from his regular school, so he's doing those as well. 

Eventually I got a Melissa & Doug school set from the Amish store by us. He seems to love it, particularly because it has a bell, a timer, and a pointer with a fake crayon at the end. 

It bears mentioning that I also have him doing yoga three times per week, gardening with me and his grandma, and he has online meetings with his church friends. He will also start doing distance learning with his regular teacher from Pre-K soon. Which technically means this is supplemental. I think it's important. :) 

Dahlia has started doing Khan Academy & will be expected to continue her school's online learning curriculum. She's been recreationally reading, compiling recipes, being an adorable teenager, and having Zoom meetings with our church's youth group (and BCT in Absentia). I think she and I may start running together soon. 

Rick and I have been doing our best to keep up a nice routine for them (although Escher likes to hang out with his grandma in the early morn - which makes us perfectly happy to sleep in sometimes since we don't ever get that luxury in Chicago). We're organizing our stuff, settling us in, and figuring out our new temporary normal. My resting heart rate has decreased pretty drastically for the past few weeks, which is weird because I was very upset that my life was turned upside down by my regular career's abrupt shutdown. All is well so far. :)