Week 7, Day 30 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

Birthday-eve. We are trying to prep today and finish all schooling so we don’t have to do too much tomorrow and instead celebrate our wonderful 8-year-old. We even have planned in the birthday cake-run to Rachel’s Cakes in Anna into the schedule.

Kicking off today, it’s Spirit Day in #InThisTogetherOhio. I made the kiddos get on clothes and Elida spirit gear at that! A picture from our front porch of them trying to get in the spirit on this very dreary Thursday.

We plowed through the homework today too.  Olivia had a big day as she moved on from subtraction on XtraMath. She is so very excited to have this accomplished before she turns 8.  I printed out her certificate and tried to make a super big deal like they would at school.  I don’t want her to not be as recognized as she would if school was still in session.

 

Most of the pictures from today are the kiddos on iPads taking tests, so that didn’t make for great and exciting pictures. I do have a pic of the disaster (Isaac’s vocab word this week) on my kitchen table. This evening we got yarn elephant craft project from our dear friends the Zigenbusch family. Of course, she’ll stay up until this project is complete. Last night she went to bed a shade after 2 a.m. She has too much of our night owl tendencies in her.  She’ll sleep in half the morning, and I’m good with that! I will do the same. 

The last picture today is from tonight when they were just snuggled up watch cartoons on Isaac's iPad. Does any other Momma's heart melt when you catch an impromptu snuggled up session in place with your kiddos?  This momma's heart does, so grabbed my phone quick to snap.  Although they yell and scream at each other, there are moments of love. 

Week 4, Day 16 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

Here we go... Entering week 4 of this craziness that has become our new normal. If you would have asked me when this started if we'd be finishing up this by now, the answer would have been a resounding NO.  When the universities shut down until at least next weekend upon the initial announcement, there was no way that our children who were younger and more susceptible were going back. Although they have said they'll reevaluate May 1 (Olivia's Birthday!) I am again on the bandwagon that it will be extended throughout the end of the school year. This will be interesting for Elida. I haven't heard much, but this was to be a short summer since they are building our new school this year throughout the 2021 summer. Only time can tell, as everything that is happening now is uncharted and unpredictable.

We do get a short week this week as it's the kiddos spring break week. They'll only be going to school through Wednesday this week!  Then some much needed holiday break. If nothing more, for momma to get caught up on her online classes and grading. Looking forward to some much needed downtime.  

Today we returned to the schedule.  It's much needed in our household. The only time I need to jump online to teach is from 2-3 on Mondays, so we attempt to cram most work into the morning and early afternoon, so during the 2-3 hour they can do something on their own.  I did return to the interview of what life is like right now in the weekly interviews. These two could talk for hours, so I cut them off at 3 minutes because my two talkers could go on for hours...where did they get that from?


We kicked off today with XtraMath and hot dots. Isaac only needs to do hot dots because my ISAAC passed all levels of XtraMath. To say he was excited was an understatement. He had me print off his certificate and write on it like his teacher does. Then he got a special text from his math teacher saying she had saw he passed and wanted him to know how proud she was of him.  Happy tears.  Super proud of how far he has come in academics.  I can tell you he is the HARDEST worker you'll ever find. As a teacher and coach, I'll take that any day. 


Music class had us playing musical chairs with two people. DUMB. Then I suggested we put up Olivia's dance videos from the first comp and she could run through them.  Oh how we (and ever other dance family) miss it. The questions revolving around the unknown send me down a rabbit hole, so moving on. 

Olivia had to write in her journal about Easter.  She LOVES to write. I mean loves it. Knowing this, her teacher actually text me today and sent me via email an entire packet of journal prompts and offered to review them for her. How stinkin' sweet is that?  

Besides the normal schedule, it was so beautiful today so we went to Ottawa Metro park today for a walk/run.  Olivia ran 3.2 miles again today at 33.33. That's around 10 minute miles. I'm so impressed with her and this distance training. She's killing it.  All for the medal. We signed her up for the super grover race. It's a virtual race, so she can do it anytime and then submit her time and receive her medal.  She's so focused and determined right now that it makes my heart skip a beat. 

Week 3, Day 15 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

FRI-YEA!  We tried to put an energetic spin on today.  Trying something different, we listed everything we needed to do for the day on the white board. Starting with Olivia we were able to randomly pick a task and tackle. 

The order? Hot dots/xtraMath first. That is what we typically start with, so not surprised they went with that. It's a good warm up for the day and also teaches us that school is all about schedule and order.  This is what we typically do and they like to have order. 


Second, Bible Time. Today we learned about how the world started and the Garden of Eden. 

Next, we went to Math. Isaac had a test and Olivia said she was done with her assigned work (she was) and so I gave her some worksheets from a workbook I have here at home.  After that, we went to lunch! It wasn't on the board, but the kiddos didn't let me forget about it. 

A cool thing I found on PBS was a kid version of COVID-19 in a video.  They watched the entire thing and seemed pretty interested in what he had to say. The didn't understand the 6 feet rule applied to only people outside our home, so we talked about that. We also discussed why it's important they stay home when I run to the grocery. Of course they wanted to know when this would all be over.  Still didn't have a good answer for that. Probably not before June 1 would be my guess. 

Gym rocked. It's beautiful at 65 degrees here today. We set up my laptop and did Ruthless exercise video outside. Then we all went for a 3 mile walk.  It was perfect to step outside and escape the house. 

The pic of the bat and broom? Well what do you do when mommy is online working and you're bored? Apparently you throw rocks on the top of the pool tarp. Then you decide how to get it off before mom sees the rock. So you try to reach with a ball bat. That doesn't work and you lose the bat too.  So you get a broom. Except you lose that out in the middle too. They you resort to going and getting mom. UGH. 

We finished up today with reading and spelling. Both had tests in both subjects. It took us a good 1.5 to complete our reading assignments with both kids today. The good news is that next week is spring break for half the week, so we will have a nice break and some easy catch up time.  We didn't get to Olivia's closet or Social Studies today, so we'll chip away at those assignments this week and next week. Happy Fri-YAY! 

Week 3, Day 12 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

Well we took a different approach today.  Jeremy agreed to do Science and Reading with the kids when he got home so I could skip them.  YES! I sat on conference calls or online teaching most of the afternoon, so it was a welcomed break. Don't worry- the 'chore charts' from yesterday are coming into play nicely.  The deep clean of the kitchen floor was AWESOME. I was on calls and they were stripped down to their undies scrubbing the kitchen floor trying to whiten the grout?! I have fab pictures I'm sure I'll pull out and embarrass them when their older! But they're not public material, so I'll save those for family.

I kicked off today with a call at 9, so we were all up by 9:30.  I set up the outdoor tent in the basement so once again, I'm letting them sleep in a tent and long for the outdoors, with all the wonderful amenities of the indoors. 

Math was excellent today. Check out the cool video of Isaac seeing the light click on with fractions. It only took me a week to figure out how to explain and work with him on these problems. I think he might actually get it now.  Tomorrow's test over the material will be the tall-tale sign. 

Bible Time today we learned about Jonah and the Whale. I was on yet another call when they watched this lesson, so no questions or follow up today.  Maybe better luck tomorrow.

I won't bore you with what they had for lunch, but know that they helped themselves as I was working today and told them to find something. Pretty sure they had pizza rolls. LOL

Then there was our Art Pop Cupcake project. First let me say we have two weeks to complete this project so there is NO NEED to do it one sitting. But 2.5 hours later, we finished the project. Kiddos had to watch videos on pop art. Have a look. It was super interesting. I learned something myself. Then they had like a 5-question test on pop art. I think* they both passed? Then I printed off the directions for the assignment portion and they both got to work.  The practice session with the cupcakes went pretty well.  Then we started the graded assignment.  Poor Isaac just doesn't get symmetry. First you had do everything in pencil. When I looked at his first version, you could have fit the entire thing in a half of a sheet of 8.5x11. UGH.  Before he colored, I made him start over. I put a dot in the center of the page and that helped him so much. When they finished and I went to upload to their folders I see that Olivia (different grade) was suppose to do a cookie, not a cupcake. What the heck? Are you kidding me? So I wrote a love note to the Art teacher and said we worked on them together and I hope she will accept the cupcake instead of the cookie without penalty. TBD. 

Reading and Science with Dad went pretty smoothly. Only Isaac has Science right now and it's about motion. I think their video talked about rollercoasters, which was all that was needed to get sidetracked and talk about Cedar Point. Dude, he can't WAIT for the park to open. I hope he doesn't have to wait too long to go enjoy.  He talks about that place all year long. 

If anyone actually reads these blogs and has any suggestions for a reading series or books that Isaac might actually want to read, drop me a note. We haven't found something for reading that is wonderful as XtraMath has been for math. 

Week 2, Day 10 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

Olivia asked if we could make up the schedule early last night so she could write it on the whiteboard. I told her I like having a theme on Friday.  Can you spot what she came up with? "Get Out Early Day" is what she came up with for our theme. Ok, works for me. Must have an early release program at this school on Fridays. 😂

Decided we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for Bible Time and we want to kick the day off right, so we moved it to first. Remember yesterday when I said we found a really cool series on YouTube? Well, we pulled it up again today. Today we learned about Joshua and the battle of Jericho.  I asked the kids to tell it back to me and they did!  I should ask them again in a week and see how much they remember.

XtraMath time, they disappeared again. Olivia sometimes does hers before I even get out of bed. She's on subtraction and is angered that she hasn't progressed as quickly as she did through addition.  Isaac is finishing up division, which I believe is the last section. He's only a few days away from conquering. I'm fully expecting he will graduate from XtraMath Monday, if not earlier.  

In actual Math homework assigned by their teachers, Olivia is working on three-dimensional shapes and Isaac on fractions. Math was never my strong suit, so I try to keep up on what they're learning and how to best assist them in doing the problem how they're learning at school. I adore all the memes going around on FB about teaching them how to carry the one, but in all honesty, I'm trying hard to follow the ways of the state since that is how they'll be taught to test and neither could use any more 'ways' to do it.  They just need to learn a way and stick with it, so they're not confused.

Oh the solar system or Science/Art/Music project. When you put Olivia in charge, you better believe that she's going to incorporate these subjects. She asked if I would help her learn about the solar system. Who can deny their child of this educational lesson. So first I googled YouTube to learn a song to go with the lesson. Next I googled solar system lesson plans and found this gem. I printed off worksheet and even a quiz to cap off the lesson. What kind of teacher would I be without a pop quiz?! The quiz ended with Isaac in tears because Olivia got 100% and he didn't. ugh. Next time, group quiz. 

Reading was last today. We avoid having reading after lunch. Isaac is best in the morning when his brain is focused. I hate bumping it until after lunch, but today, under the new leadership-aka Olivia- that is where it was put.  So we finished up the day with reading/spelling test/vocab and grammar tests. Neither kid was feeling it, and neither was momma. I was spent. Isaac is learning about dependent and independent clauses. YES, right down my ally.  However, my biggest problem with Schoology is that after he completes the test, he sees the score, but not the ones he has missed.  How is he suppose to know (or how is momma suppose to know) what he needs more help on?  I know most don't care, but this momma wants to help sharpen those concepts he doesn't get yet.

Added bonus today was making Banana Crumb Cake. HIGHLY recommend if you have left over ripe bananas to use up.  It was AH-mazing.

Time for early release. They're heading to maw and paws for a sleepover tonight. They're beyond excited. We've seen maw and paw every day since this entire hoopla started, so I'm not too concerned about us sharing germs. Plus it will be nice for the teacher to send the students away for an evening. 😉

Week 2, Day 9 of the CrononaCrazy Day Drills

Will we be famous? That is the question Isaac asked me when the ONU photographer left the house this afternoon.  Nope buddy...but certainly glad he could swing by and encourage you two to do dishes and laundry before he got here. LOL.  I'm not 100% what they're using the photos for, but I think it's for a story about how faculty members are trying to do it all. Yep, that sounds about right.  I was encouraged to be natural in the pics, so I wore leggings and t-shirt with hair pulled back in a bun.  I didn't do my hair or wear something nice.  I don't have time for that!


In typical fashion, I've been burning the midnight oil and didn't go to be until a little after 3 a.m.  When I woke up around 9:45, I didn't hear a peep.  NO way were they still sleeping in that teepee in the living room with the light coming through the huge windows. But they were still sleeping!!! And they slept until 10:35.  I love this.  LOVE this. Especially on a busy Thursday when I have to teach at 9:30/12/1:30/6:30


The picture with Jerm and Isaac is actually from the evening.  I didn't get to Isaac's science homework during the day, so Jerm assured me that I don't have to do everything and that I should save something for him to do with them if we don't get to it during the day.  Science and laws of motion are not attractive enough for me to move up in the schedule, so I'll gladly save them for boy time later. It ended up being something interesting to them both, but hearing Jerm fret about how they scored on the 'quiz' at the end and saying the questions were 'worded incorrectly' had me cracking up laughing in the other room.  Yep, been there, said that before.


Xtra Math is such a big deal here. Both kids seek out a quiet place in the house and do it in isolation.  Isaac frequently picks our bedroom to plug in his iPad and do his math in there.  I found him in his favorite spot again today working away.  He's almost done with division.  I'm sad that it's almost over. I need another quick daily challenge for him to complete.


The best part of my day teaching online was when I asked one of my students where she was outside- it looked like a barn.  It was a barn.  A horse barn.  Well you've heard of squirrel disease when people get off topic, but today was horse disease.  For 10 minutes we learned all the horses names and watched her feed a snack to Steel here.  Productivity in college at it's finest.

Bible time we found a series on YouTube to watch. It was so beautiful outside so we didn't get to this part until it was time for me to start dinner. While I was busy in the kitchen, the kiddos were intently watching this series. I heard some laughter and the did learn something, so I think we'll keep the series going until we are done. Each clip is about 20-23 minutes, which is perfect for the half hour time slot.

The writing letters was such a hit, the kids wanted to do it again, except this time write my granny- their great grandma. So each one wrote a practice letter before I placed lines on the inside of a blank card for them to write letters. They were so excited to write them. We missed the mail today, but tomorrow we'll stick them out there and off to grams the letters go.  Hopefully it will cheer her up to hear about their homeschool adventures.

As I said earlier, the university photographer stopped by this afternoon.  He took lots of pictures and he sent me these two below.  It's nice that I'll actually be documented as doing this. He asked questions about our schedule and what we were working on.  I *tried to explain about the several different places I had to check on their iPads to make sure they complete all their work for today.  Isaac was writing his letter during this time, so the pic with us is me asking if one of the sentences make sense (it didn't) and asking him how we could correct the sentence.

We ended with history today.  Since the teepee has officially been taken back downstairs to the toy room so I can reclaim my basement, we are done learning about Native Americans.  Today, I found a clip on the Statue of Liberty.  Since we visited there this summer, I thought it would be cool for a refresher for the kids.  They loved it.  Then I found a 20 question quiz online that I asked them to take.  They did pretty good, considering the questions didn't all pertain to the video and some they had to guess.

We ended today with a run (me)/bike ride over to maws and then back.  5.5 miles. It was beautiful outside today.  Maybe 62 degrees? It started drizzling on our way back, but we were all sweaty and it felt good.  Got home with enough time to eat dinner before capstone and PRSSA online meeting tonight. Crazy to think in a month college will be nearing the end of the semester and we will have to again adjust to a new normal. Today was certainly better than yesterday.  Here is hoping tomorrow's Friday is AMAZING.