Boston Public Garden during CO-VID19

Taking a walk in the Public Garden. Parking is easy to find and there is little traffic. On chillier days not too many people are out. Masks are required.

The Make Way for Duckling statues have masks and daffodils.

Tribute to healthcare workers.

Such a pretty time of year. It was so nice it was still open, even though the Swan Boats aren't out.

School Closed

So then we got this news and we cried, even though we know it's the right thing, and even though we knew it was coming. Sam is going to middle school next year, so he misses the end of elementary school. But, we're all healthy and learning in our own ways.

Press Conference

Virtual Learning

One of my fifty+ messages with my own students trying to get them into the correct assignments. Hours and hours time spent trying to get them up and running and to attend regularly. 

Virtual learning is a challenge in so many ways, for my students and my own kids. It's not as engaging and getting kids to stay in one place and pay attention is so difficult. I spend a lot of time returning Lanie to circle time, and reminding Vivian to pay attention to her teacher, and telling Sam to not end early.

Jack likes circle time more than all the other kids.

Circle time without Lanie or Jack.

Me setting up multiple learning sites across several devices back in March. This was for the children's school. This is why there will be a huge gap in learning when we return to school, people who don't have devices, whose parent's can't log them in, or can't run them on certain devices or platforms. 

Jack at circle time by himself.

Lanie returned to circle time (again), this time with a snack/bribe.

Vivian and Jack at first grade lesson time. 

My favorite moment of last week was Vivian's teacher getting dropped from her own classroom meeting and the explosion of "where is the teacher?" from the first graders. Someone immediately started playing the piano and the kids were yelling, "who is playing the piano? I can't see!" So that when she logged back in it was chaos.

School Assignments

Vivian had a fun one, to create her own super hero. She wanted to do it together, so she made a super hero family and I got carried away.

The Great Squirrel Rescue

I took Lanie for a scooter ride the other day, she was naturally dressed like Elsa, and I had Jack on his leash. Sam was supposed to be playing online Risk with a friend. That involves being on Google Hangout and Risk at the same time, preferably on two different devices. Chris wasn't home.

So Lanie and I got about 5 houses down when my the mom of Sam's friend starting texting that it wasn't working. I told Lanie we had to go back when she spotted a squirrel lying on it's side, smack in the middle of the sidewalk. She peered at it and had a very hard time leaving it, meanwhile Jack wanted to play with it or eat it, unclear.
I finally get Lanie turned around to go back to the house. We got the front and I asked her to wait for me. I went inside to get Sam up and running, and finally got the friend and his mom on Google Hangout, just as Lanie burst in to tell the kids that she found an injured squirrel. They were out the door in a flash, barefoot, and I was left holding the iPad trying to explain. So I chased them down the street, with the iPad and the dog. Of course the iPad cut out a few houses down so we had to repeat the whole exercise.
I got Sam back inside with and finally set up, the dog inside and went back outside to find Vivian with a snow shovel with the squirrel on it parading up the street with Lanie/Elsa. To make it even better, the whole time this had been happening, a neighbor was being socially distance surprised for her birthday by family with a cake and balloons. So my children ran around them to get to the squirrel, to return to the house, and then to "rescue" the squirrel.

Long story short, Vivian built the squirrel a nest, with a roof (because it was raining and windy during this whole experience). They cut it up apple and got it water and wanted me to go to our neighbor who is a vet to get advice. I didn't. Eventually the squirrel somehow propelled itself out of it's nest and lay on the ground next to it, still breathing. I was trying to put together a raised garden bed, but was getting updates on the squirrel (who they thought perhaps had Coronavirus or a head injury). 

 The squirrel did not make it through the night and when Chris finally reappeared, he got to bury it. The big kids understood but were really sad. Lanie thought his mommy squirrel "took him to her nest, because his brother and sister squirrel were very sad. Then she gave him medicine and a treat, that was one single cupcake."

 Just to completely make the whole experience as traumatic as possible, the children decided to make time capsules. This was a great project that took a few hours. (I did have to talk them out of putting $20 in it though, which apparently they had done in the past). So of course, the first place Vivian digs,  there is the squirrel tail. I heard her gasp and turned around to see the fluffy tail.

The buried the capsules in a new location, next to my raised bed that I somehow completed. The squirrel can rest in peace.

Walking and Whining

Earlier in the week, trying to get them out. There was whining and/or crying the entire time.

Halibut Point State Park

Days at Home: Various Kid Projects

They do keep busy and can be creative thankfully. Work has ramped up, so it's helpful. Here are some projects that they have done.

Vivian's Barbie clothes hanger she constructed and painted independently.

Writing Vivian did for school.

 

The Jack peed on it. Lanie laughed, Viv cried.

Sidewalk chalk art.

Fairy house in the backyard, (that Peppa Pig went to in a Barbie car).

Trying to start seedlings.