What's Been Going On: Monday, 21 February - Wednesday, 23 February, 2022

 

Greetings on this chilly Thursday morning!

We’re slowly easing into a regular homeschool routine, figuring out what goes when and how to do what. I’ve got some different ways of structuring our morning routine (which- eek!- involves setting an alarm for about 20-30 minutes before we normally wake up, so I’m crossing my fingers that I have the fortitude for this!), but I’m not planning to implement that until next week. One thing at a time, right? We’ve had enough big crazy changes here lately!

Here's what I’ve been up to so far the first part of this week! (Forgive my lack of photos; I've had a hard enough time remembering all that I need to do, let alone remembering to take pictures of it!)

 

Monday, 21 February, 2022

This was Presidents’ Day here in the US. Had my daughter been in school, she would’ve been off this day, so while this wasn’t technically a school day, we still did *some* schoolwork.

After breakfast and coffee, I edited and posted my Monday posted, got dressed, filled and ran the dishwasher, and my daughter and I tidied the living room and swept both the upstairs and downstairs.

And then we got settled down for Movie Monday. She and I made a deal: if she does a unit of math for me on one of the weekend days, we can watch a documentary of some sort in place of math on Mondays. She had agreed and done Monday’s math on Sunday, so we watched the documentary Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story (available both on Hulu and YouTube). This fit in with all the reading we’ve been doing about garbage, food waste, and ecology. I paused a lot to explain things to my daughter and also to ask her questions in order to ensure that she was understanding what we were watching. She was horrified by all the waste shown in the documentary and had a lot of good ideas on how to waste less food. We both highly recommend this documentary!

We read half a book on the interconnectedness of nature and humanity, and then it was time for lunch. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and then we made a batch of fresh cranberry shortbread, to be baked later in the week when we have time! (Plus it also used up some cranberries I have in the fridge.) We cleaned up afterwards.

My daughter worked on some writing about the movie we watched, which somehow ended up a conversation about how babies are born? I don’t even know. After that, we did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading (I’m reading A Room with a View by E.M. Forster; my daughter read Eloise in Paris).

I fell asleep after our reading, then I took out the trash, recycling, and compost, and I hauled the trash cans to the curb. I replaced the trashbags in both the bathroom and the kitchen. It was nice enough on this day that we were able to go on an only-mildly-muddy three-mile walk, which was nice.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, spent a little time on the computer, put dinner away, and put my daughter to bed (we’re still reading Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb). I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Tuesday, 22 February, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I scooped the litterbox, tidied the living room, and filled and ran the dishwasher. I got dressed, and then we started our day with On this Day in History and our geography book, which offers a brief look at a different country every day (this day’s was Iran).

We did math (which takes anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour, depending on what’s on the menu and how much of a snail my kiddo feels like being!), part of a book about Jamestown, the second half of our nature book, a book about quicksand, and the opening chapters of a book on Native American mythology, and then it was time for lunch!

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, then threw a batch of taco-flavored lentils into the Instant Pot. We did language arts in the afternoon (we’re following the same Engage NY curriculum her school follows, which I like and which makes it easier for me!), then read two chapters of A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies and half a book about the Pilgrims, then we did 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading.

After school, I attempted a nap, but my husband and daughter were too loud for this to happen, so I got up and did an hour of volunteer work. For dinner, we had taco salad. I did my Duolingo, showered, put dinner away, wrote a book review that I’d been scrambling to find time for for AGES, then went upstairs to read for a good long time. My husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Wednesday, 23 February, 2022

Breakfast and coffee, then I got dressed and tidied and swept the living room.

School started with On This Day and a quick look at Iraq. We did math, which didn’t take too long today! We finished our books on the Pilgrims and Jamestown, read more from our book of Native American myths, read a biography of Julia Child (which my daughter had picked out!), and started in on a book about how products get from their first origins to in our homes (it goes into the economics of it all, too, and seems really interesting).

Lunch break, and then language arts. We read three chapters of history, discussing the Salem Witch Trials and women’s roles in colonial America (my daughter? Not a fan). We went through half a book about astronauts, which, surprisingly, contained a reference to the new math concept that had appeared in today’s lesson. So cool when these things are reinforced! We read a biography of Beverly Cleary, and a few pages of a book on pirates, and then we were done. Phew!

I ran to Aldi, but we didn’t need much; I only bought $21 worth of groceries for the week! At home, I put them away, then settled down for another hour of volunteer work. I put the pizza in the oven, then chopped up tomatoes and a zucchini for the salad (using the last of last week’s marked-down salad greens!) and made a creamy garlic dressing (SO good!). I filled and ran the dishwasher, then it was time for dinner.

I did my Duolingo, then went upstairs to do a workout or two. I did my favorite ten-minute Pilates workout and was planning to do it twice, but my right hip and lower back said, “The heck you are!”, so I figured I needed to listen to it. Sigh. I showered and wrote up this post, then put my daughter to bed. I read my book, then my husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed. I didn’t sleep well at all, due to the news out of Ukraine.

 

It feels a bit like a different world this morning, doesn’t it? My heart is with the people of Ukraine; I’m deeply worried for their safety and their future. Homeschool today is going to start with an explanation of what’s going on there; my daughter will likely hear reports on the radio and see things over my shoulder on the computer, so I’m going to explain the situation to her in a way she can understand. My grade school teachers did the same for my class during the start of the Gulf War and the fall of the Soviet Union and I’ve never forgotten that.

This morning, I leave you all with the text of the Hashkiveinu, a beautiful Jewish prayer that feels especially appropriate for today. Be well, friends.

הַשְׁכִּיבֵֽנוּ, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽנוּ, לְשָׁלוֹם, וְהַעֲמִידֵנוּ שׁוֹמְרֵֽנוּ לְחַיִּים, וּפְרֹשׂ עָלֵֽנוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶֽךָ, וְתַקְּנֵֽנוּ בְּעֵצָה טוֹבָה מִלְּפָנֶֽךָ, וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ לְמַֽעַן שְׁמֶךָ. וְהָגֵן בַּעֲדֵֽנוּ, וְהָסֵר מֵעָלֵֽינוּ אוֹיֵב, דֶּֽבֶר, וְחֶֽרֶב, וְרָעָב, וְיָגוֹן, וְהָרְחֵק מִמֶּֽנּוּ עָוֹן וָפֶֽשַׁע. וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶֽיךָ תַּסְתִּירֵֽנוּ, כִּי אֵל שׁוֹמְרֵֽנוּ וּמַצִּילֵֽנוּ אָֽתָּה, כִּי אֵל חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם אָֽתָּה. וּשְׁמֹר צֵאתֵֽנוּ וּבוֹאֵֽנוּ לְחַיִּים וּלְשָׁלֹם מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, שׁוֹמֵר עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַד.

Grant, O God, that we lie down in peace, and raise us up, our Guardian, to life renewed. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Guide us with Your good counsel; for Your Name’s sake, be our help. Shield and shelter us beneath the shadow of Your wings. Defend us against enemies, illness, war, famine and sorrow. Distance us from wrongdoing. For You, God, watch over us and deliver us. For You, God, are gracious and merciful. Guard our going and coming, to life and to peace evermore.