What's Been Going On: Monday, 7 February - Wednesday, 9 February, 2022

 Good morning from Temporary Homeschool Headquarters! BOY, this week looks nothing like the last!

When we left off Monday, our schools had gone to masks-optional, and so far, that’s still the case. I’m not comfortable sending my daughter into a building where only half of her classmates are wearing masks (as per her teacher), when so many young children remain unvaccinated. I’ve got friends with breakthrough cases who are still three weeks with symptoms. I’m not interested in chancing that, you know? So until we see how this plays out and if the kids are passing it around at school, she’s at home and we’re learning up a storm!

Here’s what this week has looked like so far!

 

Monday, 7 February, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I edited and posted Monday’s post, then edited and posted my review for When It’s Real by Erin Watt over at my book blog. I scooped the litterbox, put some beans in the Instant Pot, got dressed and ready, and then we were off to the library!

Hoo boy, did we come home with a massive stack of books! Our children’s department has a fabulous nonfiction section, and I love digging through it for great selections to read with my daughter. The bag was so heavy I could barely lift it, and I would’ve gotten more books if I’d been stronger! We drove home and headed up to my daughter’s room with a stack of books.

We snuggled together and read about plants, diversity in the US, the history of disability rights in the US, poison ivy, and how dinosaurs get from an archaeological dig sit to a museum (and the massive team of people it takes to make that happen!).

After lunch, I filled and ran the dishwasher, and then it was back to learning. We read the introduction and the first chapter of Making Thirteen Colonies, the first volume of Joy Hakin’s AMAZING history series, A History of US. I used this series when I was homeschooling my son and we absolutely LOVED it. My daughter isn’t as much into history as my son was, but this book is still leading to a lot of good conversations!

I made a batch of enchilada sauce, and then my daughter and I settled down for silent reading time. I did my 30 minutes of my personal Read Harder project, reading American Literary Almanac, edited by Karen L. Rood, and my daughter read a novel from the Geronimo Stilton series.

I took out the garbage and recycling, hauled the cans to the curb, and replaced the trash bag. I chopped and sauteed some onion, garlic, and red pepper, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and caught up on some computer things. I boiled some noodles, and for dinner, we had Vegetarian Fajita Pasta. I did my Duolingo, showered, showered my daughter, and began reading Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott. I put my daughter to bed, read more, and watched an episode of Deadly Women with my husband before bed.

 

Tuesday, 8 February, 2022

Back to it! Breakfast, coffee, and I edited and posted my review of Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford on my book blog. I got dressed, and then it was time for school. Math, plants, rivers, penguins, cursive, and the story of the 1987 garbage barge were on the menu.

After lunch, we did writing, grammar, history, and Read Harder/Silent Reading for 30 minutes. I chopped and prepared a batch of Brussels sprouts, and sat down for an hour and twelve minutes of volunteer work. We had dinner- leftovers and sprouts!- I did my Duolingo, biked for thirty sweaty minutes, then showered. My daughter and I finished reading Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, and then spent a good long time talking. My husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Wednesday, 9 February, 2022

And again! Breakfast and coffee, and I checked out the grocery sales (BLAH!). I filled the dishwasher and ran it, and we tidied my daughter’s room, and then it was time for school! Math, plants, garbage (yes, really! It’s fascinating. It’s science, history, human behavior…), grammar, and cursive.

 

After lunch, we got right back to work. It was time for writing and more math, we read a book on size, we read two chapters of Making Thirteen Colonies, and then we did thirty minutes of Read Harder/Silent Reading. Then I took out the compost and recycling, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and dug around online for the math curriculum they use at my daughter’s school (it’s Eureka; the whole thing is available for free- legally!- online).

When my husband got home, I went for groceries- just Aldi today, nothing good at any of the stores, really. Must be the winter doldrums. I got home and put the groceries away, caught up on some computer stuff, and baked our dinner pizza. After dinner, I did my Duolingo, biked 30 minutes, and showered. I wrote a little of this post, and then I crawled into bed to read for a good long while. My husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Today’s a little different; we’re off to my doctor appointment that I scheduled before everything went crazy. We’ll do that and then hit the books again! We’re not expecting a ruling on the stay the governor asked for for another 10-14 days (WHICH IS RIDICULOUS), so this will be our lives for a little bit. I’m happy to do this in order to protect my daughter, but I shouldn’t have to, you know? We as a society should already protecting our children from a virus of which we don’t know the long-term consequences, instead of whining and screaming that wearing masks is the worst possible thing that could ever happen to anyone EVAR. I’m absolutely aghast that so many people have decided that the pandemic is just over and any death or suffering that happens from here on out is acceptable and doesn’t matter. What on earth are we doing???

Hang in there, friends. Stay safe and healthy. This isn’t over yet; the virus doesn’t care how tired we are of it. : (