What's Been Going On: Monday, 28 February - Wednesday, 2 March, 2022

 Another few days of constant motion! Anyone else feel like they need a vacation to just do nothing? If you get one, can I go with you???

We’ve had some beautiful weather so far this week. We were even able to open the windows a bit yesterday, which is really unusual for this time of the year. I’m really hoping March isn’t going to swing back around and punch us in the face at the end of the month to make up for it!

Here’s what I’ve been up to the first half of this week.

 

Monday, 28 February, 2022

I filled and ran the dishwasher, then baked the pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins (I’d made the batter the night before and stuck it in the fridge). I scooped the litterbox and edited and posted my review for Challenging Pregnancy by Genevieve Grabman over on my book blog, and then it was time for coffee and breakfast. I edited and posted Monday’s post, got dressed, and tidied up the living room with my daughter while we listened to the news on NPR.

I tossed a batch of chickpeas in the Instant Pot, and then it was time to get started with On this Day in History, geography (Italy), and math! Afterwards, we read from our book about volcanoes and earthquakes, read more of our book about large numbers, and read more from our book about the economics of stuff and where it all comes from. We had lunch, I unloaded and refilled the dishwasher, and took out the compost.

We did Language Arts and spelling, read three chapters from A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies by Joy Hakim, and did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading – I finished reading A Room with a View by E.M. Forster! Woohoo! (I’d first read part of this book when I was younger, probably around 12, lost interest halfway through, and have felt bad about it ever since. No more!). We read part of a book on the history of voting in the US, and then we were done for the day.

I made a batch of chickpea vegetable nuggets and got the broccoli into the Instant Pot to steam, then loaded up and ran the dishwasher again. It was nice out enough that we took a two-mile walk. I warmed dinner up when we got home, and then we ate. I did my Duolingo, put dinner away, showered, then started reading The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman (this is SO good!). I put my daughter to bed, read some more, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

Breakfast and coffee, I posted my monthly update on my book blog, and posted my monthly goals update here. I got dressed, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, vacuumed under the kitchen table (it needed it. Badly), then tidied the living room while listening to the morning news on NPR.

We started our day with On this Day in History and geography (Jamaica), then settled down with math. We started a book on the history of fashion (my daughter is the girliest girl you can imagine, so she LOVES this kind of stuff, and I like that it teaches her some history along the way!), then read more of our book on volcanoes and earthquakes. We read more of our book on big numbers, then read another section of our book on the economics of all the things we buy.

After lunch, I chopped and steamed some carrots and zucchini in the Instant Pot, and then we worked on spelling. We read three chapters of history, did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading (I started reading Everything You Need to Know About Asian-American History by Himilce Novas and Lan Cao with Rosemary Silva), read more of our book about the history of American elections, and did more spelling practice.

I prepared an Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie for dinner, filled the dishwasher, juiced two lemons that were getting soft (then added the rinds to my jar of vinegar cleaning solution), took out the compost, and sat back down for an hour of volunteer work. I baked the casserole, spent a few minutes on the computer, and then it was time for dinner.

I did my Duolingo, showered, put dinner away, read my book, put my daughter to bed, read some more, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Wednesday, 2 March 2022

Breakfast and coffee, then I made out my grocery list (strawberries on sale! Yay! And grapes!). I got dressed, scooped the litterbox, loaded and ran the dishwasher, then tided and swept the living room while listening to the morning news on NPR.

We got started with On This Day in History and geography (Japan), then math. We read more of the book on volcanoes and earthquakes, finished both the book on large numbers and the book on the economics of the stuff we use every day, then read more of the book on the history of fashion. We had lunch, worked on spelling and language arts, and read three chapters of history. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, and my daughter worked on a little more math and spelling.

I headed out for groceries and stopped by two grocery stores. I was SUPER excited to find, on the marked-down shelves, FIVE bottles of marked-down conditioner! Four were 99 cents; the other was 79 cents. You better believe I took all five bottles home with me!!! What an awesome score!!!

 

At home, I put the groceries away, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and took out the recycling. I checked my daughter’s schoolwork, then did an hour of volunteer work. I cooked the pizza, and then we had dinner. I did my Duolingo, and then it was off to the library to pick up a book from Interlibrary Loan, one of my favorite nonfiction books from when I was a kid (the other book is what arrived in the mail a day or two ago; I won it in a Goodreads giveaway! Looking forward to reading this, as it’s Jewish middle-grade fantasy!).

I made a batch of cranberry-pumpkin-chocolate chip muffin batter, stuck it in the fridge, and cleaned up after myself. I showered, put my daughter to bed, and then read my book. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Not much planned for this weekend, thankfully! Hopefully it’ll be a quiet-ish one and I can get some of my fun projects done. Saturday is supposed to have a high of 67 degrees F, so we’ll definitely be spending some time outdoors that day! Do you have any fabulous weekend plans???

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 24 February - Sunday, 27 February, 2022

 

Happy Monday, friends! Back at it for another week!

Tiny bits of spring in the air around here. We hit 40 degrees this weekend, the snow is mostly melted, and some of the trees even have buds on them. Of course, there’s every chance the weather could turn and all those buds could die and fall off and need to sprout all over again, but it’s nice having that hopeful feeling in the air, especially with everything going on in the world right now. Even one good thing is reason to celebrate, right?

Not a hugely restful weekend this past weekend. Nowhere near as busy as last weekend, but I think things are just going to be constantly busy around here for a while, and I’m just going to have to mentally- and physically- adjust (as I type this, my left knee is bothering me. No idea what I did). Give me a few weeks and I might be at that point where I’m used to it, although right now it feels a bit like I’m on a hamster wheel with no exit…

Here's what I was up to the second half of last week. : )

 

Thursday, 24 February, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I put a batch of white beans in the Instant Pot, got dressed, and used our world map in order to give my daughter a brief explanation of what’s happening in Ukraine. I didn’t want her to overhear something or peek at something over my shoulder on the computer and not understand it and be scared, so I let her know what was going on. We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Ireland!), then got settled with math, followed by a ten-minute wiggle break for my wiggly kiddo. We read more Native American myths (she really likes these!), finished our book about astronauts, and read more of the book that discusses the economics of how products are made.

We had lunch, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and made an Instant Pot full of vegetable soup, took out the recycling and compost, then cleaned up the kitchen. I herded my daughter through Language Arts, we read part of a book that answers kids’ science questions, she did her writing, then we did our combined 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading (I’m currently reading A Room with a View by E.M. Forster). Afterwards, my daughter asked that we keep reading the science questions book, so we did and went past the normal school ending time. ; )

I dozed for a few minutes, then read a little, and then it was time for dinner. I did my Duolingo and showered, put dinner away, then played on the computer for just a little bit. I went upstairs to read and finished reading The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves by J.B. MacKinnon. I started reading Period. End of Sentence.: A New Chapter in the Fight for Menstrual Justice by Anita Diamant, and my husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Friday, 25 February, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I wrote my Friday post, started a loaf of challah, and got dressed. I kneaded the challah, scooped the litterbox, then we started with On This Day in History and geography (fittingly, this day’s country was Israel!). We did a really long math lesson, finished the book of Native American myths, read a book on squirrels (did you know that their nests are called dreys?), and read more of the book about the economics of how products are made.

I loaded and ran the dishwasher and we had lunch. I braided the challah, and then we did spelling and Language Arts. We read three chapters of history, half a book on huge math numbers (my daughter says she hates math, but she really liked this book. She’s actually good at math when she focuses), and part of another book on slow things. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, and I baked the challah (why are there no candles that smell like freshly baked challah???).

I did my favorite (HA) ten-minute ab workout and would have done it again, but my husband was cold and had cranked the heat up, so it was a bit toasty in the house! I hung out on the computer before dinner, then did my Duolingo and repeated that ab workout before showering. I cross-stitched, then I logged on to my synagogue’s virtual Shabbat services. My husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed

 

 

Saturday, 26 February, 2022

Breakfast and coffee, and then I worked on my monthly recap post for my book blog. I got dressed and read, and I drove to the post office to mail out the knitted squares for my friend’s memory blanket. I stopped by the library to return a load of books, then ran into the Dollar Store to grab a few things since I was out. At home, I had lunch and dozed briefly, then unloaded and refilled the dishwasher and ran it.

I finished my book blog recap, then worked on my monthly goals update for this blog. I did a little bit of Hebrew study, did that 10-minute ab workout again, and returned to studying Hebrew (Hebrew makes my brain feel like soup. The grammar is intense).

 

I boiled some frozen pierogies for dinner, did my Duolingo, and showered. I showered my daughter and put her to bed, read my book, and watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Sunday, 27 February, 2022

Breakfast and coffee, and then I weeded out the jeans I hardly ever wear (due to my chronic pain issues, they’re not hugely comfortable. I decided I’d try a pair on this day, and for a few hours, it wasn’t too bad. It felt weird wearing them again, though; they don’t really feel like me anymore!). After getting dressed and ready, I cleaned my daughter’s room. Again.

 

 

I ran to GFS for some bulk peanut butter, then it was home for lunch, and since it was almost 40 degrees and sunny, we went for a walk. Back home, I sauteed an onion, worked on this post, then dove into a few more pages of Hebrew. I prepared a batch of baked spaghetti and threw it in the oven, then finished my Hebrew chapter (PHEW. Possessive endings for singular nouns. My brain is going to take some serious time to process and remember these…).

I visited some of my favorite blogs, then it was time for dinner! I did my Duolingo, made up a batch of muffin batter for Monday’s breakfast (I used to do this when my daughter was in preschool; I’d prepare a batch of muffin batter the night before, throw it in the oven to bake when I showered in the morning, and then we’d have a nice breakfast of hot, fresh muffins! She liked the idea when I reminded her of it the other day, so I promised I’d start this up again), cleaned up after myself, then baked the shortbread cookies we’d prepared earlier in the week. The dough was really crumbly, and I kind of had to form a bunch of my own cookies instead of just slicing and baking, but they tasted really good!

When the cookies were done, I headed upstairs to read, where I finished my Anita Diamant book. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

And that’s it! So far, this morning is going swimmingly with our new routine (dishwasher is going, we’re enjoying warm muffins, and I’ve already scooped the litterbox!). We’re off to start our school day in a bit. May your weeks be peaceful and productive!

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.

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. : (