Intentional Outdoor Hours: 71+ hours (of 1000)
I'm up over 13 hours this week and finally starting to get into the temperatures that make it almost impossible to stay in the house because it's so beautiful outside. It was super windy though this week. The kids had fitted sheets outside on the trampoline holding them open to try to use them as parachutes (that's STEAM homeschooling, right?)
Reading and finishing Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (a very sweet YA, but since I've already dug deep with time travel/multiverse stories like Dark Matter and The Time Traveler's Wife - this one left me kind of like, #meh). I'm still also reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
Goat prepping. That included goat fence prepping, researching goat raising, and purchasing our first five goats! We have agreed to get no more than 8 (!) Our first five are two Alpines (1 year olds) and 3 doelings: 2 La Mancha and 1 Apine/Boer. We were so grateful to have my Dad (Chum) and Brandon's Dad (Pappy) come out this week to help work on the goat fence. Brandon tried to use a post hole drill, but our tractor wasn't big enough to man it - so it ended up being 18 post holes dug by hand and at least 60 T posts installed. Both Gemma and Greyson have put in hours down in the pasture to help get the fence up.
Realizing some very sound love advice while watching Brandon put in the corner posts for our goat pen: Can I just say, ya'll need to get yourself a partner who will operate a two-man auger by themselves to build your dreams with their own hands.
Shaking my head (and butt! hah) as Red's favorite song is Wiggle by Jason DeRulo. It's incredibly inappropriate - for real- wildly lewd lyrics. But the beat and hook are so catchy. The kids crack up every time it says "big fat butt" and then we hold Red out and swing his body gently back and forth like he knows what to do with his 'big, fat butt' and he is quiet and content. every time we play it and dance. I know....our parenting is inspirational....LOL.
Swinging in the trees on our new swings that Abba and Chum got for the kids. Abba asked me if we had any playground thoughts for our house and I shared with her some ideas. We aren't interested in a traditional style playground, but play pieces that can spark the kids imagination and lead into all sorts of play. Abba and Chum spent an afternoon at our house digging through feet of rock (I'm sorry!) to put in the posts for some chin up/flip bars too. (thank you mum & dad!)
Attending my senior students' high school graduation. Our staff and principal put together a beautiful, socially distant evening that allowed our seniors to have as much normalcy as possible for their graduation. We held it outdoors on the football field with social distance spacing, face masks, limited participants, and no lingering afterwards. The seniors came into the event via parade through town (I cried) and then proceeded through graduation complete with speeches from the val/sal and class VP (I cried again). So proud of our kids and can't wait to see all they'll do in life! I will be rooting for you - always!
Visiting Abba & Chum's house for the afternoon while Brandon worked at High Ridge hunting preserve as a guide all day. The kids were grateful to spend time playing in a new setting (because after 10 weeks of isolation, our house is SO BORING we have NOTHING TO DO and NO FUN TOYS...ya feel me, parents?) I was happy to spend the afternoon not making any meals, not cleaning up after anyone, and having adult conversations with my parents and my aunt Lisa (their next door neighbor!)
Homeschooling with a new and the last (!) packet of the school year. I am not going to lie - kids are OVER IT. (#same) and I'm struggling with getting them to sit down and work on it because I see how much natural learning is going on everyday. Grey has been asking such inquisitive questions ("if I shot my bow under water, how do you figure out how far it would go, ya know because it won't go as far as on land, right? what about in space?") They are baking and building the goat fence and building little dams in creeks and finding animal tracks in the woods. It's really hard to justify in my mind when they are so naturally curious and tackling learning on their own at home to then force them to sit down and do worksheets. It just feels like the place to learn naturally is at home and the place for worksheets and direct instruction is at school and we're getting through it but as always; I love and need you teachers. We miss you so much!
Virtual Teaching for the last full week of the year. I offer my students an opportunity called Leave Me Alone Passes all year and usually they are meant to be earned to be exempt from the final. Since I couldn't ensure that a final given virtually would be secure - I offered the students an opportunity to use their earned LMA passes to be exempt from the last week of school work. Many of my students had earned enough and had a week free of work (!). Anyone else read a story about an alien on a mission and answered comprehension questions each day.
Making lots of food for lots of hungry kids.
breakfasts: banana bread, pancakes, homemade naan (my first time!) and berries, egg sausage casserole chocolate croissants, and breakfast quesadillas
lunches: lunchmeat sandwiches, chicken nuggets, salads, frozen pizza, leftovers, lasagna (delivered from our dear friends and preschool teachers Miss Kayla & Miss Janell - thank you so so much!!), and hot dogs
dinners: crock pot country-style porkchops, buffalo chicken dip, chili cheese dog bubble up casserole, crack chicken sandwiches, pizza (twice!)
