Back To School

Jared 5th Grade

*Side story:  Jared's poison ivy was so awful and disgusting we had to hide his hand as much as possible but for the record it was really bad.  The worse yet with huge blisters on his fingers. We got him to the Dr. after the second day of school and they gave him a prescription to help it heal and offer relief.  One week later he is doing so much better.  At least with virtual school there was less writing the first week. 

Lydia 3rd grade

*Side story: growing out bangs is painful for pictures and school work. 

Mark's official work space  He moves spots throughout the day.  We are so lucky we have space for the three of them to move around.  

Professional and then not so much

Getting to know you games/breaks:  Step as close as possible to the screen if you agree, step back if you disagree (ie: you like reading)

PE at home.  These teachers are rocking PE! 

Blizzards at Dairy Queen to celebrate the first day of school. The soft serve machine was broken at McDonald's which is where we normally go.  The snicker doodle blizzard tastes like Fall and makes Lydia and I happy.

Jared and Lydia were so excited to start school.  They could not wait to see who was in their class, learn about their teachers and just learn in general.  Then the first week was incredibly painfully boring.  Granted first weeks at school are pretty boring too seeing as how so much time is spent on review, rules and procedures.  This time around they had to learn how to access and use all the platforms they would be using for lessons and stuff about computers in general and wait around for all the kids to get to the right websites and wait while teachers had to try to help kids get there via Zoom.  Sometimes we got there right away and sometimes we were the ones they were waiting on.  I imagine the teachers finishing their day and looking around and wondering what they just did for the last 2.5 hours.  How they became tech people for 10 kids and how they were going to keep kids engaged each class and get all the technology figured out.  I imagine they felt like crying that they had to do it all again the next day, twice.  I know many students and parents felt the same way.  But they showed up and tried so hard and I am grateful to them.  Teachers and Jared and Lydia. The first week (three days) were full of missed specials (Jared missed all three, Lydia made it to 1.5), weird technology, and a lot of waiting around.  I think the reality of Corona Virus really sunk in for Jared on the second day of school.  It was such a rough day.  I think he could finally see how the virus really affected him personally and what he lost.  Going to school was supposed to be like normal life and it was not.  

The second week of school has been less boring.  Technology is working smoothly for the most part, we are relieved that our Internet supports Mark, Jared and Lydia all using it at the same time with no issues. Teachers are able to introduce content, its moved on from using technology and basic tech support from not tech support people to reviewing and assessing where they are as school ended so abruptly this Spring.  These are things they would be doing if they were at school as well.  As I am writing this I am realizing how much Jared and Lydia have actually learned in very little time.  It does not look like what we expect for 3rd and 5th grade content but their computer skills have tripled easy.  So while it is not necessarily interesting it is learning, they are being taught and being taught by people who did not want to teach this.  I sort of feel like people are remembering first weeks of school a bit differently then they really are.  Its a lot of boring reviews and procedures.  Only they get to be with friends and out of the house so it feels way better.  We decided that one new rule for school will be that Jared and Lydia have to choose at least two different places for them to attend class.  It has helped fight off fatigue a lot this week.  Again, so lucky we have space. 

I have seen pretty much every emotion in Jared and Lydia since school started: excitement, laughter, happiness, thoughtfulness, enjoyment and connecting.  And the negative ones, boredom, frustration, disappointment, sadness, worries, and anger.  Fortunately this week there are more positives than negatives so things are going the right direction.  Virtual school is definitely more painful for Lydia than Jared and Mark. Mark's day starts out well, his first class is fresh and engaged and then they wilt more and more as the day goes on.  He has a student intern from UVA right now and really appreciates having a 2nd adult in the classes to monitor Zoom behavior.  Unfortunately, she has class in the afternoon T-Th so is not there for his 4th block and they need all the help they can get. They are close to zombies by then.  It would be great if logistics worked so classes rotated each day, your 4th block became your 1st block the following day but it doesn't seem to work out. He teaches for 35 minutes and then is available to help kids with assignments.  The last 20 minutes or so I hear him reminding kids, "when you finish your work say bye and close the meeting."  He has to keep meeting open in case kids need help but often wonders if kids are at screens or just walked away without closing it when they finished.  He is trying so hard and then he looks on Google classroom or Schoology and sees that kids did not even access the files he prepared.  Its hard to feel like all the energy and time is worth it when they don't engage.  I have enjoyed hearing him teach.  He is a good teacher and trying so hard. With the beautiful weather this week we have been taking quick lunch walks together and its been lovely. We just walk down our street 5 -7 minutes then turn around and walk back. Its been interesting to hear all three of them in school.  I have often wished I could be a fly on the wall and now I am getting a weird chance.

I am still trying to figure out the best way to use my time.  Should I keep working 8-12 or break up my day and do part of my 4 hours while they are in class? Do I dare leave home to run errands while they are in school or stay nearby to troubleshoot? I am in a better spot then many because Mark is on a break from 11:30 - 1:00 so its a clear window I can get things done outside of the house if need be.  In reality I am pretty sure I ended up with the best case scenario: two kids, one school, same class schedule, a husband who is home, willing and available to help for a decent amount of time, good Internet, kids who can entertain each other while I work, and a very flexible and understanding job.  

Jared and Lydia are trying hard and I am proud of them.  Virtual school is not great yet but I think it will be easier and better as routines are established and they get more used to it. Lydia had some trouble doing math on seesaw the other day and Mark, Lydia and I all had some PTSD from trying to do math on seesaw this Spring and stressing that it was going to be awful the whole time school was virtual.  It made me seriously doubt I had made the right choice with choosing virtual.  This was in the morning before class started as she was doing her independent work.  Jared was nearby and said "why don't you do the work on paper and take a picture of it?" Pure Inspiration. The camera option is always available for kids to use on seesaw assignments and she will write on actual paper!  I had emailed Lydia's teacher to express our concern that Lydia was going to associate stress and bad feelings with math in general instead of seesaw and this seemed like a great solution.  I emailed her teacher back after Jared said that and she said it sounded like a good strategy for Lydia to try.  It worked beautifully.  All her frustration went away and she easily completed the work.  Virtual school is long and hard but it can work and be good and we will do our best with our most positive attitudes to make it work. We so appreciate the efforts of their teachers. 

The River, Date night at UVA, Bird Sitting, Paddling with Popsicle's

School started last week but I'm not quite ready to write about that yet.  Fridays are basically catch up days with no classes and no new assignments which is great.  I kind of wish they did this on Wednesdays just to have a break from it all in the middle of the week but we will take Fridays and be grateful for them.  So this past Friday I took Jared and Lydia to Dickerson Beach after I finished working.  Part of me wishes I could work 5 hours M-Th and have Fridays off but as flexible as my office is I don't think that would fly every week.  Jared and Lydia suggested packing lunches for a picnic so we did and headed down to the river.  We got there around 12:30 and stayed for 3 hours.  They were so happy.  We hadn't been for a few weeks and they had a great time exploring/swimming and I almost read a whole book.  It was a great afternoon spent outside together.  The weather is turning and I am so thrilled.  It was warm enough for them to be in water comfortably but in the shade I was comfortable too. 

Perfect spot for her picnic lunch. 

For our date night Friday Mark and I stopped by Dairy Queen for blizzards and then drove down to UVA to enjoy the Summer evening.  Low tempareatures and low himidity made it so nice to be out. I had been wanting to stop by the new Memorial to the Enslaved Workers that opened this Spring.  It is an important memorial and I am glad it is there now.  We saw a lot of students on the lawn but they were really doing an awesome job wearing masks and socially distancing.  Most had their own blankets and were truly minding distances.  I have no idea what it looked like other places but it was encouraging to see people following guidelines.  Cases are of course going up and I am not sure how long students will be allowed to stay but they are trying.  We did not stay on The Lawn or linger but it was nice to be out. 

With masks.

On the walls are the names of known slaves and then lines that look like lashings to represent unnamed individuals. It was good to go.  There is a side to UVA that is not often thought of and I am glad we could go learn more about it.

Our neighbors down the street asked us if we would be willing to watch some of their pets while they went to the beach for the week.  They have a ton of animals and we got the easiest ones.  A bird and originally their hedgehog but it got an infection so we are just bird sitting for the week.  Its name is Kennedy and Jared and Lydia love having it at our house.  They dropped her off Saturday and the first 24 hours she wanted nothing to do with us but not she seems to enjoy being with us.  I think Mark is her favorite but am happy she will perch on anyone's shoulder for the most part. Jared spent that first day terribly offended that the bird (Kennedy) would not come perch on him but now she does and he is a fan of her.  

As I mentioned the weather has turned more Fall like and we are all so happy about it! I am looking forward to more Sunday, Come Follow Me sessions outside. Really more of everyday activities outside. We did it in the Summer occasionally but now its actually pleasant to read outside. 

The weather continued Monday so we went to Chris Green for an after dinner Kayaking session.  It was so lovely out Mark and I just wanted to be outside and get Jared and Lydia out too.  Jared decided to fish and the three of us leisurely paddled around the lake.  As a surprise we brought Orange Creamsicles which were a hit.  We are grateful for our kayaks and how they help us create these fun memories.  

The bird on the log kept flying just a little ahead of us as we paddled around. Once we got too close it and then would fly off a little bit ahead  It did this 4 times or more but we got pretty close to it. It was a lovely evening. 

About a month ago I started regularly jump roping in the morning.  It has been an awesome substitute for running.  I just can't run here in the Summer.  Plus taking a break makes me look forward to starting again in the Fall and going through the Spring. We have lived in our house for over 5 years now and it just occurred to me to start exercising on our back deck.  It's great.  I am pretty sure people pay good money to go and work out at places like this and it has been my backyard all this time.  It is perfect for jump roping.  In October I will start running three times a week again and on the other days I plan to jump rope.  Its been great to watch myself improve the last month.  My stamina and timing are so much better.  I am hoping it will help with those first weeks of running too. 

 This was taken at the end of my workout.  I normally start by 6:20 am and it is now so dark then.  I have to turn on our deck lights but it is so nice to have this space. Its been awesome. 

Summer Fun List- check!

 Our extended Summer vacation made it more than possible to complete every item on our Summer fun list and then some this year.  We completed the last 2 on Monday and it felt great to fill in those last circles.  Last weeks list activities included milkshake day, bubble day, Luray Caverns and Popsicle day. 

I think Lydia came up with Bubble day and it was so fun.  I love adventures and I love fun activities at home like this. I am so happy Jared and Lydia still want to do them even at 8.5 and almost 11. We made rainbow foam and played with it in our water table, broke out our bubble machine and mixed up some giant bubble solution. We went out to the back deck one evening and lived it up with hundreds of bubbles.  The foam was super easy to make and the bubble solution worked great.  We had to make some bubble wands as we could only find one and they worked really well.  We had to wash our deck off very thoroughly and may still have a lot of bubbles form when the next rainstorm comes through.

Both of them successfully caught bubbles on their hands and were quite pleased with themselves. 

Mark got in on the bubble fun too after his schools virtual Open House. 

Monday we headed up to Luray Caverns, which are about an hour away from our house.  I planned to do this on a really hot day as online it says they are around 54 degrees which sounds lovely in the middle of August but time slipped away.  We had about a 25 minute wait in line to get tickets so a more temperate day was actually really helpful. I was surprised there was a line.  I didn't realize how big a deal these caverns are.  They say they are the biggest set East of the Mississippi. I am not sure that is 100% true but we were impressed and lots of other people were there to check them out as well.  Everyone entering had to wear masks in the caverns and the line outside which was good but there were plenty of times people were not social distancing and I know I drove Jared and especially Lydia crazy but frequently reminding them to check their distance.  We could distance fine there was space but had to be pretty vigilant as other people seemed to not be paying much attention which is understandable as there were cool things to look at everywhere.  The caverns were so impressive.  I can easily see why they are so popular. and it was a holiday too.  The formations were amazing and so fascinating. Our favorite spot was Dream Lake.  The reflections were out of this world.  It completely looked like there were formations on the roof and ground but it was just the roof reflecting in the water.  So intriguing and kind of spooky too which was fun. The tour is about 1 and 3/4 miles, self guided and we are so glad we went. 

Poor Lydia, we need to find a better arrangement for these pictures.  We take way more now that we have decent cameras on our phones and that whole COVID thing. 

Dream Lake, so incredible that the bottom is a reflection! 

This formation is called "Drapery" it looks like drapes!  

It all just looks like some other world. 

This outing was our most expensive one of the Summer.  One way to get a discount is to show your Giant Grocery Store customer card.  We never shop at Giant, its 20 minutes from our house but we stopped by there a few days before so we could get their loyalty card and while we were there we picked out our Popsicle's for Popsicle day.  I am not sure how many Popsicle's Lydia and Jared ate.  We ate one before we left, one halfway through our drive and at least 2 when we got home but that's pretty much the point of Popsicle day so I think we nailed it.  I didn't take any pictures of Milkshake day but this year we made imitation Wendy's Frosty's, a mint chocolate chip shake and an Oreo shake. It was a good week for cold treats. 

I'm so grateful I have this crew to help me get through Summer, the longest hardest Season. Jared and Lydia are the perfect ages and are so willing to go along with my ideas to keep myself from going crazy and add plenty of good ideas themselves. Mark is an awesome sport and we love that he is around to make Summer memories with us.  I am not sure how I would survive Summer without him.

Paddling the James, Buchanan to Arcadia

Saturday we headed to Buchanan to float down a more exciting part of the James River and had a great time. Our kayaks have been super helpful this Summer as we did our best to social distance when we wanted to be away from home on an easy adventure.  

After we floated the Scottsville portion of the James River we all wanted a section of the James that was more exciting.  Mark and I looked up possible sites online and are so glad we found this section.  Its about an hour and half away from our house and has class 1 and class 2 rapids.  The scenery is much prettier and the river has a quicker flow.  It was perfect, we all had such a good time and want to go again.  I packed plenty of snacks and we had the most beautiful weather. We floated 6.3 miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes so we and had an average speed of 2.7 miles per hour instead of just over 2 miles per hour on the other float.  It was such a fun activity.  Mark and I kayaked and I towed Jared in a tube and Mark towed Lydia. The rapids were so fun!  Generally I never get wet when we kayak and on this outing plenty of water came into my kayak as we hit the rapids.  They were the perfect size for us.  We started out letting Jared and Lydia float unattached but they kept ending up on the edges of the river and it would have been hard to stay together. Jared was still unattached to my kayak during the biggest set of rapids and we both had fun going on our own but felt better once we attached his tube to mine. I can't see us ever floating at Scottsville again but would go here again in a heartbeat. Jared and Lydia had a great time as well. 

Buchanan Swinging Bridge.  Sadly access to the bridge was closed off because of COVID but at least we got to paddle under it.  Parts of the bridge are from 1851.  It was burned down during the Civil War and rebuilt.  Now there is a steel bridge that runs next to it.  I would have loved to cross it!  Maybe if we go back in the Spring or early Summer it will be open. 

They both got pretty good at balancing.  Lydia loved doing it.

The drive home went well until my check gas light came on about 20 miles from Charlottesville.  That always stresses me out.  Before we left I mentioned to Mark that I had a quarter of a tank of gas and he felt confident that I could make it to Costco to fill up.  I went with it and should not have.  Then I missed our exit and had to go to the next one and find a gas station.  I am not on that side of town much so I was starting to freak out. Added to that was the fact that my phone was not working so if I ran out of gas or got lost I would be in real trouble. Shortly after we went through the first set of raids my phone would not turn on.  This was disappointing as I wanted to take pictures and play music as we floated but even more so when I missed my exit.  Magically as I stopped at a light I saw the faintest light on my screen showing me the time.  Somehow in the rapids my brightness settings got turned down to 4 percent so in the bright sunlight I could not see anything at all.  I was able to put in my pass code, get to settings and adjust the brightness and all was well. 

We made it home safely and ended the night with a campfire.  Because there has been so much rain it took forever to start but we persisted and we managed a little fire. It was such a fun (occasionally stressful) day. 

The weeds around our yard, especially the section by the fire pit had gotten pretty out of control. We offered to pay Jared to pull them all and he did a great job, he is always asking to earn money and I hate weeding especially in the Summer weather.  We challenged him to finish by Saturday so we could have the campfire and sadly he got horrible poison ivy in the process.  Huge blisters and his right hand looks deformed.  He has been such a good sport about it as it looks so painful.  He was able to go to the doctor today and they gave him a prescription for steroids and we are so grateful.  Hopefully it speeds up the healing process.  It is kind of a blessing he is not in regular school having to write a lot as it would be near to impossible. Its so bad.  He is a tough kid! Both the nurse and Nurse Practitioner said they had never seen blisters so big and such a strong reaction to poison ivy. I wish we could have done the appointment virtually like mine in the early Spring we had to wait in our room forever but at least we got what he needed.