COIV-19 Homeschool, Day 40

We're one week away from an important deadline: Completely staging the house for photos and videos so we can put it on the market. I thought I knew how difficult it would be to empty out a house while living in it (with 2 children, no less), but I had underestimated it. Like many things in life, the first 80% or so wasn't too bad; it's that last 20%, comprised of little bits and pieces, that makes it difficult. So even as we're reaching a big milestone of 40 days of homeschool, we're also approaching the milestone of making the house look not currently lived-in while at the same time living in it. No wonder we've all been struggling a bit over the last few days!

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The dining room is completely staged with the exception of re-hanging the sheers, once we find the curtain rods which vanished while the painters had taken them down to paint the window frames (possibly having been accidentally packed in the POD). The living room is completely staged with the exception of hanging new sheers (the old ones disintegrated in the wash) as soon as they are delivered, and finding a home for the large stack of framed artwork that has been removed from the walls all over the house and which is currently leaning against the piano. We also have a lovely oil lamp in that room that I have no clue how to pack safely (I am currently leaning toward wrapping it in an old bath towel and holding it in my lap when we drive to the new house) and a small, beat-up side table that is the perfect height for using a laptop camera for video conferences like my daughter's dance class and my son's band rehearsals and trombone lessons. Oh, and there are also two lovely large pots of begonias that belong on the front steps but that are taking refuge inside because it's been in the 30s overnight for the past few days (ah, New England). All three bedrooms are close to being staged, needing only carpet cleaning, removal of a few small pieces of furniture, and the arrival of one "neutral" bedding set (which reminds me; I also need to search the attic for a twin-sized comforter because I realized too late that I had ordered a duvet cover rather than an actual duvet). The basement is in decent shape other than a collection of boxes, furniture, and some more framed pieces of art that need to find their way into the POD at some point.

So that's what's on my mind these days. I suspect that means that today will not be our most effective day. But as long as we get in a little math, a little reading, and possibly a little science and/or social studies, plus both kids get on their online classes at the right time, I'll call it good. Here''s what actually happened:

7-8:30am: Breakfast, get dressed (child #1 requested a Pajama Day, which I approved, but then the hamster peed on her so she had to change into clean PJs anyway), wash and brush, clean up breakfast dishes.

8:30-9am: My son asked to do a follow-up assignment on his Patriots reading, involving making a FlipGrid response to a question. My daughter is starting work on a biography assignment: Read a biography of a historical character, then write up a summary and make a picture of that person using whatever materials you have on hand. I look forward to seeing/hearing the results of both assignments!

9-9:30am: My son is working on a science assignment of some kind; my daughter is doing her daily reading on Epic.

9:30-10am: My son continued with science, while my daughter moved on to independent reading. She's still infatuated with Superfly. I've lost count of how many times she's re-read it, but it's definitely in the double digits.

10-11am: Miss Tracey's Circle Time for my daughter, and Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Facebook Live feed for my son. Followed by a snack and stretch break. (For them, not for me. I spent the hour scrubbing banisters and deciding that my family is gross and never washes their hands, EVER.)

11-11:30am: My daughter is spending some time writing in her journal, and my son (surprisingly willingly) agreed to work on his, as well.

11:30am-1pm: Lunch break and free time. While they're relaxing and playing, I'm attempting to make homemade English muffins.

1-1:30pm: Neither of my kids has a Google Classroom meeting today and it's kind of throwing me off. I wasn't sure what to have them do, so we looked back over their school assignment lists and chose from there. My daughter opted for Typing Club and my son is doing math on Zearn.

1:30-2pm: I sent them outside to run around and play for a while. It's chilly but gorgeous and sunny and they both need to burn off some energy and look at something that's not the same four walls. Plus, that way I could cook the English muffins undisturbed.

And that was our day! I got stuff done, they got stuff done, and no-one cried. Hooray!