COVID-19 Homeschool, Day 59

By the numbers:
59 days of homeschool so far (counting today)
8 days until moving day (hooray for single digits!!)
7 days until we close on the house
6 Google/Zoom meetings left this week
5 days of homeschool still to go (also counting today)

It's another glorious morning, not too hot and not too humid, and we're all refreshed from our light day yesterday and a good night's sleep. We're ready to take on the world! Or at least the day. Here's our daily schedule:

7-8:30am: As my Facebook friends are aware, I've been playing a game I dubbed "Use Up That Bottle Cocktail Roulette" (UUTBCR for short) in order to use up some of the half-empty bottles of liquor we have left over from parties so we don't have to pack them when we move. With only about a week to go, this concept is spilling over into everything from other food items to toiletries. I'm making decisions about baking bread based on how many loaves are required to finish up that bag of flour, decisions about whether or not to condition my hair based on how much is left in the bottle of conditioner, even whether to use the kids' toothpaste or my own preferred brand so as to have one less tube to throw into a box on that last day. All that is to say that I came thisclose to finishing up the giant bag of Krusteaz pancake mix from Costco for this morning's breakfast, so guess what tomorrow's breakfast will also be? Ahem, topic. Ah yes, get up, get dressed, have breakfast, clean up breakfast dishes, brush hair and teeth. Check.

8:30-8:45am: We're back to following their teachers' daily assignments today, but I think we'll start with math because that tends to be a little trickier for Child #1 and sometimes includes actual submissions for Child #2. Good to get both of those out of the way while they're still fresh. My daughter is starting with Zearn math, but also asked to do a music assignment before doing her FlipGrid. My son is doing his Kahoot math assignment first.

8:45-9:30am: Field Day! Today would have been Field Day at school, when the kids all spend the day outside playing games and doing fun physical challenges. My son's teacher gave them suggestions of 10 exercises they could do, so I'm having both kids do them together (I'm even joining in a little). We can all use the exercise - and the laughs. We're starting with a Wheelbarrow Race!

Followed by sack races (self-explanatory) and penguin races (which involve running back and forth between two cups while holding a ball between your knees without dropping it). There was much hilarity, especially when I joined in. In related news, fat thighs are a huge advantage in penguin races (needless to say, I won handily - er, leggily).

9:30-10am: We thought about doing a dance party (which was one of the Field Day suggestions), but both kids had tired themselves out a little, so they're both doing reading with Epic instead. I might save the dance party for after lunch, though.

10-10:30am: Circle Time with Miss Tracey and Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. I love knowing that there's a half hour every day when I don't have to think about what they'll do! I am folding laundry because it is the Chore That Never Ends.

10:30-11:30am: I went up in the attic to finish clearing and packing up there, and I honestly lost track of time at this point, so I have no idea what they did. Hopefully something useful? I dunno.

11:30-12pm: My daughter started her lunch break and free time. My son had his final Challenge Class. He was less than enthusiastic and gave monosyllabic answers to his teacher's questions about how he was feeling. As much as I expect him to give thoughtful, respectful answers to his teachers when they ask questions, no-one should be made to share their feelings publicly when they don't want to. Not everyone is comfortable with being touchy-feely; please respect a child's emotional privacy the same way you respect their bodily autonomy.

12-1pm: Lunch break and free time for both.

1-2pm: We're sitting out back and I'm re-reading them Harry Potter. Not a bad way to end the day.