Covid Lockdown (Cont)

Its end of June, Beanie and I continue to social distance.

I am on no hurry to go to stores or get my hair done. We get things delivered and do" take out" when we want to eat food from restaurants.

 I did go to the DMV on Wed since my license is expiring in August.  They wanted me to come in since I wear glasses. It was by appt. There were only 3-4 people there and well social distanced. I was in/out in 15 min. They did not even bother to check my eyesight, so not sure why I had to go in person and could not do it online..anyway it is done!

We have done some outdoors playdates, such as, a socially distanced picnic, and biking with friends. We also do Skype calls that last for 2-3 hours. Its funny, the girls will get snacks, watch TV etc but still have each other on the video chat.

Tomorrow we will do a Skype craft project. Beanie and her friend have both got the same craft kit and will get the girls to do it together via video chat. Should be fun.

I am still on furlough, every Friday, but that ends today. Next week on its back to 5 days a week which means regular paychecks which that is great. Hopefully our business will pick up. Right now it is pretty down due to COVID so I worry about job security.

We have been keeping busy with lots of activities.

We spend a lot of time in our garden, planting and growing seedlings from last year since we did not want to buy plants.  I ordered some plants online in April - I was nervous but they delivered them quickly and they are doing phenomenally and flowering now.

We also do some school work during the day - a bit of math, reading and writing. Plus lots of STEM activities. I found a website with easy science projects that use things one has around the house, so we do some fun things like, making a rain gauge, writing with invisible ink, or placing a flower in colored water. I remember doing these activities as a kid and it is nice to share with Beanie.

We stay active by going for walks 5-6 days a week, and Beanie enjoys biking and scootering. She learned how to cycle without training wheels last Fall, but was still using her smaller bike.  I could see it was getting small for her so we bought a bigger bike. She loves it. I still have her wear her protective body gear since she has taken several tosses, but other than that she is feeling comfortable enough now to drive on bike paths. I had hope to use this summer to dust the cobwebs (literally) off my bike, get it serviced and begin riding, but with all that is going on I don't want to go to the shop. For now we are a bit restricted on the biking front on how far Beanie can cycle (with me walking) but she does not seem to mind.

We have also engaged in cultural activities. We watched several Broadway shows online - Peter Pan, Wiz (based on Wizard of Oz) and Sound of Music. We also spent an afternoon cuddled in bed watching Swan Lake ballet. Beanie loved it!!

Today we attended a live puppet show via Zoom.  It is cool that so many places are adapting to this new situation and offering virtual sessions. I offered to sign B up for virtual camp but she did not want to. Our local painting store is doing paint/craft camp as well...the possibilities are endless...however Beanie does not seem very keen.

Oh well.

Which brings me to the next topic...

It has been a struggle to get Beanie to do any work during summer. Most kids lose a lot of what they learn during summer so I want her to keep in touch with her studies. The work itself is 20 min of reading a day - I got her a chapter book which she is reading very well. We do a few math pages which B can do in 10-15 min and some writing to get her used to spelling words, punctuation etc...so <1 hr a day!

But with all the DRAMA and attitude I get, one would think I have her slaving 8+ hrs each day.  I keep telling her the time she spends complaining and arguing about the "unfairness of it all" she would have done the work 10x over.

Sigh!

Anyway, she is ahead in reading writing and math, so I am not worried but I also don't want her wasting away her summer. We do talk about a lot of things and enjoy walks where we look at mushrooms and press flowers, watch birds and talk about nature.  She is full of questions which I love and absorbs information like a sponge. She keeps herself busy with legos and her dolls, watching some TV/Netflix during assigned times (if work is done!)  and some tablet time to play games. Our cat, Coral, is company for her since Beanie now has someone to play with.

The school sent an email outlining next year's plans. They will be offering a brick and mortar option and an Online learning option. It is a tough decision. I have never been keen on homeschooling. I think most kids need school and friends and teachers and the sense of community, not to mention many kids do better when working with peers. However, with the COVID situation, I am leaning towards online, even though I now how horribly stressful it will be given my experience in March-April. Apparently, this time they plan to do actual classroom instruction online,and not expect the parents to be doing all the work.

I told Beanie that if we choose that option she will need to commit and work hard since she will be learning new material. No more running out of the room mid-Zoom to go get the cat to show her friends etc like  last time. In fairness, all the kids were doing it. But now the teacher will expect attendance and will be giving grade,s etc The full scope is still TBD, but we should get more information in a week or so.

That is the news from our side....hope you all are doing well and staying safe.