Baby Buffaloe: Homeschool Week 2

I didn't keep up with the daily photo documentation this past week (March 16-20) and because of that, it's much harder to go back and remember what we did (even though it was less than a week ago)!

I know that we did still hit all the items on our daily agenda, mostly in order - the kids got dressed, brushed teeth, fed the dog, did chores, did their math app online, did the math that school sent home with me, did school in the afternoon with Sam, wrote in their journals, read independently, practiced piano, took a walk, ate lunch and dinner as a family, cleaned up, watched a movie together before bed. I was having them read nonfiction for a block of time in the morning, but that's basically switched to the one who's not doing "school" with me entertaining Leah. (I'm entertaining Leah when Sam's doing "school" with them in the afternoon.)

They've been playing constantly with the very large dog crate my mom got and then gave to me because it didn't fit in her car. Sam's been doing a recording project, which I can post later.

Anyway, here's what I remember!

Monday
Which is apparently not much from Monday. Amelie finished her opinion essay and printed it out.

Tuesday
We went on a wet, rainy walk - still keeping up the daily walk streak even though the weather has not been super cooperative. The kids next door banged on the window and waved as we went by in our rain gear.

I succeeded in getting James to wear his raincoat, but not in getting him to button it up.

Here’s me convincing James to do his journal:

And James reading (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.)

Wednesday
We saw a bone on the small trail at the park. I said that I thought it was a deer, and then was immediately validated when we found a deer hoof with hair still on, and then just a tiny bit later, at least two HUGE vultures sweeping around at the park. (Nature study!)

Amelie started narrative essay, again using voice-to-text, about a rousing game of capture the flag.

James helped make beer bread, then we ate the whole loaf while it was still warm. He was enthusiastic about opening the beer and pouring it in. "IT SMELLS TERRIBLE!" he said.

Thursday
The playground equipment at our small neighborhood park was roped off with caution tape.

It made it look a little like a crime scene, though of course we know it is because of the stay-at-home order. My friend Todd in China (Beijing) was under a true stay-at-home order wherein they put an alarm on his apartment door so that he couldn't even leave to go outside, and an Australian-Chinese person who defied the order to go out jogging was deported. We're still able to use the (non-playground equipment) outdoor spaces as long as 6 feet distance is maintained. James was pretty upset the other day when we had to leave/move on when another family came to the park. I was kind of glad when they put up the tape since we'd just been telling them they couldn't get on the equipment and this was easier for them to see and understand.

I gotta say, Spark is loving it.

Notice Sam's walking stick.

Amelie making a clover chain.

Leah looking suspicious, with her leaf.

They like to explore this area by the bridge.

Back home. Leah playing with the riding toy from Aunt Holly. I adore this romper (it was Amelie's), but Leah's just enough older than Amelie was (March vs. May) and just enough bigger (40th percentile vs. 15th) that it may only fit this one sunny weekend. Anyway, I took some pictures! And I have a friend I can pass it to :)

One really great thing about all this time at home is that I've made chores (the actual running of the household versus just cleaning up their own messes) a much more intentional part of the day (it's on the schedule taped to the refrigerator, enshrined in the daily routine), and the big kids have really stepped up to the plate. Here's Amelie, cheerfully unloading the dishwasher, putting things away, and then loading it back up with what's accumulated in the sink. She was singing to herself as she did it.

One more pic of Leah in the romper :)

Friday
It helps James to write his journal if he has a snack handy. He's also convinced himself that the "detailed picture" he's supposed to draw with it has to include 3 colors - I think he might be mixed up because Ms. Newkirk said "at least 3 sentences," but I'm going along with it.