Done, Week One

School officially started this last week. It's all online, which considering our present circumstances is good. Had it been in-person I would have continued with homeschooling. My only other experience with online public school is from when the lock-down first happened, this last March through May. I was less than impressed and took advantage of the online resources that were made available because of the lock-down to provide Hulk with a more meaningful scholastic experience. When deciding what to do for this next school year I was optimistic that the previous experience was a result of the suddenness of the stay-at-home order and that since the school system had had all summer to prepare things would be better.

They are and they aren't. Hulk's second grade teacher has spent this last week reviewing letter sounds and numbers. This is frustrating because, by second grade, the majority (if not all) of the students in the class should be reading and doing math. If she wants to review, go over sight words and simple addition/subtraction (like 1+1). So I feel it's a waste of Hulk's time to sit there and sound out letters. He seems bored. There is also a plethora of emails - Hulk has six teachers. His has his regular second grade teacher then there's a teacher for music, gym, art, media, and a counselor. All of these people have assignments for him to do. In some cases he needs to use several different web sources. I feel like he's started college.  But I'm the one that's exhausted from trying to keep track of everything.

Every night we go through this slew of information together to make sure he hasn't missed any assignments, I write down what he needs to do and then he checks it off when finished. For kids who don't have parents or guardians able or willing to do that for them I imagine this online system of schooling is overwhelming. The homework that his teacher gives is too easy for him (he has told me this himself, gleefully, which was his mistake). So when I write out what he needs to do I make it more challenging. For example: instead of writing four sentences about his first week of school, he needs to write six. Instead of listing ten nouns, he needs to list twenty. Etc.

Fortunately school is only three hours a day, though he probably spends about that same amount of time each day doing the homework assignments. Because school is half day (and when he does his homework is flexible) this gives us freedom to do things as a family - like the zoo or museums. I also signed Hulk up for a bunch of free online classes that the Cincinnati Observatory is hosting for kids. Also, his online schooling is only four days a week. This gives an extra day to catch up on homework and I plan to create a special weekly Spanish curriculum for us to do on his off day. So it's not all bad. 

At the end of the week we decided to stay home, slow down, and have a tea party. Viking Girl had been requesting one all week but we'd been too busy with Hulk's school work.

And I'm pretty sure the only reason Hulk came to the party, instead of play with his legos, was for the food ;)

While the cats away, the mice will play

At the end of June I took the kids, with my mom, on a cross-country road trip to socially distance visit family in Oregon. Nearly all of our family and friends are in Oregon. When we visit, it is a marathon trip of fitting in as many visits with as many different people as we can while also trying to show off the amazing state to our kids. Because of the current pandemic, this year was very different. We kept our social bubble small and limited our visit to only our parents and siblings. No cousins, no friends, and no grandparents. I think I am most upset about not being able to visit my grandparents (J's only living grandparents reside in southern Florida). I recognize that they are reaching in the end of their biological clock and I would like my kids to have memories of them. 

J flew out to meet us and we drove back together. We took our two fur babies with us, Simba (our eleven year old orange tabby cat) and Link (our two year old gerberian shepsky dog). I often travel around town with Link so he handled the long stretches in the car like a champ. Simba on the other hand cried nearly the whole time and wanted to live under the driver's seat (which we did not feel was a safe place for him or us). Towards the end of the drive we finally figured out how to make the trip more pleasant for him (and subsequently us). 

When we got back to our home in Ohio we found that a family of mice had moved into our house. Droppings were all over the kitchen and stashes of seeds were in the closets. I instructed Simba to get to work on the mice while I cleaned up their mess. 

Before we had left for Oregon, Cincinnati was still locked down. Things had begun to open up while we were away and after our return I set up visits to the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Zoo, and the Art Museum (which we will visit a week from today). 

The Museum Center is usually full of people and bustling with energy. But due to restrictions it's functioning at like 25% capacity and we felt like the only people there. It was both sad and nice. The Children's Museum in the basement is still not open. I hope things have stabilized enough by December for it to open because my kids love the holiday themed displays but I recognize there are bigger issues happening in our country right now than if my kids get to ride a Christmas train or not.   

Outside Union Terminal

The Zoo felt crowded compared to the Museum Center. We went early because the train had opened and I was worried there would be lines. I hate lines. Turns out that I shouldn't have worried about the lines for the train because everyone was instead queuing to go into the newly opened Roo Valley (where kangaroos roam free! Apparently, I have no idea because after waiting forever in line at Hulk's insistence they were all in their shed to escape the heat). We came up with a game plan for the next time we visit: go early, hit Roo Valley first (before the heat and the plethora of people so hopefully the kangaroos will be out), and then visit the train - seeing other animals along the way, obviously. We don't go to the zoo just for the train. 

But honestly we kinda do. 

And I let my kids visit Fiona for the first time in a year because there was no line to see her. Why people will stand in line to visit a hippo is beyond me. 

Kinda like how people will stand in line to visit a kangaroo.

I hate lines.

The Mess Maker Making His Escape

Teddy Bear is at the age where he's opening all the cabinets he can reach and pulling everything out. 

Normally I don't mind. 

I have never minded.  But to be fair, Hulk and Viking Girl were never really interested in what I kept underneath the sink. I remember showing them how to open cupboards, pulling out pots and pans, and then giving them a spoon so they could make their own little drum set. They would indulge me for two seconds and then crawl away. 

Not Teddy Bear. My kitchen is now a war zone with potatoes, onions, pots, and lids strewn all over the place. 

Hulk hates it. Whenever Teddy starts opening cupboards I hear Hulk yell, "Mom! He's getting into the pots! He's going to break something!" To which I reply, "they're made of metal, I would be impressed if he did break them." Disgusted with my lack of response Hulk then takes it on himself to move everything he deems breakable out of Teddy's reach. 

Today, Teddy finished his breakfast before Hulk and Viking Girl. I then set him on the floor to roam and explore. He made his way over to the pantry. After taking a bite out of one of the sweet potatoes kept on a shelf next to the pantry, he opened the door and started playing with the assortment of oil and vinegar bottles I keep on the bottom shelf. Hulk watched and expressed his concern for the glass vinegar bottles. I asked him to not worry while I tried to slice a peach for my breakfast. 

A moment later Hulk rushes over to Teddy and exclaims that Teddy had removed the lid for the olive oil. I thanked Hulk for stopping Teddy, secretly impressed that Teddy had managed to remove the lid. I assumed that some olive oil would have leaked onto the floor (it was a brand new bottle that I had opened not two days before) but it wasn't until I closed the pantry door and saw the big puddle in front of the kitchen door that I realized the extent of the mess that Teddy had made.

I needed to mop the kitchen floor anyways. I just wish he had given me the opportunity to sweep first.