Weekly Wrap Up 5/29/20-- Pandemic Life

We finally got back the graduation pictures for Firedrake.  So I am now able to send off her graduation announcements.  We also got some good news that she will be having a socially distancing graduation ceremony on June 6th.  Our homeschooling co-op was able to secure a location where the kids (there are only 30) will be on a stage but the audience will be watching from their cars.  I have no idea how this will look but we have got to go with the flow right now.

Here are some of her graduation pictures.

got to have one with a mask to remind us of this crazy period

This is the one we chose to put in her graduation announcements

 I have been working on some new stain glass projects. I have three going at the minute.  I am trying something new.  Making a Lateran using agates.  I am hoping it turns out as good in real life as it does in my head.

I have four different size agates and there will be one agate per side. 

 My husband and I finally broke down and bought some face masks.  We have been using dust masks but they are starting to get worn out so it was time to upgrade. 

Someone on facebook told me I picked a stain glass looking mask.  It kind of does, lol

 Every week the kids choose a dessert they wish to make.  This week MarioFan wanted to make chocolate chip cookies in a coffee cup.  He had seen this on a video.  so we gave it a try.  They turned out pretty good.  Loads of recipes on the web. 

We topped our cookies with a little ice cream, yum yum

The cookie wasn't golden brown like it is when baked in the oven but they tasted the exact same.  

That is our week.  Nothing very exciting going on.  Firedrake has 2 weeks off before beginning her college summer class online.  MarioFan is still working on his school and quickly wrapping up his year.  We are getting there slow and steady.

Stay safe and wear a mask!:)

Weekly Wrap Up 5/22/20 -- Modified Quarentine activities

So the state and our little town have set some new standards for going out in public.  My family still feels that it is not safe so we remain safe within our home only going out once a week for shopping.  Luckily my husband can still work from home and only travels to work once a week. 

In two weeks my oldest was to graduate from High School but as the rest of the class of 2020 her graduation ceremony is not being held.  I did order her a cap and gown from the coop, way before this pandemic started and it arrived.  I was able to get Senior pictures done at a local park, we were very careful about social distancing!

The park wasn't very crowded.  While taking pictures a couple walked past and clapped and cheer for my daughter which I thought was very kind.  

I have been trying lots of new recipes at home and most have been very successful with at least 3 out of the 4 family members.  Can't seem to please them all at the same time.

I made a one tray meal with lots of fresh veggies and sausage.  It was very good.  You can check out the recipe from this site .https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-pan-healthy-sausage-and-veggies/?fbclid=IwAR3T8cIdl4hdsQTcSy3x71jwyMlfi0TvvDj_7PSPB0TjtNLIuIQ_jsBoyic#wprm-recipe-container-17717

I have been spending time in the glass studio and working on several projects.

I am making this for my son.  It is his favorite pokemon character, according to my daughter.  I plan to have this completed by his birthday

Working on a new garden stake for my garden. 

Continuing to cut out pieces for my new lamp shade.  Unfortunately I don't have enough glass for the back ground so I need to run to the glass shop at some point.

For Mother's Day my family spoiled me quite nicely. 

My husband cooked a fantastic dinner for me

dessert was yummy.

My daughter made me a picture and told me all the pokemon characters represent me in some way.  It was so sweet, I actually cried.  My son made me a hand made card.  

 This weeks  baking activity was to make snicker-doodle bars.  My daughter loves these and wanted to make a tray.

 I am trying to only have one sweet item baked per week so we don't over indulge during this pandemic.  I am still trying to exercise daily and lose weight but it is hard.

Hope you are all safe and well. 

Weekly Wrap Up 5/15/20 -- High School/dual enrollment Update

We have been continuing to do our best with homeschooling during this pandemic.  For the most part not a lot has changed except for not attending weekly Co-op classes for one kid and not going to dual enrollment college classes for the other.

By the end of the month MarioFan (10th grade) will have finished his grammar, vocabulary, Spanish, 42 electronic, Geometry and literature program.  Leaving us with only History and Biology 2 to work on through the summer.

For literature we just ompleted our last assigned book for our literature program and are working on our last assigned essay! 

We plan to watch the new film that recently came out -- I heard it got pretty good reviews.

The literature program we are using does not include plays so we are going to add in one last book to our lesson plans.  No writing assignment will be required but we felt that since this was American Lit we needed to include an American play.  After looking at many great options we have decided that the boys will read ....

For Biology MarioFan has about 5 more chapters work on before he is finished.   I am working with our local Co-op to see if he will participate in their Chemistry class next year (I am not happy with the science book they use) or if we will attempt an online class.  This is one topic neither my husband or I feel confident in teaching.  For American History we are wrapping up WWII and I want to have MarioFan read a few books on that topic, such as Night or Anne Frank's diary and Farewell to Manzanar before we move on to learning about the Cold War era. I figure by the end of June both History and Biology will be completed. 

Firedrake finished with her college classes.  She did very well in sociology getting an A in the class.  She really struggled with the College Algebra class and once it moved to online it was extremely hard for her to get the additional assistance she needed to grasp the concepts.  We are pleased she got a C because we know that math is definitely a struggle for her.  Had she had access to the math lab daily she might have done better.  She on the other hand is glad it is over with and vows never to take another mathematics class as long as she lives.  I am afraid she got her Math talents from me:(.
She has decided to do a summer class since we do not want her working with the virus still around.  She has signed up for ancient history.  It is a six week online class and it will be another 3 credits.  When she goes away for the fall (hopefully) to university she will have 19 credits under her belt! 

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

weekly wrap up 5/8/20 -- Week Seven of Pandemic

Last week was an interesting week in my little town.  While our state has reopened on the 4th of May, the county where we live has mandated we remain shut for another 2 weeks due to the increase in cases.  The mayor of our town decided he was not going to follow the county regulations and open up the town.  Problem -- our town has the highest number of covid19 cases in the county due to a nursing home with over 25 cases!  So you can imagine the spit fire of nastiness going on in the community communication page.  It is truly awful to see people being so heartless and cruel to each other.  To say that the elderly person should willing give up their lives to let others live defies the very basic of human decency in my mind.  After an outpouring of emails and threats from the county for law suits and police intervention, the mayor backed down and we remain on lock down until May 18th and even then it may be extended again.  The hateful victuals that people spew on the web is shocking.  I admit is made me very sad and somewhat low in spirits this week at the thought of what has become of America.

On to what we have been doing to cope with this quarantine.  Once a week I or the kids make a dessert.  Trying not to over bake with goodies so we don't add weight, since I am working so hard on losing weight! 

My daughter wanted to make blackberry cobbler.  My husband found black berries on sale so he bought so much we had to make two!

We used a new recipe that was slightly lower in butter content in hopes that it wouldn't be quite so high in calories.  It turned out very good and while the intention was to freeze one for a later date, they were both gobbled up quite quickly

We had our first game night.  The first, I know shocking right, we are not the board game family that most home-school families seem to be.  We apparently didn't get that memo:)

Any time the weather is good I have the family sit outside and eat dinner.  It is the only way my kids see sun!  Both are quite happy staying in side so I have to encourage them to go outside and get a little Vit D

My daughter graduates this year from high school.  We are not sure if she will have a graduation ceremony, although one is planned for June 6th with her Co-op.  We just picked up her a cap and gown and have scheduled a photographer to take outdoor pictures this weekend (in a socially appropriate way) at a local park.   I also got her graduation announcements in so once the pictures are done, we will be sending those off.  

This is the color that the co-op has for their graduation ceremony

We are still trying to figure out how we will celebrate this big milestone as a family but I am sure we will come up with something if the co-op ceremony falls though.

Firedrake last week of community college classes is next week and she is busy studying for her finals.  She has signed up for a summer community college course since she will not be getting a job this summer.

MarioFan is continuing with his class work and we are slowly starting to wind down and wrap up some of his workbooks, classes.  As always he will be doing some work through the summer as we school year round.

Hope you are staying safe and healthy!

Weekly Wrap Up 5/1/20-- Week six of quartine

We made it through another week of home isolation.  We are actually in a pretty good routine right now.  A bit of cabin fever is starting to set in but we plan on holding strong a little while longer.  The Governor of our state has lifted some restrictions but the county/city we live in has put no end date for lifting restrictions.  The numbers in our area are still rising.  Even when things open up I plan on remaining out of restaurants, movie theaters, stores and anything else with large crowds of people for the foreseeable future, as I fully expect a second stronger wave to arrive.

We have had a few rainy days mix in with a few sunny days.  We have been taking advantage of the sunny days and spending more time outside.

We have grilled a few times and eaten dinner on the deck.  Just a cute pic of our dog, Luna

My husband and I enjoying some quiet time outside -- he is practicing his guitar.  Both the dog and cat love to be outside on the deck with us.

Luna having peanut butter in her toy, don't know why I have never done this before, but she loves it

We have taken the dog for a neighborhood walk daily but on Sunday we decided to try one of the trails near us.  Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so it was a little too crowded for my comfort.  Luckily I did bring my mask with me.

Luna on the watch out because she spotted a snake!

Actually we think she stepped on it as seeing it flinch is what made us notice it.  Luckily it didn't bite the dog and we think it is a harmless water snake.  but we weren't sure.

It was quite big!

We are still having trouble finding cleaning supplies in our area.  So my husband is looking on Amazon and trying to find things.  Unfortunately we can only buy some things in bulk.

We now have a lot of hand soap on hand

We have also ordered TP on Amazon and it says it is coming from China and wont be here until the middle of May.  Right now we can only buy four rolls of TP at a time if the store even carries it.  For a family of four that does not last long.  Once this is over I plan to make sure we always have a Costco size of TP in the basement should this ever happen again!

 I have been really working on trying to exercise every day.  I have lost 20 since Jan.  I am using the program Beach body on Demand to find low impact exercises.  I have like the videos so far and have only missed a day or two of exercising since January.

I have also been reaching out to friends that I haven't spoken too in a long time and reconnecting.  I reached out to my friend in NZ, UK, and many around the states.  I think this time has really required us to slow down and reconnect with nature and family and friends.  The one thing that I hope comes out of this pandemic is everyone slowing down and enjoying the present.