Hello Dear Friends and Readers!
Day #1 of our Camp Covid is officially in the books. Here’s the cold hard truth. It was not without tears and frustration, but it also came with some incredible moments. We are making our way and hopefully tomorrow, we’ll feel a little more settled in to our new normal. I hope?
Here’s what worked.
Our morning breakfast lab. This is breakfast with a twist: the kids are learning to cook, set a beautiful table, and clean up! They were super proud of themselves.
From mixing to flipping, today they learned how to make pancakes!
For our academics, we started outside, by filling the bird feeders and later noting who visited: two downy woodpeckers and too many tufted titmice to count! (Lord, middle schoolers can laugh about tufted titmouse all day long. All. Day. Long. Like, every time you say ‘Tufted Titmouse.”) Feeders makes science easy. Leaving a couple of bird identification books out allows the kids to make a match and even keep a journal of which birds are coming to the feeder and when! So fun.
My second grader worked away on a spelling list sent from school.
He used many marker colors to write the words over and over again, then made flash cards with the definition on back, laminated them ,and threw them on a ring. If you don’t have a laminator, STOP reading this and order one ASAP. The kids consider it a MAJOR reward when they get to laminate something. Seriously open a new tab and order one. Do IT!
We are also using Khan Academy. It’s a totally free online learning. We’ve used it for a long time, especially when the kids come to me with homework questions I can’t answer. Now, they’ll follow grade level work in Khan Academy to maintain and grow their skills. I cannot say enough about this resource!
For our lunch lab, simple but yummy stir fry! This got the little guy to willingly eat broccoli. A first!
Everyone in the house had some independent reading time. But our family read was amazing, exoplanets galore! And a great opportunity to talk about our favorite topic: Space!
Last but not least, some sewing. We made pillow cases and simple bookmarks.
There are some easy tutorials to follow on line. Not only is sewing creative and requires math, but it is also incredibly calming during these stressful times.
Okay, friends, it’s time for me to hit the pillow hard. We did a LOT today and I think all and all, it was a great day. But friends, I want you to know, we definitely had our ups and downs, our high and lows. We are all in this together!
Please drop some links in the comments if you have favorite sewing tutorials or other activities the rest of us should check out!
Goodnight, friends! Oh, and don’t forget you can download our schedule template : )
Anna
P.S. In just a few weeks, my debut picture book will hit bookstores everywhere. I can’t think of a better moment to introduce you to a brave hero who courageously saved the words that built America. I am talking about the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and more. This man’s TRUE and long forgotten actions inspired me to be brave during a tough time in my life and I hope they’ll inspire you! You can pre-order now.
Rescuing the Declaration of Independence: How We Almost Lost the Words that Built America