We survived the first week of school at home! We did it quite well if I may be so bold. On the first day we did the typical first day pictures, a special look through the school supply box (I have always loved school supplies!), and all about me posters and art.
Here are first day of school pictures! David is in first grade, Emma is three so she is doing preschool. Samuel of course had to have his picture taken too, and wants to be right in the middle, doing whatever the other two are doing!
We actually had a bit of a rough start to our week. Emma and then David began the week feeling under the weather with a fever (of all things!!!!), but it passed quickly and the rest of us have been fine. It’s a good thing we chose to do virtual school, or we would have had to stay home anyway and go get tested and miss the first week of school, and it would have been a nightmare!
The first picture shows the kids hand art and about me posters. The middle picture shows them sitting at the table drawing their “me” pictures. Samuel is occupying himself with play dough! 🙂 Later in the week we talked about germs. (It seemed fitting, after the way our week started. Ha!) We read the curious George book about germs, and did some germ art. Using watercolors, straws, and thick paper you basically just blow blobs of paint on the paper! After it dries you can add eyeballs! The kids love blowing the paint around with straws!
On Wednesday we decided to have a back to school water balloon fight. I bought a package of water balloons from the dollar tree a while back, and I have been saving them for a special occasion and this seemed fitting. The kids love water balloons! There is something cool, and fascinating about them. It took me quite a while to fill them up, and then they were gone in a flash!
What I enjoyed most about doing school at home this week was the flexibility of the schedule, and being with the kids. We were able to settle into a routine, and David was able to do his work in two to three hours. Most of which was done in the morning. You forget how much time they spend at school doing other activities besides their class work! The biggest learning curve this week was how to use the technology. David’s grade is using an app called SeeSaw, in which they are able to share assignments back and forth using pictures, notes, writing, voice and video recordings. Once I figured out how to do it, I then helped guide David through how to do it. We have gotten better through the week, but it’s going to take a little longer before David is comfortable using the app on his own.
Our daily schedule ended up looking something like this:
Breakfast (Bible story) at 7:30, Clean up /kids get dressed and morning chores 8:00, Playtime (generally outside weather permitting) 8:30-9:00, School work 9-10:00, Snack time/play time 10-10:30, School work 10:30-11:30, Lunch preparation, consumption, and cleanup 11:30-12:45, Finish up any school work left/play time 12:45-1:15, story time 1:15, nap time/quiet time 1:30-3:30. The rest of the day is filled with free time!
At breakfast the kids love to do their Bible story video! This is something we have been doing for quite a while now, and I want to share the website with you! It’s https://bibleappforkids.com/parents/videos. They are really great videos for the kids, there is an app, and other great resources too! We first started out doing the app, but then I discovered the website with the videos and the kids have liked those.
The hurricane rains came through today, and so we ended the week by playing in the pond that was in our driveway! 🙂 While the kids were playing, they discovered worms everywhere in the water! A few worms doesn’t generally bother me, but we got to looking and there were what I believe to be hundreds of worms that had surfaced onto our driveway! No joke! The kids thought it was great, and were trying to save them from drowning. I was a little freaked out!
So I realize it has been a while since I shared any of my cooking recipes with you!! It’s 2020, what can I say! I have still been cooking non-stop, and I have no reason for not sharing any recipes with you other than I have been a stressed out air head!! So I’m going to remedy that!!
I have finally found the best biscuit recipe! For real! Look no further! Making biscuits is so easy, and you will never ever want to buy another can of biscuit dough once you make these! I promise! Here is the link to Sally’s Baking Addiction Home Made Buttermilk Biscuits! Don’t be afraid of the buttermilk!
Another recipe I have tried recently that deserves sharing is Food Networks Best Chicken and Rice recipe! (If I have already shared this, please forgive me! I believe we have already established my absentmindedness.) This is nothing like the chicken and rice you are currently thinking about! I urge you to try this recipe and you will never think about chicken and rice in the same way again! It’s also a one pan recipe! So it makes for easy cleanup.
In an effort to include the kids in more cooking activities, I bought a set of kid friendly knives. It has turned out to be a great purchase because the kids love using them. Emma especially has taken to helping out in the kitchen. She often requests to make her own breakfast, or help cut up fruit and vegetables. This evening she cut the stems off the green beans for dinner!
Love,
PK
Treble Mama 