Week 2 Recap: Routines and Readjustments
Let's just start this with an acknowledgment of my family's privilege. I don't work 40 hours a week, between paid work and volunteer work that's unpredictable it's about 10-20 hours and usually doesn't have to been done during the day. Andrew's work is 100% flexible and understanding. We don't have to go out of our house if we don't want to. We are doing our best to support those that do and those who are vulnerable at this time.
This week Andrew and I focused on how we could change our weekly rhythms to take some pressure off ourselves. We decided that to help support our family's mental health, Andrew would need to take some morning time when the weather was good (working a bit more in the evenings) and spend some time with either the boys or the family as a whole and hopefully he'll get out on his own for some biking at some point too.
CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE.
Sunday March 22nd
We participated in Chalk the Walk in the morning!
Our church is holding services online through Facebook Live and then after the service we're still having Discussion Groups with groups of people joining together through Google Meet. These have been a good method of connection with members of our community that we don't necessarily have close relationships with yet. But we're certainly getting to know everyone better.
We went to Hilton Falls for a wonderful hike. Especially after going to a neighborhood forest the day before and it feeling too crowded, getting out into a bigger forest and taking smaller side trails where we saw at most 7 people in 3 hours really helped us (me) feel some of the anxiety lift off our shoulders.
Monday March 23rd
The boys coloured some animals for our front window. We spent some time tidying up the Play Room again (a never-ending endeavour). Then we joined the FB Live Splash'N Boots Dance Party which was super fun and a really good workout (for me too)!
We started more learning activities with E during the weekday afternoons while T is napping. One highlight from today was these free French numbers that have the words on each so we can work on number sense in French together. E also went outside in our backyard and made a snowman in what was likely the last snowfall of the season!
The boys spent some time watching a few YT StorylineOnline stories, which was great change from watching a TV show. Then the boys and I went for a walk around our neighbourhood and did a Scavenger Hunt in French. And T while still loving his high chair (yes he's super old for one) now has it lowered and pulled up to the table directly and has started eating teeny pieces of cooked tomatoes, it was a big day!
Tuesday March 24th
The boys had quite a bit of independent play today as I'd stayed up super late the night before reading Julie Andrews' biography. We also had HVAC guys in our basement for much of the day replacing our leaking gas hot water heater (they just came and went through the basement door).
E spent his afternoon learning time playing the glockenspiel, some activity pages, reading an entire chapter book and playing outside. Then the boys and I walked through a Pre-school lesson from Scholastic and then filled up an aquarium toy to watch the fish grow.
Once the boys were in bed we had our regular Small Group time with people from church online with a Google Meet. We played the first round of this fun free game!
Wednesday March 25th
Andrew took the boys on a bike ride in the morning for 1.5 hours to get some exercise and fresh air before starting to work. T and I played Scrabble Jr. together and he's starting to identify letter names and sounds.
In the afternoon, E really enjoyed starting on some Lego Challenges and watching the 15 minute Creature Feature from the Assiniboine Park Zoo and learning about seals.
Later in the day E had his Music Class online through Zoom while T played outside with Andrew. Note the tablet on the bottom right corner of the photo.
Thursday March 26th
T and I made some wacky dinos together during a morning of mostly independent play for the boys. We also watched a second Splash'N Boots video - Exercise with DJ Broccoli and Jumping Jack Granny. It was so funny!
Before lunch we went outside for 30 minutes or so and played with some bubbles and spent a little bit of time digging some holes before it rained.
The afternoon's highlight was beginning a Reading Challenge that has a Writing Extension built in. E is an exceptional reader but is not a fan of writing, so we're hoping this will be a good activity for him.
After T's nap, the boys ran around the house like hellions and engaged in a lot of horse-play. We also watched the first half of Frozen for movie night.
Once the boys were in bed, Andrew and I played Yahtzee and Sushi Go online with my sister and brother-in-law. Really trying to still have fun and not focus all our energy on being productive.
Friday March 27th
The flexibility in Andrew's job is really a huge blessing in this time. I did a bit of research to find some forest trails that are still open (most Conservation Areas have closed) and we all went off to a new part of our region and spent 2.5 hours of the morning hiking through a forest (staying off the main paths) and only bumping in to a couple people. One of the highlights of this area was the number of different bird species, compared to the 'busier' places we've been recently.
We also had "lunch with friends" and had a Hangouts Call with some friends (the same ages as our boys). It's always fun to hear kids talk to each other especially on a video call.
E was feeling exhausted so during ALT he worked independently on a craft he was enjoying doing and we watched another Creature Feature about the Amur Tiger. After T's nap we all headed out for some more sunshine and fresh air and played on bikes and scooters in our driveway. We finished up our day with the second half of our movie night feature, Frozen.
Saturday March 28th
Since we've had full days and with everyone home all the time and the house is getting messier more quickly, we've decided to spend more weekend hours (especially when it's rainy) cleaning the house. Which if you know me, does not in any way excite me. However, E enjoyed learning some new family contributions while T focused on putting all his books back on his bookshelf.
I also tried to take some time away from the boys as it can begin to feel like I'm spending 24/7 with them (oh wait...). So while T was napping, Andrew and E played Playmobil and made Rice Krispies. And after nap the three of them went on a quick bike around the block before dinner.
This week Andrew and I focused on how we could change our weekly rhythms to take some pressure off ourselves. We decided that to help support our family's mental health, Andrew would need to take some morning time when the weather was good (working a bit more in the evenings) and spend some time with either the boys or the family as a whole and hopefully he'll get out on his own for some biking at some point too.
CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE.
Sunday March 22nd
We participated in Chalk the Walk in the morning!
Our church is holding services online through Facebook Live and then after the service we're still having Discussion Groups with groups of people joining together through Google Meet. These have been a good method of connection with members of our community that we don't necessarily have close relationships with yet. But we're certainly getting to know everyone better.
We went to Hilton Falls for a wonderful hike. Especially after going to a neighborhood forest the day before and it feeling too crowded, getting out into a bigger forest and taking smaller side trails where we saw at most 7 people in 3 hours really helped us (me) feel some of the anxiety lift off our shoulders.
Monday March 23rd
The boys coloured some animals for our front window. We spent some time tidying up the Play Room again (a never-ending endeavour). Then we joined the FB Live Splash'N Boots Dance Party which was super fun and a really good workout (for me too)!
We started more learning activities with E during the weekday afternoons while T is napping. One highlight from today was these free French numbers that have the words on each so we can work on number sense in French together. E also went outside in our backyard and made a snowman in what was likely the last snowfall of the season!
The boys spent some time watching a few YT StorylineOnline stories, which was great change from watching a TV show. Then the boys and I went for a walk around our neighbourhood and did a Scavenger Hunt in French. And T while still loving his high chair (yes he's super old for one) now has it lowered and pulled up to the table directly and has started eating teeny pieces of cooked tomatoes, it was a big day!
Tuesday March 24th
The boys had quite a bit of independent play today as I'd stayed up super late the night before reading Julie Andrews' biography. We also had HVAC guys in our basement for much of the day replacing our leaking gas hot water heater (they just came and went through the basement door).
E spent his afternoon learning time playing the glockenspiel, some activity pages, reading an entire chapter book and playing outside. Then the boys and I walked through a Pre-school lesson from Scholastic and then filled up an aquarium toy to watch the fish grow.
Once the boys were in bed we had our regular Small Group time with people from church online with a Google Meet. We played the first round of this fun free game!
Wednesday March 25th
Andrew took the boys on a bike ride in the morning for 1.5 hours to get some exercise and fresh air before starting to work. T and I played Scrabble Jr. together and he's starting to identify letter names and sounds.
In the afternoon, E really enjoyed starting on some Lego Challenges and watching the 15 minute Creature Feature from the Assiniboine Park Zoo and learning about seals.
Later in the day E had his Music Class online through Zoom while T played outside with Andrew. Note the tablet on the bottom right corner of the photo.
Thursday March 26th
Before lunch we went outside for 30 minutes or so and played with some bubbles and spent a little bit of time digging some holes before it rained.
The afternoon's highlight was beginning a Reading Challenge that has a Writing Extension built in. E is an exceptional reader but is not a fan of writing, so we're hoping this will be a good activity for him.
After T's nap, the boys ran around the house like hellions and engaged in a lot of horse-play. We also watched the first half of Frozen for movie night.
Once the boys were in bed, Andrew and I played Yahtzee and Sushi Go online with my sister and brother-in-law. Really trying to still have fun and not focus all our energy on being productive.
Friday March 27th
The flexibility in Andrew's job is really a huge blessing in this time. I did a bit of research to find some forest trails that are still open (most Conservation Areas have closed) and we all went off to a new part of our region and spent 2.5 hours of the morning hiking through a forest (staying off the main paths) and only bumping in to a couple people. One of the highlights of this area was the number of different bird species, compared to the 'busier' places we've been recently.
We also had "lunch with friends" and had a Hangouts Call with some friends (the same ages as our boys). It's always fun to hear kids talk to each other especially on a video call.
E was feeling exhausted so during ALT he worked independently on a craft he was enjoying doing and we watched another Creature Feature about the Amur Tiger. After T's nap we all headed out for some more sunshine and fresh air and played on bikes and scooters in our driveway. We finished up our day with the second half of our movie night feature, Frozen.
Saturday March 28th
Since we've had full days and with everyone home all the time and the house is getting messier more quickly, we've decided to spend more weekend hours (especially when it's rainy) cleaning the house. Which if you know me, does not in any way excite me. However, E enjoyed learning some new family contributions while T focused on putting all his books back on his bookshelf.
I also tried to take some time away from the boys as it can begin to feel like I'm spending 24/7 with them (oh wait...). So while T was napping, Andrew and E played Playmobil and made Rice Krispies. And after nap the three of them went on a quick bike around the block before dinner.
Comments
Post a Comment