No alarms.
We ended up getting out of the bed around 7am for green pancakes because who doesn’t have green pancakes on St. Patrick’s day?
And who doesn’t add a “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow?
And what does Mom eat while the small humans happily eat green pancakes?
Double chocolate chip low carb pancakes…
Actually legitimately good.
Meal prepping is still a thing when school is cancelled. Believe me, it’s actually super important or I’ll eat all the “quarantine & chill” snacks before the 2 weeks are up.
Portion control = everything…
Since we’ll be eating all our meals at home, we actually took the time to do some prepping today to free up some fridge space.
Hamburger meat for pizzas, pasta, and tacos; chicken bites for wraps & more hibachi; and some SUPER low carb birthday cake cupcakes made from Bowmar protein powder.
2 loads of dishes, Disney movies, and number writing…
{and}
Playing with baby dolls, carrying things in Walmart sacks for fun, read stories about groovy unicorns, watched more Elsa & Anna, Inside Out, The Little Mermaid, and piano playing.
All in between answering questions about AMI packets— which is actually encouraging because it means my kids are looking at them and at least trying.
#myteacherheartishappy
Then the fun stuff…
Craft time with “Cheerio glitter.”
Whatever floats your boat kiddo.
{and thank you Jesus for prepped Awesome Blossom teas so Momma doesn’t lose her sanity in times like this}
Because y’all— I can’t do this strict and structured off time like I’m seeing some do. It’s just not in me.
Do we have a “general routine?”
Absolutely.
But am I setting timers and all that and technically “schooling” my preschooler?
No. I’m using opportunities.
Because I want her to WANT to learn and to LOVE it.
Like chalk walls to play copycat and pointing to the numbers and counting cheerios that match each number to make her “glitter” and reading stories and having her point every time she recognizes words as we read.
I asked her to find me the correct measuring cups based on what numbers they had on them.
Don’t make your children hate learning.
Just find opportunities to plug it in for these babies.
Do the AMI work, but take time to enjoy them being home too.
{steps off soapbox…}
After early suppers, we went for the most important time of the day…
{insert Bubble Guppie tune…}
OUTSIDE. OUTSIDE. OUTSIDE EVERYBODY. OUTSIDE
We went to race in Honey & Buddy’s backyard, pet the lovable Lamartine guard dog Roxy, swing on the swing set, climb on the slides, dump dirt on ourselves, and just get flat out tired.
And no day is complete without a bath with bath bombs & more story time.
And then almost immediately falling asleep so Momma can tidy up the messes made, run in the house, and enjoy a little quiet time.
{BUT}
Here at the end of the day, the anxiety starts to creep back in as I see reports of schools cancelling onsite instruction for the remainder of the school year. You almost grieve for those teachers who don’t get to finish out the year and SEE those kids succeed.
Their kids.
Then you grieve for all those kids who are missing out on so much. The senior class. The graduation ceremonies that may not happen. Prom. Ballgames. All of the lasts. You can’t help but hope and pray for those districts to have peace and comfort in the midst of all the difficult decisions that must be made. The kids to find peace in knowing that this is just another part of their story— it’s history. Their lives and accomplishments will be so much more than just this.
On the flip side, in such a time as this it is SO wonderful to see teachers coming together and taking steps to make sure every child, tween, teen, and anyone in between has the help they need. Facebook live posts reading stories by our own superintindent, number talks on Zoom by on of the 3rd grade math teachers, Facetime chats just to check in with kindergarteners, Facebook live art lessons by the elementary art teacher, free guitar lessons by just a good soul who wants to help give people something to look forward to.
So many actual positive things happening that prove once again what a cool community we have.
So many people making the best of this situation AND completely taking advantage of it to do good things.
We may not all be able to come together in the literal sense, but Magnolia has certainly come together in the figurative to make sure needs are met one way or another.
It’s still strange to wrap my mind around this whole thing, but we will certainly all make the best of it.
•Hurley Farms• 