We are officially under a "shelter in place" order as of today. This makes zero difference to our family, though -- we haven't left the house except for groceries in almost two weeks. But I'm glad fewer people will be out and about. And today our governor ordered that schools are closed until May 15. It wasn't a surprise to hear, but man, that's a long time!
Our literacy exercise this morning was writing letters. Each child picked someone to write to, and afterwards we mailed them (you lucky people will be receiving them in the next few days!).
Zoom has helped alleviate the routine, and keeps the kids' interest. We've Zoomed with Dane and Hayden, Memere and Pepere, and Grandma and Grandpa.
We also had piano lessons via Zoom, which worked better than I expected. I stayed in the room to assist, though. I can tell from Facebook that tons of kids are having their piano lessons done via teleconference, but I have no idea how it could get done (efficiently) if a parent did not also know how to read music!
This week we also had our first school lessons over Zoom. Sweet Pea and Little Man's 1st grade teacher mainly focused on feelings and letting each child share what they've been doing, while CC's 3rd grade literacy and math teacher actually started virtual instruction.
It's been raining a lot lately, so we busted out the Air Track that Abby and Anna got the kids for Christmas. It takes up the entire kitchen floor, but it allows the kids to get some much-needed exercise.
Today the weather was finally decent (hallelujah!) so the kids went outside to ... mostly yell at each other, as far as I could tell. But at least they weren't yelling in the house.
Our supplies of sidewalk chalk are alarmingly low. The kids' knuckles are scraping the concrete as they attempt to draw with tiny pieces. Fortunately a large shipment of multicolored chalk is arriving sometime today (thank God for Amazon!).
Our nightly dinners resemble strange episodes of Chopped. The other night we had leftover ham from Christmas 2017 that I found in the back of the freezer, a side of rice, and a Hershey's kiss for dessert. Tonight I'm slow-cooking a pork roast, but I'm out of garlic and wine, so I'll improvise with other spices. (Yes, I'm out of wine. Send help!)
That's the latest from the Morrisons! The kids' spirits remain high. CC told me, "Homeschooling is the best thing ever!" and every night, Sweet Pea thanks God "for giving me a good day at Morrison Academy." Getting the kids to clean up after themselves and practice their piano every day is very easy, because they're so excited to log onto their iPads for virtual learning. Fingers crossed that it stays this way!
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