We got an early start at the cabin and headed home early enough for me to make a 10:00 Building Leadership Team meeting. The kids were super helpful and everything ran smoothly. They engaged in different learning activities while I was in my meeting. We had a great lunch together and checked in on how everyone was doing. After lunch, we kept working, until we took a break for “P.E.” which today was to go out on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Reed and Edison rode bikes together while Charlotte and I did a three-mile run side-by-side. I love running with Charlotte! She is fast! We shared my airpods and ran together and cheered each other on. It was kind of perfect and definitely a proud mama moment. We a few more things to do at home, including Charlotte being able to connect with her buddies for a bit on Zoom, before the kids were picked up by Eben. Tonight I am taking time to catch up on everything (this journal, the blog, email, bills, etc.). I already miss the kids!
This is what work looks like now - 25 person Zoom meeting - trying to ramp up to get Home Learning off the ground!
We woke to a wintery mix of rain and snow. No leaks in the camper! The heater did its trick, but it still was a little rough to have to go in/out for little things until the rain stopped. Charlotte hosted breakfast and got everything ready, which was very considerate of her. We made our day’s checklists and got started on packing up the camper. The pack up went smoothly, in particular because Edison was incredibly helpful. However as I went to lock the hitch closed, I realized I couldn’t find the camper keys! We bought a new lock in Coulee City and set up an appointment for a mobile locksmith in Wenatchee. He picked the camper lock, but after searching the whole thing, the keys were not present! Ugh! We eventually found them in the snack bag in the car, of all places. It was moderately humiliating to realize the locksmith was completely unnecessary. We went to close up the camper again and the king bed got stuck on the rails sliding in - the wheel for it got off track and got chewed up in between the rails and totally stuck. So unfortunately I had to call a mobile RV repair service to help us fix this problem. Ugh! They were very responsive and sent two guys out pretty quickly, all things considered. Buddy and Caleb had everything fixed up in no time and now Edison and I know what to be extra careful of in the future. After a much-delayed drive we finally arrived at the cabin and felt grateful to be there. We unpacked everything and the kids kept going on their learning checklists. After they had done everything on their lists they decided to start making a movie for their free choice. The three of them worked well together to come up with the storyline, film/act scenes, and even started editing it using an online program. In it, they play a family of children who learn they have superpowers and that there is an evil villain who wants to steal away their powers. It really is quite remarkable what they’ve created so far and I absolutely love how well they are collaborating. Edison and Charlotte had a Zoom social with their friends at night and we crashed at bedtime.
March 26, 2020
The learning checklist works its magic again. I’m especially liking the “help mom” category. I am feeling like the kids are developing some great interpersonal skills as part of this whole, crazy social experiment. While the kids began their home learning, I had to catch up on work. We are re-opening (virtually) the schools for home learning. I had several meetings this morning and we had to schedule time on the hotspot for everyone to get all their online work done. The kids’ teachers have started contacting them daily and encouraging them to complete little activities or go to certain online learning resources. Reed had a blast doing Super Kids online. But he LOVED creating a Prodigy account and getting started on that. Prodigy is an online, interactive math game in which your character engages in the world by doing math battles. Edison and Charlotte helped him get started and created new accounts so they could join as friends in Reed’s world. On our hike to the ridge above Plain after lunch, the three kids walked side by side and discussed different elements of Prodigy. It was so rewarding to see Reed be able to fully participate in that conversation. After the hike, Edison made blueberry muffins, they kept working on learning items, rode bikes, and so forth while I cleaned the camper and started getting everything ready to head home again Friday morning. We had a good dinner and played Yahtzee afterwards. I am realizing that it is going to be quite the balancing act for me to try to work from home while managing individualized home learning for each of the three kids for the foreseeable future. But it truly is a joy to share this time with them and see them enjoy each other’s company more often than not.
We have got the hang of camping down. Routine of breakfast, creating our checklists, beginning learning items, etc. happened seemlessly. We had a plan and we had to get a pretty early start. We drove a half-hour north to Steamboat Rock State Park with a picnic packed. We were able to do a 3-mile hike to the top of Steamboat Rock on the south end where we overlooked Banks Lake and the long coulee that stretched farther than the eye could see. It was enchanting and the kids were proud of how high up we climbed - up to where the birds glide. Again, it felt super odd because no one else was out. It was social isolation at its glory. Afterwards we continued north a little farther up to the Grand Coulee Dam. The visitor center was closed, but we still got to view the dam and read a few informational plaques. It was awe-inspiring for sure. We decided to stock up on groceries in town to bring back to the cabin (who knows what will happen to the supply chain - better safe than sorry). We also took advantage of the good wifi signal so that Charlotte could once again Zoom meet up with her friends. We decided milkshakes were in order while the boys and I waited out her call and we got them from the nicest lady at the Teepee take out spot in town. Back at camp the kids finished their learning tasks and we followed it up by a run on my part and kids joining me on bikes - riding all the way to the end of the road this time. After another delicious dinner, Reed FaceTimed his buddy, Ollie. They told each other lots of really dumb “why did the ______ cross the road” jokes which was more hilarious to watch than the jokes actually were. We had a very sweet campfire to finish out the night.
We figured out the heater the previous night and so woke to a cozy morning in the camper once we turned that on a bit before getting out of bed. We made our home learning checklist at breakfast and the kids began work immediately. Reed actually completed his 86-page math workbook in three days - he was so proud of his hard work!!!! We decided to hike around the massive Umatilla Rock basalt formation whose trailhead was not far from our campsite. It is actually located at the base of Dry Falls, so it was cool to be hiking and driving around the area we had viewed from the coulee edge the day before. We were the only ones in the whole valley. It was incredibly isolated and magical. We especially enjoyed scrambling over and climbing the erratic boulders at the south end of Umatilla Rock and also being able to hike through a gap in it to the other side and be on top of the formation itself. After this hike, we rested at the camper a bit, did more learning items, and Charlotte was able to Zoom meet up with her friends. Then we drove to Coulee City to repair Charlotte’s bike - thank you to the super helpful man at the hardware store. Back at camp I went for a long walk while the kids rode bikes near me on the Park Lake trail on the south end of camp. It is an old road that has been blocked off, so it was perfect for bike riding. No one was out, though we saw dozens of pikas scampering across our path. Dinner was great and Reed was able to call his friend Joseph after dinner. It was entertaining to see them FaceTime each other. The kids also talked to dad for a bit after dinner. We had a game night in the camper rather than a fire this night and just enjoyed how cozy it felt.
