#stayhome #school & #survive

Let's first address the monkey in the room ...

It's been silent here.

For good reason with all things chasing sanity and survival.

Rather than a bunch of words you may or may not read, let's get you caught up with a picture glimpse into what the Broersma #stayhomestayhealthy has looked like this Spring.

{ Distant Learning. }

When news of school shifting too distant learning, I first panicked gathering all the ideas
and then attempted to execute a plan.
Pinterest is great. Pinterest has the ability to expose two types of people: Always Nailed It or 100% Failed It.
I had great intentions those first few weeks of school being put into action in our home. We homeschooled for seven years so I knew the steps and process. The catch was some students weren't as receptive to my Pinterest ideas as I was to implementing them daily. Regardless, we made it work... through tears, struggles, redirection and long walks to reset... we have been making this work.
Baylee's teacher has been reading stories to her on Marco Polo and Charlie has been crushing his school goals with impressive self motivation. Addison helped Myriam with her reading for a bit then shifted to her
online school program.
Tim and I are so proud of the kids for making the abrupt shift in learning. Did we do it well? Not everyday.
And that's okay.
Summer is almost here and some learning goals will stay in place throughout the
next few months which is okay too.
Our homeschool cart is now a part of the living room and I'll try to squeeze
learning when the moment presents itself.
If this has taught me anything, it's that our decision to put the kids in school was a healthy choice.
Yes, I'm Mom and teacher, but I long for the day when I'm just Mom.

{ Projects & Play }

We found many opportunities to learn outside through activities we call chores. Picking up winter branches, planting seeds and taking care of the lawn gave a much needed break from being inside. God has blessed us with a dry Spring. Yes, we've had some rainy days but more than anything, the skies have been blue and warm enough to step into the fresh air.

{ Learning & Growing. }

Our seeds did okay. Some grew and others got moldy or stolen by our neighborhood squirrels. Even the cute popsicle stick birdhouse Myriam made was robbed of its birdseed by the pesky squirrel hanging from the gutter. Our snap peas are now well out of the ground and beginning to make their way up the garden trellis. Our walks through the neighborhood always prove entertaining as the girls chase bunnies, seek out deer, look for animal tracks and watch the skunk cabbage almost grow taller than Miss Bee herself.

Charlie's learned to have guitar lessons via Zoom or FaceTime even though his practicing hours have lessened slightly with outside distractions.

I'm most thankful for the thing I hate the most; screen time. Baylee can actually sit still while learning from ABC Mouse and for that I'm grateful.

{ Self care. }

I'm about ready for another haircut and have had to walk away from my scissors many times over. In a weak moment I did manage to foil my own hair and even tried putting my human cutting skills into dog grooming with our poor puppy cutting her locks too. Major kudos to dog groomers. I will never do that again.

As for skin care, well, Addi is always so good to do the masks, wash the face and include her little sisters in the pampering process.

I haven't taken hair clients for years, but still trim the family's hair. It's been awhile since not having the ability to reach over my head due to recovery. When family members called and told me they were looking special, I pulled the basics outside and set up shop in the carport. No worries, the family wore masks and hands were washed. As for the family gray hairs collecting among a few... well, the stores are closed and I'm all out of color so truth be told you're no brunette any longer.

{ Recreational Play a.k.a. PE }

This is vital. This is necessary.

Myriam and I have been taking two mile walks searching for teddy bears and hearts in neighboring windows while sharing in deep discussions or soaking up the silence. Our loop usually takes us to Dad's office for a cup of water and back home through the forest. We've also had many trips to Berthusan Park getting lost on the trails and letting Millie explore in the trees.

On the warmer days, Charlie and Myriam took on a new adventure of floating down the creek. Quite comical to watch and thankful it's not too deep. I see this happening more often with summer fast approaching.

Addi told me I needed new hiking friends after our Sunday hike up Sumas Mountain. We didn't make it to the top but a little over two miles in for lunch proved good for all of us.

The benefit of all things being cancelled and closed is family time.

Yes, somedays I think we've had too much, but Tim knew we needed to see a different set

of four walls for this weekend.

A quick trip to Vantage, WA was exactly what all of us needed. The drive there was enough for me. Silent.

It was incredibly refreshing to not have bickering, teasing or whining the entire way over the pass. Once we arrived at the private campsite, Grandpa Doug greeted us with a hilariously, well thought out scavenger hunt for the kids. The only piece he forgot was to look up at the growing gray clouds and massive downpour that led us all running down the hillside being pelted with twenty-five mph winds and sideways rain.

You know it's stormy when the tumbleweed passes you by sprinting back towards the motorhome drenched in sunny clothing. Ahh, no worries. None of us were hurt and the hunt continued the following morning with the kids "saving the world from the coronavirus."

You can only imagine the eye-rolls and jokes made about this game getting the kids hiking two miles up a steep hillside all for ice cream at the end.

And no, the water was not warm which is why you only saw these two crazies swimming in it.