A Visit to Franklin Park Conservatory with Kids

Last week we visited Franklin Park Conservatory, masks and all. An outdoor section specifically for kids opened in the last year or so, and this was our first time there. We had a blast!

A Sunday Meander

My mother-in-law doesn't live far from a very nice metro park, so we visited it on Sunday for the first time in years. The kids were unsure at first -- a park without a playground? -- but ended up having a wonderful time. Fallen trees are even better than swings and slides!

 

Virtual School Begins

This post is some 13 hours late, so you can tell the first week of school has been a crazy one. But the things that I thought would be difficult aren't, and the things I thought would be a breeze are far from it.

Each day is better than the last, and today was by far the best of all. The kids are really getting the hang of Zoom, and even Atticus can sometimes unmute himself and talk to his teacher before I even reach his computer to help. Edith is surprisingly independent and only sometimes asks for tech assistance. And both kids are engaging and interacting with their teachers, so that's very encouraging.

The hard part is after school. The online portion ends before a regular, in-person day of school would typically end, so Edith often has a few things to work on afterward. She's doing it -- and doing it well -- but it can be difficult to stay motivated. 

I've been extremely happy and impressed with both of their teachers, and overall the school year is going better than I had expected. Hopefully things continue to get easier for the students, the teachers and even the parents, too.

First Day of School

The summer that never really began is now unofficially over. Today is the first day of school, and it's all virtual until at least the end of October.  (Thanks, COVID-19.) The kids are ready. I'm nervous.

They each have their own separate school areas with a makeshift desk in separate rooms so they won't be distracted by the other's Zoom calls. We picked up supplies at school last week, including brand-spanking-new Chromebooks that they were both excited about. Atticus got a quick lesson from me yesterday on how to use a mouse. We're as ready as we can be -- now it's time to dive in.

I assume that most of the schooldays will be spent by me logging them into or out of meetings, making sure they're at the computer at the appropriate times and generally making sure they are paying attention. Neither likes large Zoom meetings, but hopefully they'll learn to adapt quickly!

I'll have an update on the first week next Tuesday, including their first day of school pictures -- no backpacks needed! Wish us luck.

A Day in Cincinnati

 

Our vacation to Alaska was of course scrapped this year, but we couldn't go the entire summer without going somewhere, even if only two hours away.

So instead of a cruise, we took a road trip to Cincinnati on Sunday. And while we were there we did something even more exciting than seeing the city -- we visited Edith's 27th and Atticus's 25th state just across the river: Kentucky.

We were gone a little over eight hours door-to-door and managed to visit two riverfront parks, two playgrounds and two states, walked across two bridges over the Ohio River, got wet at one splash pad and got treats at one the Whipty-Do! ice cream shop on the way home. We walked miles and learned something new as the Reds played a home game versus the Cubs (no fans, of course). The canned cheers from the nonexistent crowd isn't just for TV -- you can hear it outside of the ballpark too!

All in all, it was a good day with lovely weather. It wasn't quite the two-week jaunt to the northeast that we had planned, but at least the kids got to cross another state off of their lists!