COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Home School "Projects"

Homeschooling is going ok here. No one has been driven totally insane!

I've worked hard to set a routine, but I like the idea of "projects."

To me, a project is anything that Shane gets interested in and/or uses some problem solving skills on.

It could be fairly innocuous.

For example, it's Shane's job to crush cans. We haven't been to the recycling center, so our bins are overflowing (much like Shane's energy level). I put a box near the cans with a few in it without Shane seeing me. Then I went to his room and gave him an ultimatum to take care of them before I got back from the barn.

I hoped that Shane would figure out to use the box, but I didn't tell him to. If he complained about how rough it was to carry everything out or ferry things back and forth I would've pointed out the box.

Thankfully, he figured it out....mostly. He filled the box, but then didn't do anything about the cans that didn't fit perfectly in it!

Math and Science got blended in when Shane started making paper airplanes.

Shane was having fun making them and I took some pictures to update my Schoology page.

Shane thought the he could make a bunch of paper airplanes and sell them at school for $0.05 each. His goal was to make $20 to buy a game on Steam he played at Patrick's.

That started a math lesson. 

"How many planes would you need to sell to make a dollar?"  20.

"At that rate, how many would you need to sell to make $20 for the game?" 400.

"Who would you be selling the planes to?" 3rd graders and after school kids.

"How many kids are in your class?" 34.

"How many kids are after school?" I don't know.

"Do you think there are more or less than your class?" More.

"A lot more or a little?" A little.

"So pick a number a little more than your class..." 36.

We added the numbers together (70) and then I pointed out there were fewer kids than airplanes that needed to be sold. We did a little more math and Shane realized he had to sell at least 4 planes to every kid in his class and others had to buy 5!

That didn't seem reasonable, so we started to look at what would happen if Shane increased the price. We even ended up graphing things.

I had to give him a reality check when he got to the point he was excited by how few planes he'd need to sell once they cost multiple dollars!

The whole discussion maybe took 20 minutes with graphing and wait times. 

The planes did lead to another little experiment. 

Shane wanted to pictures of him throwing airplanes. I turned it back on him and asked, "What do you think is the best way to get good pictures of you throwing them?"

Suddenly, we had an experiment! I took burst shots, super slow mo, and videos. We did three trials for each mode and checked afterward for what would make the best footage (screen captures or gifs).

We didn't finish the experiment, but it was fun enough and I got to talk briefly about good experiments focusing on one variable at a time.

The airplanes became participants in a Rube-Goldberg machine later in the week. 

If Shane gets creative and he's not on a computer, I just let it roll! That couch has been missing cushions for almost a week now (I probably should make Shane pick it up...).

Shane started to build a train track this week.

I planted a seed by asking, "Do you think it'd fit through the cat door?"

Shane's track laying went from fun in his room to a "project."

Yes, it does fit!

"Do you think you could make it all the way to the kitchen?"

"What about into the kitchen? Could you shorten the track anywhere else to go further?"

I've been trying to encourage/trick Shane into using Legos or K'nex and a ramp of some sort to build his own track to get the train all the way to the kitchen table. So far, he hasn't bit.

Loki hasn't bit either, but he does knock the train over with his feet and fluff!

Again, my whole goal is to keep Shane and his brain active. Trying new things and problem solving are key components to all learning! I am normally nominally involved. Shane gets excited and wants praise. I give some and ask a question or two and then try to fade off into my own work. I hope it helps him learn how to work (and entertain himself) independently.

When he's older, Shane would need more focus, but at this age I'm really not worried about any sort of curriculum other than keeping him from overdosing on electronics. 

Not that 'home-schooling' is computer free. Shane does use his computer. He'd be using it in his 3rd grade classroom anyway, and I need breaks! 

Shane normally does his math online, because A) he likes it and B) I like it. Shane even put some of his Christmas/Bday money into getting a membership so he could level up faster. 

I picked up Shane's laptop from his school on Friday 3/27. There have been multiple opportunities, but we opted to pass since we already had our electronics. With the decision to do virtual schooling in the county, I spent 10 minutes picking up Shane's materials. I left everything in my car over the weekend to rest and decontaminate. 

Shane's thrilled to have access to some Minecraft now. He can earn it for his down time. I like it way more than him asking to play stupid browser games on Poki.

I've tried to work the computer in to some projects. I showed Shane this video on how Pokemon was dubbed.

Then I tried to get him to dub over Pokemon himself. 

He declined and said, "It wouldn't feel right." He didn't want to tarnish Pokemon! Ha!

I tried to get Shane to dub over a cartoon, but the closet I could get him to do was dub over a few seconds of me talking.

A cartoon would have been way easier with the mouth flapping rather than trying to match real life movements. Shane didn't seem that into it. I tried showing Shane an NFL bad lip reading video to keep his interest, but the project only lasted for him to make me say something about poop.

In another attempt to make money, Shane thought he could sell his artwork. I told him that even with talent he'd need to practice to get to that level.

So, Shane drew a picture. I suggested we scan it so that he could edit it in Paint.

I imagined Shane learning how to use Paint and edit computer artwork. Instead, he discovered 3D Paint let him click a button to add an animation and music. There was no real skill or thinking involved as he watched the animations over and over and over....

I still have hope for getting Shane to edit a picture at some point, though.

Now, keep in mind this post may seem like we're doing amazing things, but Shane's on his 3rd week of "home-school." We've had some fun blips, but it's not all the time every time. Several things I hoped would keep Shane busy for hours produced less than 10 minutes of though (or even 10 minutes of keeping him busy!). 

I've seen a lot of cool activities online that require planning, but I've "shot from the hip." There has been no planning. If Shane seemed interested in something I let it roll until it stopped rolling. He needs to learn how to focus on something to completion, so I probably should bring up some of these 'projects' again at some point. 

I plan on running my "home school" through spring break, but things should change a little bit afterward. The county is going to a "virtual school" model. They'll be coming up with some things to keep Shane busy and I'll be more active online with my own students.

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: When We Do Go Out....BEFORE the "Stay Home"

Thursday, 3/26 we went on our bi-monthly dump run. It was the first time Shane left the house since we dropped Nibbs off on 3/15. 

I had a virtual staff meeting at 1:30 PM, so Carrie didn't think we'd have time to drop off some cardboard boxes.

There was no one ahead of us. We really should have grabbed more stuff to get rid of!

I was the only one who got out of the car at the dump. When we drove to Costco Carrie was the only one who got out.

Gas prices were the lowest I've seen in over a decade. I had to have still been in college. I remember it being cheaper, but that goes all the way back to high school for me.

We dropped by Southern States on the way home and it was Carrie's turn to get out again. 

Then we swung by Ace Hardware for a final stop where Carrie backed the truck and trailer up pick up sweet feed (She had to park at a weird angle due to a semi and then brought the trailer around hard and drove up in reverse. One of the guys laughed and called out, "You can drive, girl!").

Did you see the pattern? 

Only one of us got out at each stop. Shane stuck in the car, because he can't be trusted not to crawl on the ground and lick his hands or pick his nose.

Are we high-risk for the virus? No.

Based on the numbers there's less than a 0.1% chance we'd bump into anyone who's carrier. At the time there were less than 1,000 positive test results out of over 8.5 million people in VA. Even if you suspected there were 20 times as many cases due to lack of testing and asymptomatic carriers that would put the percentage at a little over 0.2%

However, if we're going to support the system, Carrie and I figured we may as well do the self-isolation thing right. She has gone to the grocery store or hardware store a couple of times, but Shane's stayed at home and I've stayed at home.

Except for book club.

I have left the house for a little under 2 hours each Sunday. We've met at Mark's brewery where we were the only three people sitting around, because it was closed!

We've always sat far enough apart (I had my own table!) and Mark washed his hands before he grabbed anyone some beers.

It's not following the rules of quarantine 100%, but we did the social distancing bit and there hasn't been a stay at home order.

Until now.

The order came out at 2 PM Monday. Patrick was happy the government was endorsing his lifestyle of choice!

Carrie was in the barn when the announcement was made. She was in the process of trying to shut down when I told her to hold up.

Not that it stopped, Carrie!

She saw Madeleine pull up when we were talking in the garage. Carrie ran down to tell her we were closed ("Game off!"), but I caught up to her with the written order on my phone. I showed her what I'd read and we were back in business ("Game on!").

1.E applies to our barn from my understanding of what was written. Carrie decided that to best follow the directive, any boarders who wanted to visit would need to text or call in advance. If anyone else texted for a similar time, Carrie would direct them to come earlier or later so that only one boarder was on property at a time. That way we could ensure there were always less than 6 people around the barn to allow for easy distancing.

I don't think we even needed to do that based on Section 2. Gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited, but I think our record was 9 people on property when the cousins and grandparents visited. At that only happened once!

We're doing our part to keep with the spirit of things, though. The 'mandate' was mainly targeted at the larges groups of people on beaches or going to parties and acting like there isn't a need for social distancing. I could understand more resistance to staying in all the time in the really rural stretches, but Virginia Beach? I get that it's outside. I get that the odds are low. However, I also know that if enough people play the odds the virus is going to get passed around more than it needs to be and the odds will become higher the more people play them (and very stealthily with the way the virus presents itself).

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Barn Updates and a Friend Visits

The farm life has become full time for us (if you hadn't already discerned that). 

Carrie checks on our fat camp candidate's weights several times a week (old picture, but shows the tape used since horses are BIG).

Carrie moved our daily supplements into a system of cups. They're all pre-made assembly line style and marked to know who they belong to. It speeds up food preparation.

We have two trashcans full of feed. The red one is Triple Crown 30% Ration Balancer. The smaller silver one is full of ground flax seed.

The chest freezer has become the home of a couple hundred pounds of sweet feed from the Augusta Co-op.

We're stocked up so that we won't need to worry about picking up supplies for a while. We keep everything locked up solid to keep mice out.

We've had vets out twice in the past week (Friday 3/27and Monday 3/30).

It's standard practice for the vets to have you or an assistant move your horse around, so that they can observe and diagnose them in motion. There's more guessing involved with horses than with people, because A) they can't talk and B) it's really expensive to try and MRI a large animal.

Carrie wanted a second opinion on what was going on with Maddie. She's been on doxy for the itching and presumed Lyme's and we thought had pain in her front hooves due to being pre-laminitic. The doxy hadn't stopped the itching, and Maddie still showed some signs of being ready to crow hop when she hit a trot after a week treatment.

The vet had a second vet come out and the new diagnosis is stifle pain. It's still possible there's some long term Lyme's that's causing her to itch her butt all over the barn.

The vets came out Monday to look at Ernie due to his long term lameness. As far as I know, the root cause is still undiagnosed.

When we know boarders are coming, the vets are around, or there's work going on in the barn or there's lots of work going on that could disturb the equines we bring them in.

If it's midday the horses will settle in for their normal naps.

Eddy used his hay as a pillow one day!

He's the second horse I've heard snore (but not as loud as Kitty!).

Speaking of Kitty, Madeleine came out to ride her Sunday. We hadn't seen her for almost a week. It sounds like she's planning on moving back home at the end of April. The original plan was after graduating UVA, but the virus launched all of those plans into limbo.

Barbara and Heidi came out to play with horses on Sunday, too. It was a hot day for spring in the 80s!

We had three riders in the ring for the first time.

Carrie had Heidi hop off mid ride to try some shoes on him. He was short stepping. Carrie had bought them for Maddie when we thought she had hoof pain and not stifle pain.

Turns out Maddy has slightly wider feet than Eddy! It's the draft blood in her.

We had some unusual visitors on Sunday. Erick and Henry have been cooped up at home, too! Erick builds cross country courses for shows across the country...that have all been cancelled. 

I imagine it's fairly unique to be sitting at home bored with a ton of heavy machinery! We asked/hired Erick to come out and spread our mound of gravel dust into "Maddie's lot." The boys 'helped.'

Both boys have been starved for a kid connection. We told Shane it was fine to play outside, but no visitors in the house (and no wrestling!). 

Henry took a turn driving the front end loader, but the shaking out the gravel just right required more finesse than he had learned. Erick took over and the boys danced on the pile as Erick scooped it out from underneath them.

I was a little concerned, but I looked to see if Erick was bothered at all. He wasn't, so they danced away! Shane even jumped in the bucket once.

I asked Erick later if it bothered him and he said, "We're at that point when it comes to entertainment." Ha!

They weren't totally useless. I need to coach Shane on how to use a shovel properly at some point.

The boys went into the garage every now and then to cool down.

Henry told Shane that quartz dust was worth "$50 a square inch" and the boys went into production. Shane had dollar signs in his eyes! He's been really interested in making money lately (and won't stop asking about it) and the boys planned on getting rich quick.

They found a bug zapper in the garage while smashing rocks and ended their play date hunting wasps. It turns out water, electricity, and shoes are super effective against wasp type enemies.

Erick finished Maddie's lot while they played and I 'supervised.'

The upside of the gravel dust will prevent erosion, mud, weeds, and it looks nice. The downside is we'll have to scoop pony poop instead of mostly ignoring it.

It had to happen to become a long term solution. Maddie needs to be rested to heal, but she detests being stalled.

Other than the vet visits, everything I've posted happened on Sunday. I thought we were done when Ellie showed up!

We were going to stay inside, but I asked Shane to take Loki out to go potty before my book club. Loki had been penned for most of the afternoon so that he wouldn't try to bite the tires on the heavy machinery!

Of course, Loki took off like a bullet to the barn. He and Buddha got sprayed with a hose to drive them off when they started running around Magic's feet as he was getting washed!

I tried to stick to the shade under the lean-to and the pole-barn while the kids played, but the sun got me. Should've been wearing sunscreen (Ginger-life).

The only good news about the sunburn is it should start off a farmer's tan (appropriate since I'm living on a farm). My neck usually burns even with sunscreen and then darkens enough I can operate in daylight without melting or wrapping myself up like an Aielman. .