We've been busy bees since school started again. Let me try to catch up with some photos of notable days.

Not pictured from the last month: my bouts of mask-sewing, my packing 90 craft kits for classroom Halloween parties, and Ben's quarantine 6 day quarantine while he was sick with a cold and we waited for his COVID test result. (Negative, and he's feeling good again, and no one seemed to have caught the cold).

Nimbus loves it when I put on the electric blanket. We cozy up after lunch while I work on my computer. She puts toes in the air when she reaches peak comfiness.

As mentioned briefly last time, I have been building craft kits for the school Halloween parties.

Parents are not allowed in the school year, and no outside food either. The party solution from the PTA was for volunteers to supply holiday crafts for their kids’ classes. I’ve always served as a room parent/party committee. It was a no-brainer to sign-up this year again - ONLY a craft (versus the traditional craft + games + food) and no obligation to coordinate with other parents! The hardest part has always been scheduling room parent meetings to agree on each item, waiting for emails to be returned, and crossing fingers they supply what they promised. Much easier by myself! I waited a couple days to let other parents have a chance to sign-up. When none stepped forward I signed-up for both my kids classes. Then last week I got a text that the other fifth grade parent dropped out, asking if I could cover the crafts for their class too. Of course!

Today I dropped off 84 craft kits with prepared supplies for each kid to complete two crafts, four different crafts all together. Plus spare parts for the teachers to hand out as needed. They were organized and split between 5 boxes for classes with both in-person and remote students.

We were supposed to include written instructions for the teachers to do the crafts. I thought it would be more helpful if I demonstrated each of them on a video for them to pause/replay as needed. Then the teachers would be free to roam around helping and encouraging kids. Of COURSE I had to set the stage with props, light the candles, and wear something spooky. If you want to do some crafts with your own supplies, watch my videos here!

Tonight had some new excitement with video games. Ben treated himself to a Switch Ring adventure game to try to get more regular exercise. We used to go to the gym 2-3 times per week, but obviously stopped in March. Jogging is unbearably boring and I’ve become a poor walking partner since the weather has cooled and darkened. This game looks like a fun way to get more exercise. Jack was jealously watching Ben break-in the game. He eagerly starting his own save file when given the chance. Maybe some competition between the two will keep them playing longer! I had a fun time watching them while I brewed a pot of herbal tea and stirred a large batch of steel cut oats for breakfast this week.

The ash tree usually decides to dump all its leaves within a couple days. We had a brief day of good, sunny weather afterward, before a winter storm was forecast. We all pitched in to clear some of the leaves so the kids could enjoy a giant leaf pile.