The girls started the day spending a little quality time with Thriller (E's ball python) and Johnny (E's class gecko that is spending March Break and now possibly eternity with us). They played with them, gave them water and fed Johnny a mealworm before coming down pretty enthusiastically for next period.
Group Lesson for the day: Laundry!
Mondays are generally my day to fold laundry. I spend the weekend washing and drying like a madwoman, and on Monday morning I haul two enourmously overfilled baskets up to the living room and spend an hour or so folding while I watch cooking shows. Although it has only been three weeks since I last did this, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Today I decided that E needed a refresher in folding, that e could benefit from an introduction to the world of laundry, and that I really needed to get some laundry folded.
e's job was to sort the clothes into piles: Mama, Dada, E, e and towels. E's job was to perfect the Marie Kondo-approved folding technique. And I'm kind of a hardass about it because stuff fits into my drawers properly now and dangit THIS IS A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE. e lasted about 10 minutes. E begged for a break and/or snack every 7 minutes or so, and I felt like things were going so painfully slowly. But we got through it, and in the end it took about the same amount of time that it normally takes me. The difference is I spent half the time listening to gems like:
"I feel like I'm being used."
and,
"Why does e get to go and play?"
and,
"I just threw up in my mouth."
No, for real. At one point she threw up in her mouth. I ignored it and she seemed to move on from it. Like I said, I'm a bit of a hardass.
E's Lesson for the day: Photography
I found a few articles about the basics of composition as well as the technical aspects of taking photos with an iPhone. I asked E to read through them and make notes, which she did with no complaining! This was mostly due to the fact that photography was a subject she requested.
When she was finished reading through the articles, it was time to put her learning to practice. I selflessly agreed to serve as her model, and was delighted when my sacrifice required me to lie down. Once she had come up with an image she was happy with, I had her explain what techniques she had used from the reading she had done. Which she did brilliantly!
This is the resulting photo, which I think might be award-winning quality:
And another beauty:
Something about using the pattern of the floor, sightlines, light and negative space. You'll have to ask her. I just work here.
Mama's Lesson for the day: To go where the day leads!
While E studied photography, I wandered into the kitchen (surprise, surprise) to marinate some chicken for dinner. Whilst there, one thing led to another and I am happy to declare my spices: Organized! Once every couple of years I overhaul my spices, and then slowly allow the situation to devolve over time. I cannot recall the last time I did this, so you can just imagine. But after much pouring and spilling and spluttering and rooting around and shuffling and A LOT of wiping up, I'm back in business, spice-wise.
But it's also good to have a flexible plan. One that has enough to keep us busy if needed, but enough "negative space" (oooh, the teacher becomes the...nevermind) to allow things to remain fluid. I think I did a good job of working the plan today.
This afternoon we baked an exquisite Apple Walnut Zucchini Cake, played several rounds of Untie the Prisoner (like I said, I just work here), and ended the evening with a chaotic FaceTime session with our BC family for cousin R's birthday.
Lots of giggles today and a minimum amount of discord. Another one for the Win column!
Quotable quotes from e:
"Hey, Teacher! We have a dead kid over here!"
"Oh no. Another dead child!"
(in response to J telling her not to talk with her mouth full) *arms outstretched in disbelief* "Why. Do. I. Have. To. Say. This. To You. Every. Time!!!"
No comments:
Post a Comment