homeschooltimes

[homeschooltimes]

3-20-20

So... a lot of people have a whole mess of downtime right now. Hopefully everyone is staying away from other humans in an effort to limit the spread of this damn dummy disease. But! Even if you’re social distancing... getting outside for a walkabout is still ok as long as you are maintaining a good 1.5m distance away from other humans.

Maybe you have experience with the out of doors, and maybe you don’t (which is totally ok, now is a great time to get acquainted!!)

Juuuust in case you don’t have/haven’t had a ton of contact with the out of doors, I want to introduce you to a local lovely: Poison Oak.

Yo, she is so pretty but she’s a real bitch if you touch her. She does not consent, and you will likely know very well if you violate that. It will take a little bit, but you’ll know.

Avoid contact. I promise it’s for the best.

Just on the off chance you haven’t seen what poison oak looks like, I snapped a few shots on our walk today. (See below)

The color varies drastically from a pretty basic green all the way to a shimmering gorgeous crimson. Always 3 leaves, glossy, usually in a vine-y sort of bush. (Leaves of 3, leave it be)

Most people are not big time allergic to it, but some people are. And some people have zero reaction to it. For the general population, a physical reaction occurs when the oil or product from the plant touches their skin.

If you do think you’ve touched it and gotten the oil on your skin, wash well with soap and water, and make sure clothing that may have the oil on it doesn’t touch other parts of your body. (I mean, really... don’t touch your taint with tainted hands. you’re welcome)

The resulting rash usually looks like a red patch, red, raised pustules or blisters. It is usually very itchy and can get worse over time.

The rash will clear on its own after 3-4 weeks, but you can soothe the symptoms with Benadryl (internal or topical, but never at the same time, you can overdose), cool baths with a colloidal oatmeal product, gentle contact with skin (don’t scrub! Freakin ouch!), cool wet compresses, and calamine lotion.

It’s still going to itch like a mofo, no matter what you do, but those things will help.

If you start swelling in any places that aren’t the rash, (face, mouth, eyes, throat) or you have trouble breathing... it’s a big deal, get emergency medical attention.

Also... you can google more info. Most sources on poison oak are pretty straightforward, but may also be more helpful than this.

K, here are some pretty pictures of our sassy girl, in lots of shades and sizes.

[homeschooltimes]

Week 1. 3/16-20

Lots of rain, lots of learning how to navigate being at home and practicing extreme social distancing.

Finn lost a tooth and made $10.

We went for walks and started sprouting some seeds.

We are dealing with the emotional effects of being home and pretty isolated.

[homeschooltimes]

3-20-20

Friday, first week of homeschooling complete... kind of.

This corona virus, hopefully will end up being a minor blip in the grand scheme of things. But if it doesn’t, my goal is to equip the boys with resources to thrive and grow. I don’t want them to lose out on educational opportunities just because they aren’t going somewhere.

We are learning how to connect with the teachers, how to organize our days, and how to make, meet goals.

Liam wants to learn how to make a shelf and a doghouse. He has started taking French lessons on duolingo.

Finn wants to learn how to make a McGriddle and how to fold a burrito like Taco Bell. He has started and dug into Spanish on a big level. This kid will be going places with language, I think.

There are -so- many resources available to students right now. I will try to compile all of them together in another post.