And That's.A.Wrap. On Homeschoolin' My S{quad}

You are a strange one, 2020, and I want to make sure to adequately document this season of our lives, when the world shut down and we cozied in. For the last 8 weeks, we have worked our way through e-learning x4, and while I pray our school doors will open again in August, we somehow managed to make our way through this crazy end of the 2019-2020 school year. And as of TODAY, that school year has come to a close. This means I now have a 5th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader, and kindergartener, which just blows my mind. A few things I want to remember as we close out the school year and reflect on our e-learning adventure. 

But first: my how they've grown!!!

We had a loose schedule when all this started, which we loosely followed throughout the 8 weeks of homeschooling. One thing that remained consistent was that we woke up (early, as my Lu Crew do), ate breakfast, and immediately tackled our work. 

Banks was essentially independent in completing his and had daily google classroom meetings with his teacher and classmates so she could teach them new and difficult material. Simultaneously, I worked with Harrison and Raleigh to complete their assignments (all three big kiddos had assignments in Reading, Writing, Math, and Science/Social Studies every day that needed to be turned in either via Google Classroom or Seesaw). Meanwhile, Bels would hang out upstairs in my hub's office (he started this after it became too stressful for me to try to manage her and the others' work at the same time). Once the Big 3 were done with their work and any zoom meetings they may have, it was time to work with Bella on her schooling. She, too, often had zoom meetings with her school teachers/therapists. 

Once our school work was done, we used the rest of the day to play, play, play, often outside, often with friends (particularly after the initial, stricter shelter-in-place orders were put in place). And this is roughly what our Mondays-Fridays looked like. The last couple weeks, as my anxiety spiked, my hub stepped in even more and began helping to knock out some of their work while I was finishing much-needed-for-my-sanity runs, bike rides, or virtual Barre3 workouts. I will never, ever forget how he stepped in right when I needed him most, without me even asking. <3

Somehow, some way, we made it to summer. There were tears (usually mine), there was frustration, there was stress, there was hard work, but we did it. And now, Summer 2020, we welcome you with the warmest of wishes and the biggest of open arms. And we pray that our kiddos can walk in the door of our school and into their new classrooms with their new teachers in a few months. Until then, Hello, Summer! We've been waiting for you! <3

Lutons Lately

I figured it was time for a little update for the ol' virtual scrapbook 'round these parts. A quick peek at some of what we've been up to lately, as we edge closer to the end of the wild and wacky 2019-2020 school year: 

Memorial Day weekend. We are freshly home from a long weekend getaway to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. This is the fifth year we have traveled to the beach with the same two families. Past trips have included stays at Daufuskie Island and Fripp Island, but once we stumbled upon Ocean Isle last year, we loved it (and the rental house) so much we decided to return to the same beach and same house this year. It was so, SO good to step away from our quarantine life for a bit and be in the place where I am happiest: the beach. We loved it. <3

Sleep study. A couple days before we left for the beach, our littlest guy had a sleep study completed overnight in Charlotte with his daddy. And now, we await the results! He was a trooper and his dad took great care of him, treating him to Waffle House on the way home the next morning. ;) 

Re-scheduled recital. A couple weekends ago, we were supposed to be sitting in a big auditorium while I cried my eyes out watching my baby girl take the stage in her first dance recital. But #coronavirus. So, her recital has been rescheduled to later this summer. In the meanwhile, we were permitted to go ahead and pick up her costume, which I just had to have her try on and dance around in for a bit. <3

Fun at home. We've continued to sneak in fun between e-learning whenever we can. This has included lots of grilling out, plenty of playing in the woods, lots of playing in our lil' blow up pool, our first visit to our neighborhood pool (!!!), several family bike rides, and lots of QT. 

And now, we kick off our last three days of e-learning for the 2019-2020 school year! Let's do this thing!

To the Teachers...

I stopped into our elementary school earlier this week to pick up belongings from my kiddos' classrooms. I adjusted my required face mask as I greeted our amazing principal on the way in and then trekked to each of the three hallways housing their classrooms. I gathering their things and paused in each room, trying to imagine that first day of school, when I had dropped them off into their new classrooms, then bustling with nerves, excitement and anticipation. None of us ever knew their school year would end so abruptly. 

On the way out, as I walked through the atrium, I hesitated only a moment before thinking, "No. She needs to know. I need to tell her or I'll regret not doing it." So, I stopped in my tracks. Turned around, holding an arm-load of notebooks and completed assignments and school supplies and artwork. I faced our beloved principal, looked her straight in the eyes and said: 

"I need to tell you: I am so incredibly grateful for our teachers." 

Immediately, I began to cry, tears falling from my eyes and sliding beneath my face mask. I took a breath and continued:

"They have been amazing. They are going above and beyond. They are working so hard for my kids. I truly don't know what we'd do without them. I just can't tell you enough: they are incredible. I am so grateful." 

And it's true. 

My 4th grader has a virtual meeting every.single.day. with his language arts/math teacher. She meets with him and his classmates at 10:00 am every morning to teach them new and difficult concepts, answer questions, and just talk to them and see their faces. And then, because my son is so blessed to have this same teacher for homeroom and science/social studies, he meets with her again, virtually, immediately after that first class, for the same reasons, with the students in those classes with her. EVERY SINGLE DAY she meets with them. Unbelievable. 

My 2nd grader has a brand new, straight-out-of-college teacher this year. Can you imagine? Your first year of teaching, which is undoubtedly filled with nerves, performance anxiety, and a steep learning curve, and it ends abruptly in an unprecedented halt to the school year. She now has to learn an entirely new system of e-learning on top of teaching subjects and topics for the first time ever. It must be so overwhelming. But you would never know. Because she is kind, supportive, and optimistic, posting comments on every assignment turned in each day, but only after beginning each day with a virtual video question, so her students can see their classmates and friends as each responds. Incredible. 

My kindergartener gets interactive feedback every day from his teacher, who compliments his hard work, asks follow-up questions, and posts regular "Morning Meeting" messages for her students to see. As if that wasn't enough, one of the highlights of kindergarten year is watching eggs hatch into chicks. It's a 21-day process, and the students earnestly watch those eggs in the classroom each day, waiting for the first one to begin cracking. Not having a classroom wasn't going to stop my son's teacher from having her students experience this special event: she took the eggs and the incubator to her home, where her own school-age children created amazing videos and updates, teaching the kindergarteners virtually about the development of the chicks. And then, a couple weeks ago, I got to drive my buddy up to the school, where his teacher was waiting outside with the chicks so her students could see them in person. Amazing. 

And then there's my preschooler, who has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and gets specialized instruction and therapies within her classroom. Since quarantine, she has received virtual class meetings and one-on-one sessions with her teacher every week. Her teacher has developed individually-tailored, e-learning curriculums and assessment tools for each student in her class. Then there are the school therapists, who also have weekly sessions with their students, again designed specifically for that individual student's needs. Can you imagine? How much additional work this must take? But every time we see their faces on our computer screens, they are smiling and so excited to see the students they miss so much. So special.  

These are my kids' teachers. They are working so hard for their students. Not to mention, many are also trying to homeschool their own children. It is an unprecedented, stressful, challenging time, but these teachers continue to pour their hearts and souls into their students, every single day, every single week. 

It breaks me every time. I cannot talk about teachers right now without crying out of sheer admiration and gratitude. There just aren't enough words to tell them how much we love them. But I'll try: 

To them: To Mrs. Albaugh, Ms. Houston, Mrs. Feneis, Mrs. Windell. To our amazing assistant teachers. To our incredible school therapists: I see you. I see your hard work, your brave smiles, your extra hours, your care and compassion. I see you working tirelessly for your students. I see you being creative, thinking outside the box, going above and beyond. I see you learning new technology and reviewing new assignments, daily. I see you working harder than you ever have. I see your love for your students and your love of teaching. I see your empathy, your support, your kindness. I see you missing your students, your classrooms, your hallways, and your school. I see you, and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

To teachers everywhere: THANK YOU.  

A Celebratory Trifecta

Well, celebrations abound last weekend in the Lu Crew home! We had a trifecta of Bella's 5th Birthday + Clay's 40th Birthday + Mother's Day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively. Needless to say, it was a weekend full of fun and we are all still pooped from the festivities. A look at how we celebrated each: 

Bella Turns 5!

We kicked off the weekend with Bella turning One Whole Hand! 

Because the forecast called for chillier, rainy weather, we opted to celebrate the weekend before. My sister recommended this awesome inflatable company, Morton Amusement, so we reached out to them and ended up renting a bounce house/water slide combo. That Sunday, we invited friends over and bounced and water-slided (water-slid?) allllll dayyyyy long! Bels loved it and we loved seeing friends of all ages that day. <3 

Her actual birthday was pretty low-key: traditional birthday breakfast date with Dad (which, like Harrison's two weeks prior, involved a to-go order and in-home dining because #quarancation). She spent the morning playing with her new gifts while I knocked out homeschool with the Big 3, and then, it was time for her lunch request: Taco Bell. HA! When I asked Bella what she wanted for her birthday she was insistent on two things: a purple cake and Taco Bell. And what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets. Next, she was surprised by a visit from her Bammy and GGram, who drove up to hand deliver her birthday gifts and spend a little time with us. The day ended with her dinner request (burgers!) and a movie, snuggling on the couch as the rain fell. She had a great day, and we loved celebrating our big 5-year-old birthday girl!

Clay Turns 40! 

We awoke the next morning ready to celebrate our main guy turning the big 4-0! A couple months ago, when this quarantine craziness started, I tried to brainstorm something that would make his birthday special, seeing as how we'd be spending it at home. And then it hit me: how about 40 gifts for 40 years?! I know that sounds like a lot, but it was seriously so fun watching him walk into the kitchen and realize what was waiting for him. 

Some gifts were as simple (but as sentimental) as homemade cards, gift certificates for back scratches, a scrapbook I had created way back in 2002 when we first started dating, a stash of his favorite chapstick, graphic art with the sound wave and lyrics of our wedding song, and a supply of his favorite straws from Starbucks. ;) 

Others were personalized/birthday appropriate items: a new hat, a shirt to wear for the day, a vintage 1980 tumbler, and custom koozie/ornament made by the one and only Molly of Blanchard Designs. 

Still others were things that I knew he would love and were specific to him: Waffle House waffle mix (thanks to quarantine, Waffle House has been selling it online for the first time ever!) and a waffle iron (which I used to make his birthday breakfast), his favorite bourbon, a new hammock, etc. The kids and I seriously LOVED watching him open his gifts. 

He spent the day golfing with seven great friends, and then we spent the evening hosting around several friends and their families at a big backyard cookout. It was such a fun way to celebrate our newly appointed 40-year-old, and we loved every minute. 

Mother's Day!

But wait! Why have two back-to-back celebrations when you can have three - ha! We celebrated a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday, and I loved sweet time with my Crew and the sweet time to myself. :) A definite highlight was that I got to get in a good workout while my hub volunteered to knock out the next day's e-learning. I cannot begin to express the stress this immediately lifted off my shoulders, knowing that Monday's work would be done before Monday even arrived. We enjoyed lunch together before going on a nice, long family bike ride. I got to spend hours reading a great book in the lovely Spring weather while my hub played with the kiddos nearby. I got to relax and write and watch a show I love and lounge around while chores were being done. And then we enjoyed takeout sushi from one of our favorite sushi restaurants. We ended the day with our Sunday ritual of "AFV" before all crashing early (like, before 8:00 pm, all of us!) after an action-packed, fun-filled weekend. 

This weekend was one for the books. I continue to be so thankful for the extra family time we have been gifted during this time of quarantine. While there are exhausting and challenging, stressful and anxiety-provoking, come-to-Jesus moments, there is so much beauty here, too. 

I am also grateful that we are able to slowly start re-immersing ourselves back out into the world, dipping our toes into the social realm as we work to find a better balance in our lives. While I'm not yet sure what that will look like, I do know that this weekend was a really good one, one we will remember forever as we celebrated big and celebrated together.