The Fall Feels

I don't know about you, but I am seriously having ALL the fall feels right now!  It feels like Labour Day came, and in an instant, fall swooped in.  Well, in Calgary, we did have a day where the temperature dropped from 30 degrees celsius to 1 degree within 24 hours.  It has moderated a bit, but the mornings are chilly, and with the smoke in the air from the US wildfires, there is a grey, dreariness over the city.  

I rarely ever decorate for fall.  When Thanksgiving comes, I'll gather a few leaves, and make up a nice table, but I have not ever done anything more than that.  It's not that I don't love fall.  I just find the season is usually too short to pull out deocr for, and I am normally mourning as I say goodbye to summer. 

This year is different.  As soon as the cool weather hit, I started lighting candles, wearing sweaters, and thinking about pumpkins.  Over the weekend the kids and I rooted through our decoration stash, and found what we could to put up around the house.  I even bought mums and pumpkins for the front porch!  I think there is something about Covid, that has made us want to buckle down, shelter-in, and be cozy.  

As I have mentioned, we decided to keep the kids home this fall and winter and do school from home.  So far, I think it's going well?  I say that because I have nothing to compare it to, so I don't really know if the kids are keeping up or what.  I have found that having a structure/routine is key to success.  If the kids can see what their day looks like (mostly when they will be rewarded with parks and screen-time), they are more willing to engage with the work.  Having said that, it also depends on who is teaching them for the day.  We are sharing the load between my husband and myself, with him being the main teacher, me being the administrator (scheduler), and the grandparents supporting with some work at their house.  We still haven't been assigned an official teacher through the public school system.  So the past few weeks, have been me creating a curriculum and randomly printing assignments off based on some of the suggested activities we have been given.  The days that I have been in charge of "helping" them do their work, have been a disaster.  They respond way better to my husband, and they get their work done at their grandparents, so I think I'll stick to my role as organizer extraordinaire! 

What I can tell you, is that the kids are writing regularly again, back to doing some math, learning grammar, and having a few socials/science themed activities thrown in there.  We go to the park, or for a bike ride, or play a sport every day, so that is one way they get their "gym" time in.  We explore nature on dog walks.  We are trying to find safe, educational activities that are fun for them once in a while (Telus Spark, the Calgary Zoo, etc.).  And they start piano lessons this week!  So all in all, I think it's a pretty well rounded education, and I'm happy for how things are going.  I still am definitely excited for them to meet their "real" teacher.

As fall arrives, and Covid continues, and school becomes the "norm" again, we will keep on plugging away at life.  We will embrace all the coziness that fall brings, and buckle down to survive through what I expect to be a long winter.  It's crazy that 2020 is nearly over.  I have some big hopes for 2021, but we will have to see how it goes.  

Until next time!