October Pandemic Times

In early October we had a trip to NJ scheduled to visit Derrick's family.  About a week before we were to go, NJ was put on Massachusetts' "no visit" list.  So we reconfigured and met up in CT for a day and did some outside activities which included apple picking, pumpkin picking, old tractor riding, and dinner.

About a week later, it was time for Big Dinner - COVID Edition.  Instead of doing a Thanksgiving style potluck inside per usual, we sat outside, had pizza, and did pumpkin carving.  

Here is Jack modeling some of the fun things in his goody bag.  

This was the first Halloween that Jack did not have a costume.  He had a Halloween party at school and brought home plenty of treats from that, and was okay with not going trick or treating.  In lieu of trick or treating, and since Halloween was on a Saturday, we took a trip up  to Hammond Castle.  

Jack's favorite room was the library. 

Up next - November Pandemic!

- S.

School and Stuff

Jack just finished up school for the year and is on winter break.  He has been very fortunate to be in school full-time since September since his school is so small.  Here he is on his first day back.

We just got his progress report and had a parent-teacher conference.  He did quite well considering the transition into third grade and how many changes had to be made at the school because of COVID.  

One of the things Jack has been learning in school is cursive!  He is excited about it.  

Then things quickly devolved into the above.  His penmanship is really coming along, though!

Jack is also learning "keyboarding" at school (or typing if you're of a certain age).  

This is something he typed up for his portfolio review.  Each student at the school keeps a portfolio of work for each year and parents can come look at it at designated times throughout the year.  Usually it is a quick browse, but this year there were multiple pieces of writing and stories.  The kid who last year complained about having to write more than one sentence is now writing three page stories.

A benefit of Derrick working from home due to COVID is that Jack has been able to partake in some activities he normally would not be able to.  In the fall he took archery (you can barely see him there with his bow in front of the teacher with the green shirt).  

He did seem to enjoy it, but wasn't up for signing up for a subsequent class.

Jack also just finished a hand-building class at the Clay School and we picked up his creations last weekend after they'd been fired in the kiln.  

He did say he'd be interested in maybe taking another class in the spring.

Here is a sample of some of his creations.

Jack has been back into drawing lately too.  Here's a sneaky photo of him at home drawing a Baltimore Oriole using the iPad for reference photos.  

It is very nice to see him being creative.

- S.

Hiatus

 

It may seem like this is all that has been going on and that is the reason for the lack of posts, but Jack has actually been quite busy with school and some extra curricular activities and we've managed a couple of adventures along the way.  I'll be putting a few posts in the queue which will pop up over the next week or so and hopefully will bring us kind of up to date. 

- S.

Eight is Great

 Jack had a birthday last month and he turned eight.  We went back and forth about what to do to celebrate this year since our house is small and our yard isn't much bigger.  Luckily, family offered their yard which is much larger and well-equipped for a gathering.  So, we were able to have a smaller than usual get together mostly outside.  Unfortunately, it ended up raining for some of the day, but we made the best of it.    

The usual morning-before-party gift haul.

Jack's chosen theme this year was ocean life,

hence the crab hat.

I only made cupcakes this year,

and ended up buying a cake from a bakery.

We took a quick detour inside so the rain did not fizzle out the candle.

Jack's first pocket knife.

Happy birthday boy in the pool.

- S.

Camp and Maine

 

To wrap up the rest of summer, Jack had a great time at his second week of 

Waldorf camp.  He came home covered in dirt every day, went on hikes, painted, 

and was happy at the end of the day.

Jack also learned how to weave at camp and made this great basket out of t-shirt scraps

which is perfect to hold some of our garden bounty.

We also made it up to Maine and stopped at the diner so Jack could have his 

favorite toast and a giant pancake. 

S'mores, of course.

Night time glow in the dark fun.

Jack reached the milestone of his first tick bite (that we know of) while in Maine.

After frying the tick, Jack wanted to save it and named it King Kong.  

More to come, including: clubhouse progress, 8th birthday, and first day of school!

- S.

Camp!

Around mid-July, we were able to find some camps for Jack to go to.  The first selection was a half-day cooking camp at Taste Buds Kitchen.  This camp got daily thumbs up and Jack proclaimed he would like to attend next year as well.  A bonus of this camp was that he brought home samples of everything he made each day which he shared with us.  I am missing a day of goodies somehow, but here are some of the things Jack made.  

Day one consisted of a blackberry crunch bar, a mini apple pie, and a sweet potato empanada.

Chocolate babka, flatbread with zucchini, onion and cheese, and a garlic knot

Banana chocolate chip muffin, a stuffing muffin (savory), and a milkshake (strawberry chocolate)

The final day was a cupcake challenge and the kids go to pick their flavor of cupcake and decorate.

Close up of Jack's fondant usage to make a tongue.

Subsequent to this camp, Jack attended a half-day Maker's Lab at a local school, which didn't get a good review from Jack as the things they ended up doing were not what was advertised and he was disappointed.  

He then did two weeks at Mass Audubon which he has attended the previous two years but this year got a "meh" rating (too buggy, counselor too grumpy, boring at times).  

Last week he attended a nature camp at a local Waldorf school which he seems to have enjoyed and is looking forward to going back to for a second week.  

Then two weeks off until school starts.  As it stands now, Jack will be attending school in person, a perk(?) of going to a tiny school.

- S.

 

July 4th

Normally on July 4th, we plan some time away since the great citizens of our city usually go overboard with the fireworks and it is too much.  This year we contemplated still going away, but ended up staying home at the last minute.  We took a day trip to NH to visit the Andres Institute of Art which consists of wooded hiking trails with various sculptures scattered throughout.  

Old Man on the Mountain interpretation

Another for the "Jack on Rocks" series.

Jack almost walked right into this little guy before he waddled off into the woods.

At the summit.

Enjoying the views from some old bowling seats.

Some very detailed sculptures.

Jack's favorite thing.  TV.

After our day in NH, we visited our favorite restaurant for the first time in months.

July 4th came, and while loud and over the top throughout the city, Jack was interested in seeing fireworks, so we drove over to the nearby pond and saw our own little show.  

- S.

Pandemic - Month Four

Another pandemic month, another photo dump.

Jack finished school for the year.  

One of his final projects was to present his research paper to his class via Zoom.

The topic he chose was Native American spears.

Here he is showing the model he made which was a big hit.

Part of his teacher's end-of-year gift.

We were able to go to the school and meet his teacher outside to pick up 

any remaining belongings Jack had in the school.

There have been almost daily bike rides around the neighborhood.

Millennium Falcon ice cream sandwich.

Fun at the beach.

"Jack made this."

Ground was broken on the panda clubhouse.

(More on this later.)

And of course lots of sillies.

Jack was able to attend a half-day camp last week at Tastebuds Kitchen where he got to bake every day.  Further details on that in a separate post.  

- S.