Our new normal

So we are 8 weeks into our COVID quarantine and we are slowly settling into our new normal routine.  Ashton, for the most part, is doing his work unprompted.  Honestly, I am not terribly sure about the quality of the work, as I am having to work as well and can't oversee it properbly, but he seems to be able to complete things fairly well.  At this point, it all about survival, as I suspect this will be our new normal for a long while.  Still waiting to hear about summer camps, but I suspect it will all be canceled sadly.  Too much liability.

After 3 p.m. each day he gets his electronics, where he watches youtube videos and plays video games with his friends while chatting on kids messenger.

Here are a few pictures of Ashton being creative.

Boxcar design

Stairwell sliding board

Hairdryer Crayon Art

9 years already!!!!!

I can't believe our little dude is 9 years old already!!!!  Make it stop!!!!  Of course, being in quartine has been a little different for sure! 

9 years old!

Ashton received lots of love in the mail from so many people.  We even had a quick drive-by from Ms. Taylor, Paisley and Noelle.

Favorite gift of the day was an Unspeakable sweatshirt from Tia Lisa family and pop-pop.

Unspeakable sweatshirt

With a signed picture from Unspeakable

Lastly, earlier this week Ashton wanted to go swimming at one of our favorite local swimming holes.  It was 78 degrees outside, but he braved the chilly water!  BRRRRR!

Swimming at the Frederick Watershed! So cold!

Crazy Times

Homeschool Art with Ms. Giro

We have entered crazy and unprecedented times here in Frederick, MD and around the entire world!  Corona Virus has shut down everything around the country and the world, quarantining people at home.  And with new cases of Coronavirus increasing every day it doesn't appear as if it will cease anytime soon.  For my own sanity, I have instituted a modified homeschool schedule from 10-12.  Offering classes like music, art, technology along with math, reading, and writing.  Kids have been doing chores, having creative time, exercise time and after 3 p.m. each day assuming they have accomplished all their goals then they can have t.v. time.

Ashton 411

Ashton was selected as the MVP for his class last week and he shared the following information with his classmates

Favorite Color:  Lime Green
Favorite Number:  9
Favorite Youtuber:  Unspeakable
Favorite Animal:  Dogs (Beagle)
Favorite Subject:  Art and Math
Favorite Game:  Minecraft
Favorite Letter: A
Favorite Candy Bar: Twix
Favorite Snack:  Cheez it's 

Also, he loves to go outside and watch Peppa Pig.  When he grows up he wants to be a YouTuber.  He also wants to go to Colorado.

While he didn't share this with his MVP info currently his favorite band is Imagine Dragons

This boy has skills!

So impressed with Ashton this weekend!  Using his amazing Lego skills, he put together our new counter height bar stools.  After putting together two of them, he coached me as well!  So impressed!

Clever

Ashton cracks me up!  So today the school nurse approached me, she said, "Ashton said he had a fever of 108 degrees this morning and you gave him some Motrin and sent him to school." LOL.  The truth is he kept taking his temperature the night before, swearing that he had a fever.  At first, it was 97.1 and then it jumped to 98. something, then to 99. 1.  I told him it wasn't a fever until it was over 100 degrees.  So then he comes back later and tells me it's 108!

Also, he recently took something from his teacher's classroom that did not belong to him.  We made him write 75 times, I will not take the dice without permission.  He proudly showed us how he had completed his work, using multiple pages of printer paper and carefully numbered each line in pencil until he got to 75.  Of course, he didn't realize that the same errors he made on each page, was on each and every printer page. He copied the original page 4 times.   Got to give him credit for ingenuity.

Snowboarding!

Ashton has been wanting to go snowboarding for over a year!  Today he finally had a chance to try it.  I signed him up for a snowboard camp at Whitetail and he seemed to really like it.  He wants to go again!  He stayed on the entry levels hills today, but the instructor said once he can master one more skill whose name I can't remember he can go on the larger lifts. 

We started a new behavior plan for Ashton last week and honestly, not sure if it's effective yet.  We are trying to encourage him to be less argumentative and more yielding on basic tasks.  One thing he has been successful at is earning points for doing silly things, and then when I catch him doing silly things, I ask him to stop and he does.  So for example, in the scheme of things I never thought I would say, the other day I said to Ashton, "Take that lampshade off your head."  LOL.  He was compliant and said, "yes mom."  Hence he earned a point for compliance and not arguing!

He has been super creative with significantly less television and has played outside much more.  Even though he is exhausting, I do love that positive of the behavior mod plan.