Virtual Gingerbread Decorating Party

Back in the Spring we put together a few Virtual Ice Cream Socials for some of our classmates and family members. It certainly helped to lift our spirits and gave everyone something to look forward to. Now that it’s December, the virus is raging again and parts of Illinois are essentially back in a shelter-in-place situation and we’re looking for new ways to make the season bright. Enter my newest TAKE on a virtual party…A Gingerbread Decorating Party!

It just so happens that my oldest has a birthday in December so we’re going to use a virtual Gingerbread Party as an excuse to celebrate her birthday. However, if I’m being honest I would have planned one anyway…anything to break up ALL the days at home and make some memories with friends. We’re opting to decorate Gingerbread houses but you could just as easily do Gingerbread people. As with the virtual ice cream social, we collected all the supplies and dropped them off at friends houses a day or two before the event. Sharing all the steps to create a virtual party of your own below.

1. Decide on the date/time and create an invite. I used this pdf from Art Bar Blog , customized and then printed and pasted on card stock. I also used scalloped pinking shears to make the invites a little bit more gingerbread-esque.

2. The biggest key to making this party easy for everyone involved is to buy pre-assembled Gingerbread houses or pre-made Gingerbread people. Whole Foods sells both and they are perfect for decorating…don’t wait too long though as they do sell out! If you don’t want to bake the Gingerbread people yourself, I bet you could call a local bakery and ask if they would sell you undecorated cookies - therefore, saving you time an supporting a local business.

3. The next step is to decide what kind of candy you’d like to include with your delivery kits. We opted for the following: Dots, Pretzel Snaps, Necco Wafers, M&M’s, Lifesavers and Mike & Ike’s. Nilla Wafers are also some of my favorite to use for roofing. What are some of your favorite candies to decorate with? Do you prefer bright or pastel colors? This site provided us some major decor inspiration.

4. Icing is a necessary evil in this party and again, I wanted to make this simple for myself and for the other families so I was thrilled when I found these pre filled pastry bags by Pillsbury. Wilton Cookie icing is also a great option and comes in multiple colors if you’d like something other than white.

5. Once all the supplies were collected we packed them into these bags, added tissue paper and tied the invite to the handle.

Finally, deliver your Gingerbread party goodies to friends and/or family (this is one of the best parts) and have fun during your virtual event. We’re hosting our Gingerbread Party this coming weekend and we’re going to play some holiday music and wear our new candy cane aprons…hopefully, they help to contain some mess! We’ll be sure to share our finished products…Happy Holidays!

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2020 Summer Travel

E-learning has come to an end and summer is upon us. Like most things this year, summer will be different. Still that doesn’t mean it can’t be memorable and at times carefree. One of my favorite things about summer are the road trips…we look forward to them all year long. Are you planning any travel this summer? A relocation for a change of scenery, perhaps? Or have you cancelled your plans entirely due to the pandemic? If I’m being honest I wanted a change of scenery about two weeks into our time quarantining. So in mid May when Florida opened up their short term rental ban we quickly and perhaps impulsively booked a home along 30A. We were all desperate for a change of scenery, fresh air and sunshine so in late May we set off on a nonstop 15 hour road trip during these unusual times.

The drive and our time in Florida itself was eye opening - it was abundantly clear that our shelter at home experience in Chicago was vastly different than that of much of the country. Social distancing efforts were in place yet I couldn’t have fathomed the sheer amount of people and extended families going about their lives as everything was the same. While we certainly assumed some risk traveling to Florida for the most part we were able to avoid crowds. We stayed in a house which I wiped down with Clorox wipes and sprayed with disinfectant as soon as we arrived, ate all meals at home and avoided public restrooms. We went to the beach only in the morning to avoid the crowds and spent much time bike riding and going on walks.

Despite it being the Summer Season along the panhandle it was still far less crowded than living in Chicago and that was a relief for us…I can’t tell you how many times we didn’t leave our house in the past few months. Let’s just say there were more days than I can count so the time away spent outdoors instantly changed our moods…the kids smiled again, slept well and as parents we were able to recoup some of our lost patience. Since our return and quarantining at home for two weeks I can assuredly say that we are grateful we went if only to be reminded that there is still a beautiful world beyond our four walls. Road trips aren’t a new concept for us…we actually enjoy them but this adventure didn’t involve any overnight stops and required some careful planning. If you’re thinking of doing something similar this summer read on for some considerations for your journey. Safe travels!

• If driving consider leaving in the middle of the night so the kids can sleep and you can avoid traffic. We found that leaving at 1:45am also helped reduce the number of restroom stops we would need to make.

• Pack a cooler or two full of snacks, beverages and at least one meal. On the way there I had baked store bought cinnamon rolls and wrapped them in aluminum foil for the kids to eat when they woke up.

• If you do intend to stop for food along the way I highly recommend ordering ahead doing curbside pick up. This can help save time and generally restricts interaction with other people. This worked so well for us on our drive home and we were able to pick up our favorite Hattie B’s Hot Chicken in Nashville in a matter of minutes. Some restaurants have apps that can accommodate this but just checking the restaurants website should inform you.

• If renting a home consider bringing not only some food supplies but also toilet paper, paper towel, Clorox wipes, sanitizer, dish soap etc…Stores in these communities are much depleted of essentials just as they may be in your town. While we did need to visit the grocery store once we came very prepared with supplies and it made everything so much more relaxed.

• When we embarked on this road trip, Illinois was just emerging from it’s shelter in place order so my anxiety was still pretty high. I was a little nervous about our need for bathroom breaks so I did a couple of things to prepare. I held off on potty training our toddler, brought along a portable potty, ordered Travel Johns and encouraged our five year old son to pee outside. In the end I think we stopped at two rest stops each way and while this completely freaked me out we wore our masks, washed our hands and sanitized our hands and arms before we got in the car. I resigned myself to this reality on the drive yet at other times avoided public restrooms.

• Traveling to a destination you’re infinitely familiar with removes some uncertainty. Knowing where essential business are and even perhaps where an Urgent Care Clinic or Hospital are is reassuring.

• Finally, don’t forget to bring your masks and carry them with you wherever you may go. Every state has different restrictions just as all stores and restaurants will as well. I personally won’t walk into any place without one on and while we may not always wear them outside we have found that the more our kids wear them the more comfortable they are with them on.

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Our Homeschool Cart

Our days at home now number 19 and we’ve become somewhat resigned to the reality that we will be here for a while. All five of us in our home can be a lot sometimes especially when two of us are trying to work while help the kids succeed at e-learning. We only have one true office/desk area and the bedrooms aren’t large enough for desks so it’s been a bit of a free for all with laptops and school supplies all over the place. I love myself some school supplies but after not being able to see our dining room table for the past two weeks I needed to take control. Perhaps this was my way of dealing with the uncertainty of the times but creating a homeschool cart to organize all the supplies the kids need for school plus a bunch of educational games and books felt so good! The kids loved helping to organize the cart and so far have actually kept it organized. So if you’re like me and are opening to regain a bit of control during these times, read on for my TAKE on a homeschool cart. Hope it helps at least one more parent stay sane!

I’ve always wanted to build an art cart for my kids so when the dining room table became a school desk for two (sometimes three) kids I took it as an excuse to create a homeschool cart. Having everything in place makes it easy for the kids to grab what they need throughout the day and alternatively, put things a way when they’re through. Plus the cart is easily wheeled into other rooms when the need arises.

The cart itself I ordered from the Recollections line at Michael’s. I opted for the larger version as I needed to house items for two kids but there is a smaller version with a lid accessory that could help the cart transition into a desk. Aside from the cart itself we had most if not all of the educational games, school and art supplies at home and I just pulled them from different closets and arranged on the carts shelves. There is a lot that can fit into this three tier cart and despite being jam packed is quite durable.

We have the cart full of the standard workbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, scissors and glue sticks but some items that have been helping to make our transition into e-learning a little bit easier are as follows:

• Osmo Base for iPad - We do have Osmo and love it but the base has been particularly helpful when needing to prop the an iPad up to join a Zoom meeting or to use the Seesaw Class app.

• A new set of these Crayola Double Doodlers have been a hit and have helped to get the creativity flowing during art projects.

• We start each day with journaling and writing a letter to a friend so a journal and stationary are located in a prime spot on the cart. Thankfully, I randomly stocked up on some stamps in early March so we will be able to keep up with our letter writing efforts for a couple of more weeks.

• Supplemental games for Math and Spanish are played a few nights a week in our house. Mobi a fast numerical tile game, Math Dice Junior and eeBoo’s Time Telling game are most popular. As for Spanish our workbooks were accidentally left at school so we’ve been using eeBoo’s Spanish Bingo and vocabulary flash cards to supplement. Luckily regular Spanish lessons are starting this week!

• Kinetic Sand and Mad Mattr have been popular for my younger two. They love sensory things and you can use these materials to trace letters or to discuss textures.

• Headphones! Don’t forget the headphones! They help my oldest of focus when there are many distracting younger siblings abound.

• And of course, painters tape which has been the most surprisingly useful homeschool product to date. Mostly for the pre school set in creating invitations to play but also for chalk art.

There are so many supplies that you can add to a cart to make it useful for your family…books for quiet time and Magna-tiles have also been really helpful for us. Hope you have fun with putting your school supplies together and most of all good luck with this e-learning adventure!

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Camp Corona

Today we embarked on our new reality in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. We have been working from home and have been practicing social distancing for a few days now but today is the first day the kids are home from school and any without any extra curricular activities. Adapting to this new normal is going to be a challenge especially as it is very likely to extend beyond two weeks but we 100% want to do our part in helping to flatten the curve and protecting our community. I’m so appreciative of the work the medical professionals are doing to treat the sick and educate the masses on best practices.

I’m not sure what we should call this new normal and it’s hard for the kids to understand so for now it’s going to be “Camp Corona” as we’re partially out of school and on Spring Break. We’ve received a lot os support from teachers, friends and educational companies as we all come together to aid our children and come up with ideas to creative routines and foster learning during this time. If you’re on the hunt for some educational ideas/games as you navigate this time please read on for my TAKE.

Know that I’m not an educator and these ideas span multiple age ranges so they may not work for all but they are a starting point for my family as we navigate this uncertain time. The most important thing to remember here is to give each other a break…we’re all doing the best we can. As time goes on and you come across new ideas please share, I’d love to adopt more and will plan to continue to share on my Instagram account. Stay healthy friends!

Daily Routine

• Get dressed and out of PJs each morning

• Exercise in the morning and afternoon (We started to train for a mile run this morning)

• Set up a school/desk area to do work (Do this away from toys and the TV)

• Adopt daily chores like making a bed or taking out the trash (I’m going to teach my kids to fold laundry)

• Our kitchen has been coined the “Cafeteria” and snack and lunch time will be in the kitchen

• Quiet reading time and journaling will become a part of daily life

• Adopt play and self direction into learning as much as possible

• Take time for arts/crafts

• Recycle paper towel holders, bags and boxes into boats, spaceships and robots

• Write a daily letter to a classmate

• Find ways to connect with family/friends via FaceTime or Marco Polo videos

Educational Tools/Games

Many of these games we had prior to locking ourselves in but I stocked up on new workbooks, math games, a couple of new books and the volcano set via Amazon over the weekend.

• Brain Quest Workbooks

• Brain Quest Cards

• Priddy Learning Wipe Clean - First 100 Words Workbook

• Alphabet Go Fish Matching Card Game

• Osmo Genius Starter Kit

• Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit

• Math Dice Junior Game

• Rush Hour Junior Game

• PlanToys Sort and Count Cups

• MOBI Fast Fun Numerical Tile Game

• National Geographic Exploding Volcano Science Kit

• Imagination Magnets

Additional Resources

• Virtual Museum Tours (ex: National Museum of Natural History)

• GoNoodle - dance along activities to help kids stay active

• Jack Hartman - Kids Music Channel

• Cosmic Yoga - for when the weather outside is frightful

• Mystery Science - School Closure Lessons

• Scholastic Learn At Home - Lessons by Grade

• Listen to stories read aloud on Instagram by favorite authors such as Oliver Jeffers

• For Elephant & Piggie lovers - Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems!

A Silver Lining

In the absence of our normal routines I’m trying to find a silver lining…

• More time together when our kids are in this short season of life called childhood!

• Game Night, Dance Parties and Movie Night will become a regular occurrence!

• While the museums may be closed, there are many that we plan to view virtually.

• We can finally get back to reading the kids Harry Potter - we’ve had a long break but just started the Prisoner of Azkaban again!

• Family baking - the kids have always loved to bake but now we’re going to find more time to do it.

• The kids are excited to start their own research project…my oldest has selected her favorite state, Florida. TBD what the end report state is but something similar to a book report with visuals.

• Purging - I can finally prioritize time to clean out the kids closets!

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**For accurate information about COVID-19 please refer to the CDC.