In-person school is cool

Again, my title, not Crosby's. Crosby still says school is "boring" and Hugo also says Kita is "boring". I take this to mean that both schools are teaching them patience.

The highlight of returning to physical school has been our carpool with Crosby's schoolfriend, Ella, who lives by Hugo's Kita. The two solidified their friendship when we by chance ran into her family sledding at Mauerpark not once but twice. Her parents both have full time jobs which means that she usually stays later than Crosby at school. However, after school care is only available to single parents and those with in-demand jobs. As such, have been trading off morning and afternoon pick-ups. This is the first day:

You'd think the kid had never ridden in a car before. But actually, I can count on one hand how many car rides we have taken in the last year.

My pick-ups are always an adventure because the littles always add a certain amount of chaos. Also, I often in my head think things like "Why bring three kids to the grocery store/hardware store/park, when you can bring four?" ha!

Our most recent adventure included me giving into 7 year-old peer pressure. We rode home from school to the hardware store like this:

As you can see, Ella's baby handling skills are on point. Yes, it was a little tight, but when I wondered aloud if I could also fit a ladder on the bike, both 7 year-olds exclaimed, "Do it!".

Gratuitous cute baby picture of Carmen trying out ladders. I managed to fall off a ladder at this age and break my leg, but don't worry, she's wearing a helmet. Also, we got an even higher ladder. #highceilings 

The big kids earned their keep by carrying the ladder. Also, the boys were in awe of the hardware store. "Is this Ikea?" I realized Crosby hasn't been to a big store since he was Hugo's age. Ella was like, "This isn't Ikea, it's a hardware store." Very polite and probably thinking to herself "who are these boys?".

All three were paid in ice cream. I can't remember if hardware stores in the US also have ice cream at the check-out. But most do here.

 I'm not going to say I'm bribing Ella with sweets into thinking we're cool. But, I need to bring something other than baby chaos because in addition to having a car, her dad also has real swords and shields like this.

Back to our trusty stead:

Four kids + five-step ladder = one safe ride 

Three kids + One ladder = still good

Week one down, two more until Easter break.

Homeschool...discontinued

Crosby is going back to half-day school on Tuesday. A few things changed that make in person instruction a good choice for our family.

1. The Kitas are opening again. Hugo can be back for up to seven hours. Although, it is likely that we will have him there fewer hours to consolidate pick-ups / he would rather be at home.

2. I had a meeting with Crosby's math teacher and found out I wasn't teaching him the right material the last two weeks. I kept going with the time, days of the week, etc while the kids in school moved back to addition and subtraction.

Unfortunately, it turns out I was unrealistic with how much he should know about telling time. I was drilling him on hours, minutes, etc and it turns out first graders are only supposed to read the hour hand. Unsurprisingly, my not-age-appropriate expectations were frustrating for all parties involved.

3. The parenting book I'm reading right now - The Blessings of a Skinned Knee - reinforces that so much of learning is about character and attitude. It feels like a full time job building character; adding the academics instruction to my parental obligations is not ideal if there is another alternative ie in-person learning. 

4. As a bonus, this Tuesday Crosby's school timing shifted back an hour to start at 9 am instead of 8 am. Mornings are always a struggle; the later the better.

In wrapping up this homeschool chapter of our lives (hopefully), a few "Thank Yous" are in order.

Oma Friend Leanne; who made my life so much easier. She was unflappable in the antics these three threw at her on any given day. 

The writers of German text books; who kept me alert. Some days their illustrations me laugh by choosing to explain the Ö by teaching kids the word for bottle opener. Other days I cringed at their portrayals of Native Americans. There must be a different word to use to teach the letter 'I'.

Papa; for giving us these really cool Tiptoi books. I don't think this digital pen and book combination exist in any language other than German or Dutch. Kids get the entertainment of technology without the screen or required adult assistance. 

My neighbor Val; for giving us her Netflix password. Ok, half joking on this one. The boys watched educational programing - Story Bots and Magic School Bus when PB^2 had our usual "date mornings" on Mondays and Fridays.

Homeschooling for us was like most of this pandemic; 99 percent easier for us than the rest of the world. Our challenges are manageable because we live in Germany, have an abundance of snuggle opportunities, and are healthy. Especially in this Lenten season, we try not take our blessings for granted.

How do I love you....let me count the ways

I started thinking about this blog even before Paul left the house with the boys to take them to the board game store so I could have some solo time while Carmen sleeps. Shockingly, the game Battleship is a little too advanced for 3 year-old Hugo. In any case, with a quiet house I have some time to post about how I have the best husband ever. This photo is a good start:

1. Three kids on a bike - NBD (no big deal). We happened to run into two of his co-workers while riding to the park so he got some extra daddy props from the outside world.  

I'm very thankful that Paul was game for buying our third electric bike in less than a year because our first Radpower bike couldn't carry two kids, let alone three, easily. We sold the first Radpower bike to a friend at half price. Many husbands would be grumpy about spending that much money on bike purchases but Paul is a good sport in the name of adventure/convenience.

2. He's an amazing photographer. This pandemic was made a little easier by the loving care Paul took in curating some amazing photos to keep our families and friends in the loop. Also, he supports my amazing fashion risks. I'm seen here wearing a one piece snow suit and a bike helmet that we're pretending doubles as a hat.

3. He has an eye for beauty. In this case, Carmen and Hugo's bums. Jokes. I appreciate that he is equally obsessed with our favorite parts of parenting - bums and snuggling.

4. He's not a picky eater. Avocados are really a gamble here with regards to quality. They also mostly come from South or Central America which is not eco-friendly. Therefore, I jumped on the opportunity to try a farming marketplace that connects consumers with individual growers. We managed to eat 20 avocados in four days. Carmen probably ate ten. Did he ever complain? Nope. I mean they are avocados after all. But, he happily eats all sorts of creations that come out of my kitchen.

. 

5. He is both the safety officer and equipment manager for team Biggs. I trust him with the safety of our kids more than I trust myself. Also, he has more patience than any person I know for the shenanigans of a certain little Biggs.

6. He has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. The first weekend we met my stomach literally hurt from laughing so much. 

7. He's flexible. With that, this little lady just woke up and is in need of some snuggles.