Self-Isolation Day #45

We request continued prayers for my husband's mother D. She has been sick with COVID-19 for a month (now negative, but still sick), alone in the hospital for nearly that long, and is now on her second stretch of being on a ventilator in order to give her lungs support for longer while they heal.


The earliest children had robust preschool programs--that involved learning how to read--starting at age 4. Now at the tail end our of family, the preschoolers have a program of benign neglect in which they practice daily skills of Independent Play, Problem Solving (how do I get my own snack? how do I get Mama's key to the game cupboard?), and learning much more by imitation than by Mama's direct teaching.

Making a pattern by himself

Today I discovered that my sweet Thomas who turns five in two months does not know how to count 1 to 10. There is never, ever enough of me to go around.

He does, however, know how to ride a two-wheeler fiercely and do tricks, as well as climb trees fifteen feet high until I call him down. He can make his bed, get much of his own food (e.g., spreading and assembling a PBJ), and empty the dishwasher. He can sing many Americana songs at the top of his lungs. He cannot yet write his six-letter name but he can draw amazing pictures and produces probably twenty drawings on a typical day.

Homeschooling a large family is humbling at times but I trust God that Thomas will blossom in school when I have time for him.

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We did school today. Lizards were chased but not caught. The girls biked around the neighborhood after dinner. Dad and kiddos played a board game. The weather was gorgeous and we are enjoying 70-degree days before it reaches 90 by the end of the week.