It’s been a crazy stressful week but I’m so proud of how we persevered. The boys ultimately made it through their first week of distance learning and even exceeded their hours for the week.

Their experience has been improving and while Elliott is still having technical issues, Emmett seems to be experiencing fewer.

For the most part, we tried keeping to their previous school schedule but it didn’t always work. What I’ve found was that giving the boys a little freedom over how their day is managed, seems to motivate them.

Obviously, I can’t let them loose but if they start at 10am instead of 9am, who cares. As long as they complete their work, that’s all that matters.

One of the coolest things about distance learning is that if the boys get done in less than 5.5 hours, they can do one of two things. They can keep going and begin working on the next days assignments. This helps them get ahead. They can also supplement their time with educational activities outside of their schoolwork.

Let’s say they get done in 4.5 hours. They can either finish the last hour by working ahead or they can do something educational at home. We could do things like science experiments, watch a documentary or read. Our hikes also count for PE time as well.

Anything over the 27.5 hours required per week can be banked. Sorta like rollover minutes. They can’t bank more than 55 hours but it’s still a cool option to have.

I feel encouraged because while we were at Quail Hollow hiking today, we were talking about their experience with distance learning thus far. Both boys expressed frustration but they also see the potential, if the bugs get fixed.

That’s pretty awesome to hear because after the first couple of bad days, they did not want to continue.

I’ll them seeing potential any day of the week.

As for our hike, it went well also. When we arrived, there was not many people there so we decided to take the main trails. We planned our hike to be about an hour long. By the time we were finished, the park was becoming populated with quite a few more people. As we were the only people wearing masks, we finished up and carefully made our way back to the car.

On the way home, I suggested we stop by their mom and grandparents house for a socially distanced, driveway visit. We kept it brief and we kept a good distance away and stayed in the car. They haven’t seen each other in person for awhile and it was an opportunity to bring them together.

We don’t do this often because it’s proven to be harder on the boys to see but not hug. That said, I’m encouraged that today went so well. Perhaps we can make a habit of this when we head out to Quail Hollow.

After that we drove through the car wash and headed home. Everyone went to bed without a hassle and while there was some brotherly drama tonight, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be worked through.

My main goal for this weekend is to plan out the upcoming school week a little better. I have to find a better balance that allows me to continue working. I’m really hoping the next stimulus checks go out sometime soon, I’m going to need it, as does just about every other American.