1. Chemotherapy and Allergies
This week, we learned that the first two rounds of chemotherapy have not shrunk the tumor, so Thomas started chemotherapy cycle #3 and experienced big allergic responses on Monday and on Wednesday.
2. Behavior Motivation
While I was at Thomas's chemotherapy for three days, the local babysitter we had hired cheerfully named the period of time Camp Mater Dei. She followed the home management schedule of serving three meals daily and guiding the children to clean up after each one, as well as doing the daily load of laundry and supervising some homeschool; then each afternoon, she would guide the children to do their daily assigned clean-up zone so I came home to a spotless home. Meanwhile, she created good behavior motivation charts and gave out stars, which the children knew were going toward a surprise day of fun on the final day. (They also received tally marks for bad behavior, but those could be redeemed by good behavior.) They truly responded remarkably well, especially a particular target age group, which ran around asking how to earn more stars.
On the final day, they baked sugar cookies, decorated them elaborately, and watched Rigoletto.
I am inspired anew to brush up on my motivational skills in parenting!
3. The Caterpillar Hotel
The 9- and 7-year-olds have created an elaborate caterpillar hotel and collected a family of them. Well, perhaps they are a ragtag group of sworn caterpillar enemies, but we're all pretending they are a family! The kids have named each of the caterpillars, observed their "personalities," and I feel like the stories I hear of their behavior are like soap operas.
We've identified the species and are feeding them appropriately.
Good, wholesome entertainment!
4. Trying to Have a Few Laughs
Chris has been telling a little of riddles to the kids this difficult week and he also taught them a really cool party game. Dad pins a piece of paper to the child's back and slowly draws a picture on it. The child has her own white board pen and simultaneously tries to draw the picture she feels on her back onto the white board. The results can be impressively accurate or hilariously wrong!
Good times.
5. Entertainment Around Here
Sometimes entertainment around here is even simpler! A truck came by the cul-de-sac to do special disinfecting and maggot eradication from garbage cans, so we all rushed out to sit on the front porch to watch the process . . . except for Joseph (7) who stood as close as he was allowed, in truly rapt attention.
This is one reason why we don't have video games!
6. Art and School
This week, I asked the oldest kids to do a self-guided soft start to school. Next week is officially Week #1, but I asked them to start spending some hours each morning doing their independent subjects, both to get a feel for them and because we will have days and weeks this fall when we cannot keep up with school due to Thomas's treatments and we will fall behind. Anyway, there were bumps along the way, but also some extremely diligent, independent work exhibited.
Thomas (5) drew a dinosaur scene this week. I was already so impressed that he understood background, drawing the mountain behind the dinosaur's neck and then a second, smaller mountain behind that one. Then he announced he wanted to make one big picture out of two papers and I did not know what he meant. He took a second paper, drew an exploding volcano, and then drew a part of the mountain background to connect with the first paper. Grampa Neil (RIP) would have said, "I'm kvetching!"
7. Bonus Reading
- When our local county announced that its schools would be all virtual, I thought it must be outright illegal for any groups of children to gather. The very next day, ads started popping up everywhere for full-time daycare centers and private schools, all operating in person, which left me so confused. It was then that I learned that many daycare centers never even closed during the lockdown (interesting NPR article about the YMCA here). This latest I saw in the news exemplified the absurdity writ large. City To Reopen Public Schools As ‘Learning Centers’ — Charge $140 A Week Per Child
- Covid Has Made All of Us Lepers by Austin Ruse
- How Likely Is It to Contract COVID-19 on a Plane? Answer by MIT scientists: 1 in 7,700 if the middle seats are vacant, 1 in 4,400 if they are filled to capacity. So my question is, if it is that difficult to catch COVID in extremely closer quarters for two hours, what are the chances of catching it while passing someone for two seconds in a grocery store aisle or walking past them on the sidewalk?
- I found it well worth reading the white papers linked in this article. US ‘frontline’ doctors’ website exposes ‘criminal’ campaign by tech giants, govt agencies to block COVID med
- Many questions to be asked! Lockdowns never again: Sweden was right, and we were wrong
- Our Thomas is now one of the vulnerable who needs some isolation from all viruses, but we still believe in the principle that the healthy should be living their lives. Anti-Lockdowners: Take a Stand
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