Skateboards and ER visits are looming in my future

With the beautiful spring weather, the boys and I have been getting out a bit. They are suddenly way into their scooters, and now Maceo is into his skateboard that he received for his birthday--last year's birthday. So, we've been going to the local skateparks. If they are relatively empty, we've been staying and having a blast. We use the maxim "Practice makes progress" and Maceo especially is buying into it. He mentioned at the end of the first day, "I'm getting really good!" And so he has!
Here are some examples of his progress, in chronological order--

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3, the next day:

Spring Break and Spring Break

So, during this week of self-quarantine, I have been on spring break which certainly has helped me with the child care. I've been able to oversee the boys' lessons, get them to their virtual meetings, and practice the ukulele with Maceo. Next week, I'll be back to school, and THEY'LL be on spring break. So, I'm a little worried about multi-tasking, But we'll make due!

Herewith is an assortment of the activities we've been doing:

Face Timing with friends

Lots and lots of art

Scooters and bikes

Reading time together

Cassius is WAAAAAAY into his book.

School work! Maceo is doing math and
Cassius is studying ancient Egypt.

Designing games to play

As for the ukulele, Maceo is super partial to this song and has learned to play it with me on the guitar and him on the uke. 

Cassius, on the other hand, loves the classic Socialist anthem, "There is Power in the Union", and both boys warm my heart with their good taste!

Social Distancing Except for Muskrats

It was a beautiful morning, but brisk, and so we got our supplies together to go to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a place we've been visiting for years. I packed some clipboards with paper, the boys chose pencils that they liked, and we were ready.

Right off the bat, we saw a turtle. So, the trip was already a success. But then we saw some ripples in the water. "What's that?" we wondered aloud. I suspected and then I saw I was right! It was a muskrat!

Can you see the muskrat?

Do you see it now?

We were able to get awfully close to the little guy, and he just basically ignored us, munching on fresh grass. It was awfully neat!

We continued along the trail, throwing stones, having a blast. When we got to the end of the boardwalk, the boys sat in the warm sun to do some drawing and insisted on some time lapse filming of their work.

No, hold the phone in your rapidly numbing hands for at least
4 minutes making a time lapse of us, Daddy!

 As we made our way back to the car, Cassius was working on his own version of an Encyclopedia Brown story. He did not want me to hear the clues, so they made me walk behind them as they discussed the story Cassius would write.

I might publish the story here for your pleasure someday.

Once home, we undertook writing more cards to people we love, cranking out one a day at this rate!

Notice the card game they're enjoying, Lucy?

And then, we ended the day Face Timing with one of the boys' friends! It mostly involved sound effects and sticking their noses as close to the camera as they could. 

Quarantine Continues Apace

The boys' school is closed for another week, but DC public schools are now closed till the end of April. I assume the charter schools will follow the same schedule, but we'll see. And I assume my school, too, where I teach, will close for at least as long. So! Activities continue! We have baked muffins and pound cake.

My pastry chefs drizzle glaze on the blueberry muffin cake

We have built car runs and marble runs. 

Cassius had a one on one conference with his teacher. While he was initially unwilling, as soon as he saw her on the screen, he was happy and chatted away with her about his fort, his zip line, and the aforementioned marble run.

We also spent some time writing actual letters to friends and family. As the tradition continues, keep an eye on your mail box for a missive!

Quarantine--Day #1

(I decided to try to write this like a Civil War soldier writing home on this, the first day of the COVID suspension of school.)

 The first day of school closing is upon us, and I write this with a heavy heart. While our supplies and sustenance suffice for now, I weep for the future when we run out of apple sauce and Cassius is down to merely hot dogs and cheddar cheese to eat. Luckily, we have amused ourselves and kept our spirits high, though memories of friends both far and near haunt us like sad music on the breeze. We began the day with tears, but then raised our spirits by drawing "The Scariest Monster On the Planet Earth." We sent the pictures in to an atelier in Paris (of course, thanks to Mami), and Maceo's was chosen to grace their Instagram page!

The artists at work in their atelier.

This is Maceo's monster.

This is Cassius's monster.

Then, we journeyed out into the empty city, bereft of her citizens. We ended up in Rock Creek Park and hiked the Soapstone Trail, stopping to make routes to run marbles down or to throw sticks into the water. It was lovely and reminded me of our carefree days before this pestilence invaded our lives. The children bear it well enough, although they seemed a bit mad and unsure of themselves.

(You can almost taste their terror.)

You can almost hear their sorrow.

You can almost smell his whining.

We unpacked our victuals and made camp at the parking lot.

 Upon our return to the house, we decided to make the projects that Grandma Sue had given us for Christmas lo those many months ago. Thankfully, they had not spoiled, and we were able to enjoy them. Cassius made a pendulum painter, and Maceo made his own spyrograph. Truly, the technology of the day is astounding.

Hard at work reading instructions.

I was cooking, and Maceo asked me to help. "I'm cooking, Maceo, so I can't," I replied.
 "A lot of help you are," he muttered.
OOooooooooo.

The fruit of Maceo's long and frustrating labor.

It was a long day both physically and emotionally, and our Lord above only knows what lays in store in the days that drag on ahead.

Not even a book this night for a tired boy.

Our Reach Exceeds Our Grasp

The boys and I took advantage of (perhaps?) people's fears and went to the Kennedy Center today, which I have never seen so empty. Our destination was a new wing called The Reach. Inside this lovely building, there is a room full of hands-on activities. The boys spent a looooooong time on the first activity--tablets used for creating music. By choosing different tabs which are programmed to work together on the beat, they were able to make cool songs and effects. They sat there for about 15 or 20 minutes bobbing their heads, snapping their fingers and dancing in place, and loudly asking me to listen, too.

DJ Cassius and MC Maceo with the tunes.

Once I pried them away from there, they spent time listening to classical music and drawing what they heard.
And they did a lot of drawing of Mo Willems characters at the light table. (Mo Willems, a children's book author, is the artist in residence at the Kennedy Center.)

When they're focussed, they really get along well!