Amy Scott's Thoughts

When school closed in March, I created a schedule for our weekdays to accommodate school at home. I, personally, thrive with a schedule. I knew that my boys were used to following a classroom schedule at school. I agree with the opinion that structure brings freedom. Our days might be predictable, but the flow we’ve created is important. The boys know what to expect and what it is next. The schedule is a guideline. It’s not household law, not written in stone. It is flexible and adaptable. I’m certainly learning as I go!

A month into our time at home, I decided to give Graham more structure to his schoolwork. Up until that point, I’d been printing busy work to keep Graham occupied while I focused on Owen’s kindergarten work. I ordered Graham a preschool workbook and was surprised to see him dive into it with enthusiasm. He has impressed me with his attitude and aptitude. Graham’s workbook is bright, colorful and easy because it’s for a preschooler. However, it turns out it’s also extremely distracting to a kindergartner who is working on black and white worksheets. For two weeks, I struggled with Owen being distracted by Graham’s work. I would stop to explain something to Graham and Owen would just freeze. He’d quit doing his work and just start watching Graham. It was perplexing to me that Owen went from being able to do his own work in a classroom of twenty-one students to needing me to watch him write every letter or number. The second I stopped watching him, he stopped working. Why?  I have no clue. I’ll be honest, my frustration level rose. I wasn’t doing well teaching two learning levels at the same time.

This led me to make a change. I rearranged our homeschool schedule to allow for one-on-one time at the table to do age specific work with each boy. Our day starts together on the rug in the living room – we talk about the date, the weather, say the pledge of allegiance, we pray together, and we sing and dance to worship songs on YouTube.  Then we divide up to do table work. One child gets alone time to play while the other gets one-on-one time to do schoolwork. There is value in giving individual attention to each boy. There is also value in giving space so they can have time alone. In a season where we are together a lot, this new structure adds two elements that have been missing. After we’ve worked at the table, we come back together on the couch to read books and do 10 minutes of educational apps (IXL or ABCmouse). We close our school time with a craft or science activity and play a board game. All of this happens in less than two hours a morning.

This was our first week with the new flow and it worked well. I told the boys if we had four good days of school in a row then they could have a special sleepover in Owen’s room on Thursday night. They did a great job rising to the occasion. The reward at the end of the week helped them to embrace the change with positive attitudes. Throughout this process of schooling at home, I’ve made changes along the way. I often wonder about what my boys will remember from this time. I’m doing my best to make sure it’s as positive as possible. The sleepover reward at the end of the week was a major success and they are already hopeful that they can earn another sleepover next week.

We are also celebrating another reward becoming a reality in our household. Owen has been saving money since the beginning of the year. At the beginning of April, he latched on to the idea of buying a fish. He worked hard to do extra chores around the house and prove he is responsible. We told Owen that he wouldn’t be able to go into a pet store until May and that he would need to work hard and be patient. With the announcement that the stay home order is extended through May 31st in Washington State, we knew our six year old would have a hard time waiting until June to go to the pet store.

I started to explore a way to get Owen his desired fish by sending Jeremy into a pet store and then video chatting with Owen so he could select his fish. After calling multiple pet stores, I soon realized that most aren’t carrying live fish at this time. It was a shocking discovery. Owen was concerned, but I’ve been impressed with his readiness to accept current conditions. He knows that things are different right now. After talking with three pet stores, I finally found one locally that had betta fish in stock. So to stimulate the local economy and for the mental health of our six year old, we went fish shopping. Jeremy video chatted with Owen so that Owen could have the joy of selecting the exact fish he wanted. We got a new tank, some fish food and took off for home with Benny the Betta in tow. I’ll keep you posted on the new adventures of Benny (may he live long and prosper).

It seems like each week brings change to process. The world is different these days and we are adapting. While I’m usually not a fan of change, I am thankful for how rewarding these changes can be. We are working hard, doing the best we can, and celebrating the wins as they come!

Love looking out the window at my boys playing together. They aren’t perfect, but I’m so glad they have each other!

Super into geography right now thanks to their favorite YouTube channel. 

First MOPS & MOMSnext Zoom Meeting! It was so great to see all these lovely faces!

Owen’s class assignment for the week was to make a terrarium! We call this Bunnies in a Cactus Garden.

Using my knees as a head rest!

Special sleepover as a reward for a good week of school.

While the Governor talks, I bake. 

More change! We changed the layout of our front flower beds.  We took out the corner bed and now have grass seed down. Jeremy joked that we’ll need before and after quarantine photos of our property! My hubby keeps tackling project after project! 

Meet Benny the Betta!

I’m looking for all the ways to celebrate these days – big and small. With this in mind, I decided to turn Earth Day into a week long celebration! Here some of the highlights from our sixth week at home:

Jeremy completed his fence with an arbor the entrance!

Earth Week Activity: Making planters out of milk jugs.

Earth Week Activity: Watering the newly planted flowers.

Earth Week Activity: Nature Scavenger Hunt

The beginnings of a tree fort! Jeremy continually wins the coolest parent award!

Tree Fort!

All celebrations deserve cake! I had fun creating this special treat for Earth Day. I even had enough batter to make the moon just for fun!

Earth Week Activity: Earth Paintings

Earth Week Activity: Earth Paintings

Trying a new cookie recipe. We made these as a special gift for Owen’s teacher since sugar cookies are her favorite.

Tin foil boats!

Take-out makes us very happy!

Owen’s teacher made a home delivery to drop off his items from school. It brought some closure to the school year to say good-bye in person. I am continually sad about how this school year ended even though we are making the most of the situation.

Celebrating Aunt Beckie’s graduation from nursing school!

Well, here we are. Five weeks at home completed. After the excitement of Holy Week, we’ve fallen back into the calmness that is our day-to-day routine. Once the decision to close schools for the year was made, I could feel a release within me. I was disappointed to hear this news, but at the same time, it set me free from the last concern I had in my heart. Until the announcement was made, I had a source of anxiety – would they or wouldn’t they close schools? While wondering does me no good, I couldn’t help but do it. With the answer to that question, I was able to release that wonder from my mind and settle into the new normal that will now be the end of the school year for my boys.

On Monday, we picked up Owen’s next school packet. I am thankful for a district that is providing screen-free learning. I am thankful for sitting down at the table with my kids and doing schoolwork with a pencil and paper – just like they would at school and just like I would prefer if I had chosen homeschooling. We use four different educational apps throughout the course of the week, but they are a small amount of our school time. Our school district also provided Owen with a bag of school supplies to accomplish his work at home. Graham started his new preschool workbook on Monday and he is doing well with it each morning (better than I expected). I’m glad I have these resources as I work in this new endeavor of school from home.

Owen’s spring portrait from school

The last week has been fairly routine. School, chores, free time, rest, outside time, meals as a family, walks at the end of the day. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Jeremy got the boys up early on Thursday morning to see the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Owen was so excited that he barely slept a wink the night before. He was sitting up in bed when Jeremy came to get him up. Owen was ready to go! It was a special experience and a memory was certainly made. The boys were extra tired that day, but it was well worth it to have a space adventure.

My special project for the week was making a teaching video for my MOPS & MOMSnext group. Last week we had a discussion question that asked the ladies what would they teach if they had the chance.  We had so many great responses that we challenged our ladies to make a video and share it with our group. I made a video about home tidying. It was a lot of fun to work on a project and share something that I enjoy. I had too much footage to post in one video, so I have requests for another episode. I might take that on this next week. Who knew I missed my calling as a reality TV home organizer? Haha!

Filming in my studio (aka my bedroom)

Jeremy has been busy in project mode around the house. He has been clearing brush around our property and burning the debris. He also built a fence around his garden to keep out the deer. Owen was Jeremy’s prime fence helper. Graham was out in the yard most of the day either helping Jeremy with the fence or helping to move tree debris. Both boys worked so hard that we rewarded them with a meal from McDonald’s as our thank you to them. Owen also had a certain lawn ornament he wanted to purchase for the garden and Jeremy told him he would order it if Owen helped him build the fence. So now we are awaiting the arrival of a Whirligig Lovebird (google it). I love watching my boys out in the yard being so helpful and involved in projects with their dad. Jeremy does such a great job of letting our boys learn alongside him. I feel like the boys are learning their school skills from me right now and they are learning vocational skills from Jeremy. It’s a good combo!

The start of the fence with the brush debris in the background. This is round two of debris clearing. Jeremy burned an equally massive pile before this one a week ago.

The fence is almost complete. Jeremy plans on building an arbor over the entrance. Notice the brush in the background is gone!

That wraps up week five at home. I’m looking forward to making Earth Day a special focus of this coming week. With the boys being so into space and planets right now, we are very excited to celebrate our planet. I’m not usually too jazzed about Earth Day, but in this new season, I will look for as many ways to celebrate as possible! There is a blessing to life being small and slow. Instead of needing big, flashy things to get my attention, I can more clearly see and celebrate the smaller things. Every day is a new opportunity and I hope to make the most of each one I’m given!

Graham found my box of birthday cards and sorted them for me. How helpful!

We got a new book full of science activities! We’ve been having fun experimenting as a part of our school time.

All four of us worked on this solar system puzzle! The boys love the fold-out book that came with it!

Typing his manifesto. In his swimsuit.

Hello! I hope you’ve had a lovely Easter! Our weekend plans were very different from the usual hustle on Easter weekend. While I missed gathering with our church family in person, I enjoyed the change of pace to our Easter celebration. We kept up with our church through online gatherings. We participated in a Seder meal experience. We watched Good Friday gatherings together and Easter weekend gatherings. I love seeing our staff get creative during this time.

Along with our church commitments, we did all the fun Easter traditions we could at home. We dyed eggs. We bought white eggs for the first time in months since our chickens are such excellent layers. They produce more eggs than we can eat, but we wanted to do an experiment coloring both white and brown eggs. We did multiple egg hunts around our house. This morning, we did Resurrection Eggs with our boys which share the Easter message through an egg hunt. The boys got Easter baskets and happily played with their new toys and munched on candy. We made flower deliveries to the grandparents and called GG on the phone to wish her a happy Easter. Our family enjoyed a yummy special meal together to complete the holiday. Because it’s such a lovely day here in the PNW, we spent a good amount of time outside just enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.

The whole weekend was special and really did feel like a holiday even though we were at home. My boys have such joy and enthusiasm for celebrating and their joy is contagious! I might be aware of what is missing from our usual Easter weekend, but the boys don’t have a feeling of loss at all. They are happy and blessed – just living in the moment. I am thankful for the way they lead me and show me the right attitude to have during this unique season.

Switching gears… We’ve now completed four weeks at home. I’ve seriously contemplated when I’ll stop counting the weeks. Before it was the countdown back to school opening, but now? What is the end game? I’m not sure. We’ll see when the mental shift happens. I’m still waiting.

April was a busy month for our calendar. Our church hosts many large gatherings for Easter. We had an annual conference with our church network. I had multiple showers – one baby, one bridal – to host/attend. We had a graduation ceremony to attend. The boys were supposed to have Spring Break. It seems like almost every day I think “I would have been doing *insert activity here* today.” While I don’t mind the freedom from the busy calendar, it’s a strange feeling to think of all that would have been and all that didn’t happen.

Tomorrow, we will pick up another homework packet from Owen’s school. We are starting our fifth week of homeschooling. The packet we receive tomorrow will introduce new concepts that Owen would have learned at school this spring. Up to this point, I’ve been trying to decrease brain drain, but I haven’t been teaching Owen anything he didn’t know already. This packet will be a step in the right direction. We will also receive a weekly assignment from his teacher as a way to stay connected to her.

As for Graham’s education, I’m starting to hone in his educational needs more. This last month, I’ve kept Graham busy with school-like work so I could help Owen. I ordered a preschool workbook that will give me more direction. My hope is to move into a teaching mode with Graham and less keeping him occupied/distracted. I will admit that I feel the tension of teaching two kids at different learning levels. I remind myself that I am not alone in this endeavor. I’m working on it. That’s the best I can do and that’s okay.

It seems like each week brings something new to process. It’s almost impossible to plan beyond May 4^th. I’m trying to take things day by day, week by week – sometimes minute by minute or hour by hour. There is so much to be thankful for. Our family had a lovely week celebrating Easter together. In light of all that is going in the world, I am ever more thankful for the hope I have in Jesus. I am thankful that I had extra time with my family during Holy Week. We are making the most of the moments, making memories, and rising to the occasion. While this strange season has its difficulties, I’m choosing to find beauty and joy in these circumstances.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

Playing his violin for Palm Sunday worship!

The boys and I helped Jeremy film his sections for the Seder meal. I’m sure my boys will remember making videos as a family as a part of this time at home.

Meanwhile… baking might be my coping mechanism.

Seder dinner with our church family… and Zerg & Alien.

First s’more of the season! So good!

Coloring eggs!

Fresh flowers for Easter and the colored eggs. So pretty!

Before the egg hunt

During the egg hunt

After the egg hunt

Virtual egg hunt at our church

Easter basket time!

Resurrection Eggs

Happy Easter from the Scotts!

Best Buds!

Anyone else notice that Graham has become the master of the closed mouth smile?

Making Easter special with yummy food! We’ll be eating leftovers for days!

We’ve now accomplished three weeks at home with another month still ahead. The days are starting to feel a bit like Groundhog’s Day. Once the morning routine of getting ready, tidying bedrooms, and eating breakfast is finished, we jump into school. Then it’s time to do a chore, eat lunch, and head into quiet time. After we’ve rested, it’s free time, dinner time, and family time. Repeat. Friday and Saturdays are school-free. Sunday mornings are spent in the living room watching church online. Repeat the week. 

I’ve found myself interested more than ever in social media. What is everyone up to these days? I’m curious because I miss people and because I’m looking for inspiration for new things I can try at home. I lack new content to share on my social media pages right now. I can only post so many pictures of school being done at the table, the boys playing games, and outside time. With so much sameness in each day, I’m not feeling too original. I realize that this is not a big deal. So what if we’re doing the same things on repeat? They are good things. We are trying our best to make healthy choices and enjoy our time as a family. This new routine might not be flashy or glamorous, but it is good. It’s working. We’re doing the best we can and that’s all that matters.

Despite my curiosity with social media, I have found a growing tension. I’ve noticed a theme where a topic is presented in two extremes. Here are some examples. People are sharing about homeschooling and there are counter-posts about not schooling at home during this period of time. People are sharing the ways they are working out and staying healthy during this time and there are posts asking people to stop sharing their workout videos. Yesterday I saw a post about choosing joy and then another post about stopping the spread of false joy. It seems like there are mixed messages.

Here is my take on the tension – let’s offer love and grace right now. People are posting about what they value, what they are passionate about, what is helping them get through this season, and how they are feeling. We are all making different choices based on what we can handle and what is best for our ourselves and our families. Hearts are tender – at least I know mine is. I want love and grace to be what I share with others, even if they are making different choices than me. If the tension becomes too great, I will scale back my exposure or step away from social media. This would be my suggestion to anyone who is frustrated, overwhelmed, or annoyed with the content that is coming up in their social media feeds. I quickly learned that I could only access news updates once or twice a day. I can only absorb so much. Now I feel like the same might true of social media. 

My hope and prayer right now is that we will find ways to stand on common ground. While we might be separated by distance, may our hearts not become distant. This is such a unique time to sift through all the noise in our lives. We decide which voices we will let be the loudest. I am praying for health – both physical and mental. I am praying for strength and endurance has we continue this marathon. I am praying for joy – in the small, ordinary moments. It will be so interesting to see what the takeaways will be on the other side of this crisis. I remain hopeful for the future – even if the foreseeable future looks a lot like Groundhog’s Day.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

My Groundhog’s Day Photo Reel:

You will notice that we are living in the same few sets of pajamas these days. They are washed daily and put right back on.

Owen has started naming craters on the moon. So far he has named the pickle crater and the cotton ball crater.

Working on an April Showers activity with washable markers and water droppers.

The water droppers were so much fun that I gave them two cups and let them squirt water from one cup to the other. They loved it!

Making a private phone call in the minivan since my usual spot phone call spot was occupied!

What my mornings look like – school supplies laid out on the counter so I’m ready for each activity.

Chicken adoration time!

Graham was brave and petted Perch!

Owen’s solar system set up!

One of the many moments of hail this week.

Our spring days this week have been quite the roller-coaster. One minute it’s beautifully sunny with blue sky then the clouds turn dark and it’s pouring rain and hailing. This pattern repeats itself throughout the day. Sunny and cheerful to dark and gloomy and back again. I feel my own emotions reflected in the ever-changing weather. At moments, I am sunny and positive. It’s like a breath of fresh air. I can do this. At other moments, I am stormy and gray. My emotions are dark. The blue skies are hidden from view. I can rotate through these very different outlooks in a matter of minutes. 

As I wrestle with all these thoughts and emotions, I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. Everyone I’ve talk with about this analogy has been able to relate. While I am isolated in my home, I am not isolated in my feelings. Many others understand right where I am at and that helps me make peace with the whirlwind inside me.

Monday was a hard day for me. It was the day I noticed my heart reflecting the weather. I sat down to journal my thoughts because I figured it would be healthy to write down some of the emotions I was carrying. As I was writing, I could feel panic rising within me. Normally writing helps me process, but this wasn’t working as planned. I was being stirred up instead of calmed down. I needed a new plan.

As my husband’s work day wrapped up, I shared with him that I needed to get out of the house. He agreed and before long we had our family loaded up and heading to McDonald’s (don’t judge). My family ordered meals, I ordered a chocolate milkshake and ate Owen’s chicken nuggets. As the boys happily munch and played with new toys, Jeremy drove us around back roads. It wasn’t a long outing, but it was a game changer. It was the reset I needed.

I don’t mind time at home. My home is my happy place, but this is the first time that I have ever spent this much time at home. I’m realizing that while I’m good with spending long periods of time at home, I do need small windows were I get out. I used to schedule one day a week were I intentionally stayed home. Now I’ll need to have one a day week where I intentionally get out of the house. What a flip! For the first week home, the boys and I stopped by the office to say hi to Jeremy (this was before the stay home order in our state). For the second week at home, we drove to pick up a homework packet from Owen’s school. This week it was the drive to McDonald’s and taking the long way home.

Sometimes mental health looks like a milkshake and taking the long way home!

I’m learning about myself through these new circumstances. It is a journey of self-discovery going through these new waters. I’ve found myself slow to jump into big projects or to schedule video meetings. I needed time to absorb the changes to my world and figure out my new priorities. At first, I went into family protection mode – how can I make this okay for my boys? How do I make our home the haven it needs to be for our family? I truly feel that my biggest responsibility is now within the walls of my house. The responsibilities of school, faith, family and friendship all happen here now. I want to make the most of this unique opportunity.

It seems like the world has slowed down and sped up at the same time. I’ve been bombarded with nonstop online content at my disposable. Suddenly every ministry and organization has videos to watch and articles to read. Calendars are being filled with phone calls and video conferences. These are all good things, but I’ve hit a sensory overload of screen time and information absorption. I can only handle so much. I don’t want to waste the gift of this season. There is always something I could be doing – a new project to start, another person to connect with. But I also know that I am a finite being. I am processing a major shift in my world. It’s okay to scale back. I want to keep the main thing the main thing. And right now that is my family.

I want to make meals and eat around the table. I want to do chores as a family. I want to read books, do art projects, and help my boys do school from our dining room table. I want to help my husband with his creative ideas. I want to support him as he learns his new schedule as well. I want to watch to TV and just generally enjoy being together for this season. Home takes top priority. And so does mental health. I will do my best to be happy at home while occasionally driving to get milkshakes.

In the stormy moments, when it feels like life is a down pour and the hail is hammering the ground, I will remind myself that the sun is just behind those clouds. If I give it a minute, the storm will clear and the light will shine again. I will find a break in the rain, a breath of fresh air, and hopefully a second-wind to keep going.

Here are the a few Bible verses I’ve been keeping close on hand these days:

Psalm 33:4 ~ For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.

Proverbs 3:5 ~ Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Psalm 23:1-3 ~ The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

Last week was truly a remarkable start to our time at home. I was in crisis management mode and threw myself 150% into making things as okay as possible. I’m not sure if the extra stress and energy I used caught up with me, but I woke up on Saturday with a migraine. I  randomly have one or two a year. The only solution is to sleep them off. Unfortunately, I spent the entire day in bed last Saturday. It was extremely disappointing and I felt like my body was really letting me down. I’m not going to pretend like everything is okay. Everyone knows that things are crazy right now. I can’t pretend to be unaffected.

I assumed that things would improve this week as I adjusted to our new normal, but that was a false assumption. I’m good at false assumptions these days. When the world started to change, I envisioned life getting smaller and slower, but still including people. I saw myself having a few play dates, maybe having family over for dinner, or hosting church for a small group in our house. I saw our family going on special outings to fill the time. None of these assumptions have panned out. There have been so many small disappointments to absorb. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t taking its toll. 

Despite the disappointments, I am incredibly grateful for how week two at home has gone. The boys continue to do well with our new schedule. We’ve found a good flow. They are excited for school each day. Since we are doing school only a few hours a day, it’s very manageable (and fun). The boys have had plenty of time to play inside and outside. Even with the rainy weather, we’ve all been outside everyday. You can’t keep us indoors! I’m enjoying the fresh air and exercise daily. My fitbit is very happy with me!

Wednesday was Jeremy’s 39th birthday. I’m so glad it wasn’t the big 4-0 because I hope to make that birthday a big deal. 39 can be quiet, but 40 needs to be extra special! Jeremy was working from home that day. He worked on a film project with a special friend, Wilson (think Castaway). He included the whole family in his creative project. We hope that his video will be included in our church’s video announcements this Sunday. It was fun to have a family project to work on and the boys love Wilson. To celebrate Jeremy, we gave him birthday cards from each of us. For our school craft, we baked treats and read a book about making a birthday cake. My parents dropped off pizza for us at the door. We sent home pieces of dessert with them. I was bummed that the birthday celebration had to be small, but Jeremy had a great attitude. I’m thankful that we got extra time with him on his special day.

My mental countdown is to April 27th when hopefully my boys will be back at school. Right now in Washington State, we are under a “Stay home, Stay Healthy” order that lasts for two weeks. The order to stay home didn’t really change all that much for the boys and me. We’ve been home and we will continue to be home. We are 1/3 of the way through our school break. After this next week, we’ll be half way done! There are so many things to be thankful for right now. I’m thankful that our family took a drive to pick up a kindergarten homework packet on Tuesday. I got to see the outside world and have a quick conversation with non-relatives. I’m thankful for the fun mail the boys got from Nana & Papa yesterday with projects and a game to keep them busy. I’m thankful for pizza leftovers. I’m thankful for Jeremy’s birthday and reasons to celebrate.

I’m learning as a go. I’m hoping I can work through the stress in a healthy way. I’m allowing myself to rest more. I’m spending time in my Bible and praying. I’m memorizing Scripture. I savor the few quiet moments as I find them. I couldn’t sustain 150% effort for six weeks. I’m learning how to stay engaged without overdoing it. This isn’t a short sprint, this is a marathon. I want to finish well at the end of this extreme season.

Apparently collecting tadpoles is an annual experiment for our family. This is our third year! 

Church from home with the family. It was a special treat to sit with Jeremy through an entire gathering. Owen sang at the top of his lungs during worship. I almost couldn’t sing because I was fighting back tears. 

Jeremy was able to get so much yard work done during the nice weather. The house looks great. Here are the boys enjoying some outside time and checking on the tadpoles.

Owen is Jeremy’s shadow. Owen is always close beside Jeremy when he is home.

The rain can’t keep us inside!

Rainy days call for blanket forts!

Working from home is easy, right?

Family dinner with Wilson

Happy birthday, Jeremy!

ABC Activities

Helping Jeremy make video announcements

A new shark game from Nana & Papa!

Nana & Papa got Owen a space science kit. He is in heaven!!!