Day Twenty-one

Every day between day 15 and day 21 (that I have not recorded here) has been filled with it’s ups and downs and the children have kept us busy.  We enjoyed a happy Easter weekend together and then it was back to work and school on Tuesday.  I no longer have to keep coming up with ideas for the pre-school activity programme as the children’s schools are now sending us video lessons and online resources.  In fact the whole thing is no longer optional, especially for Caleb who is in Grade one.  Thankfully, Nana enjoys teaching actual subjects as opposed to doing the penguin dance and making endless paper crafts, so she has been happy to take over Caleb’s homeschooling every day.  I continue to try and facilitate the pre-school programme with the help of teacher Tayla and her amazing daily videos.

Day 21 would have been our last day of lockdown but it was not.  We carried on as usual but with regret that we were not able to go to the beach on such a beautiful day.  In any case, we had school to get through and work to do. I had spent the whole of the previous evening googling and sketching creatures that have been seen in our garden and I had made Caleb a creature scavenger hunt.  He has been tasked with keeping track of the creature inventory over the next week.  This includes everything from whales to skinks.  As I had put a lot of work into it, I insisted that he go out first thing in the morning and take inventory.

The girls spent most of the morning taking an online Ballet class.  This kept them busy and the only time that I had to step in was when everyone suddenly had to change out of their pajamas and tear through their wardrobes looking for Ballet dresses.  It all went very well for the good part of an hour.  I knew it was time to call it quits when I found them drawing all over my laptop with wax crayons.

After lunch, I handed over child care to Fred as I had some work to do.  He said maybe he would do some baking with them.  I said nothing, as long as he takes the kids, I don’t care what kind of pickle he gets himself into.  Anyway, they didn’t do any baking, but when I returned they were watching Masterchef Kids.

The afternoon was spent in the garden, enjoying the good weather and looking out for creatures.  We even spotted a whale in the ocean.

Helen and I joined Daba for a run in the late afternoon.  Daba took the lead and we followed his route round and round the garden.  We have even become so brave as to run up the hill outside the property.  The other day, I even waved hello to the neighbour in the speedo who was outside drinking a brandy and coke.  He said, “This lockdown thing is terrible hey”.  It’s a very steep hill so it makes for a good exercise session.

The dads brought the children out onto the driveway and they played around on skateboards as we ran past them over and over again.  I showered and it was already time to put Jethro to sleep.  As it was a beautiful evening, the dads made a fire and we braaied.

We all sat down to enjoy our pork ribs while Peppa Pig played in the background.