Project 52 2021 week 1 – winter on the farm
Well, the first full week of 2021 and I’m back with Project 52. I think this is maybe my 5th year, or maybe 6th of doing this, and I love the record we have of the ordinary things to look back on. And any achievements or exciting things (not that there were many last year). My blog was originally set up as a family journal for us to look back on, so these posts are important in my blog’s life.
If you’re a blogger and fancy trying it, you can do Project 365 which is a photo a day, or 52 like I do which is by week. There’s a Facebook group you can join to get the blog hop code, and you can join any time in the year.
Onto my week one of Project 52.
Sunday was a boring one. But I did have a huge week of blog traffic, by biggest ever. This time last year I was struggling to get to that traffic for a whole month. Going back into tier 4 and then lockdown 3 helped with my puzzle posts taking off again!
It was back to work (the kitchen) on Monday. N had 3 inset days, so it was just me while he watching films, played xbox and went out with his dad on the farm.
Tuesday was busier at work as everyone was back working again in my team. When N is here I get disturbed at lunchtime because they’re both in for lunch so I have to shift from the table. When N was back at school, the OH has lunch at the farm so I have more peace and quiet. N announced he wanted to cook tea himself one day, so we decided he would do sausages, mash and beans. He does enjoy cooking although usually gives up halfway through but he did a good job. I still had to set the table, clear it and load the dishwasher though.
On Wednesday we woke to a bit of snow. Not much but it was bitterly cold. If the dog isn’t asleep, she’ll always follow us down to the gate, or meet us on our return from taking the bins down. More work for me, while N got his home school stuff ready for Thursday.
On Thursday N was back to school, but at home again. We’d spent the last few days wondering what school would offer given they’d suggested they couldn’t teach in school and stream lessons. They got work sent through, much of which is done on Purple Mash, then have daily Teams registration, with remote learners feedback on the previous day’s work, and explanation and expectations for the work set that day. There’s also a daily virtual assembly. At the moment, they’re just broadcasts, but they’re working to enable the children to individually login so they can all see each other too.
The hardest part was getting past all the parental controls and cookies set on N’s laptop to get onto Teams, but now he’s able to just have me send him over the link on email and he can log in himself. The first day was hard as I had pretty much back to back meetings, and even with us both on headphones it’s hard to concentrate. Plus I need to really listen in, and we have to have parents in the room when they’re online for safeguarding rules. So I might have to check my meetings don’t fall at the same time as his short online sessions.
Friday was really foggy and frosty again. I went out early to take some photos, and finally fill up the bird feeders. We get so many birds, we ended up with a crow falling down the Aga chimney somehow, so I don’t want to encourage them too much (especially the larger bullying starlings). But there’s an evil jay who’s been hogging all the remaining apples on 2 trees and the pile of decaying ones, chasing all the other birds away in the front garden, so thought the smaller birds will be able to get seed from the feeders round the back. The sparrows are back already, plus there’s a robin pops up, and a few blue tits too.
It was a better day of work and home school because I didn’t have meetings. Luckily our work are really understanding about parents home schooling or struggling with childcare. N had more work to complete, as well as redoing a maths quiz from the previous day where they’d not got all correct. N struggled with understanding day 1 quiz, so I talked him through what the question he couldn’t work out was indicating (he really needs to engage brain sometimes). But then, he was being marked incorrect for 2 he’d got correct the day before. And with another quiz, he’d written his workings down, but then forgot to type them in before submitting his answer. His teacher’s going to wonder why he’s getting so many wrong when they weren’t hard!
Saturday was another foggy day. It was a relaxing day, although it always seems to go so fast. Just a bit of reading, I made some pom poms (just because). The OH turned up with leftover meat pudding from the farm for he and N for tea, after I’d already defrosted sausages to make a sausage plait. With a roast on Sunday, there was no chance of using the sausages before Tuesday. So I had to spend the afternoon making sausage rolls to freeze so I wouldn’t waste the meat. The OH always says I throw out food, but he doesn’t help things by leaving it late to tell me he’s already sorted out dinner. Drives me nuts when I’ve planned a week’s worth of meals and shopped for that.
New posts this week:
Men hey?! Still… a fabulous way to not waste the sausages, I absolutely adore sausage rolls! 🙂
I hope home school is going well and N has got himself into a rhythm… Teams is all beyond me so I am glad my daughter understands it. I’m glad that technology has advanced to the point that they have it. Can you imagine having to do all this when we were young, it would have been even crazier!
Joining in with Project366 last year was fabulous – it was great to document what we actually did and what was happening around us. I may have forgotten the good times without it! Sim x
Lol, yes back in my day at secondary school there was 1 huge desktop in the library, and there was one lesson Independent Studies in 1st year where there were old Amstrad style pcs where we did a farming simulation type activity. Nowadays, my son’s primary have laptops or ipads for all children!
This is my second year of joining in, I really like being able to look back at what we got up too. So have decided to carry on. 5 or 6 years is very impressive. Homeschooling is giving me a headache, I was so glad when the weekend came round. My youngest just won’t concentrate with it so I never get much done apart from sitting by him coaxing him to do it! Luckily my eldest child gets on with it himself, I don’t know what I would do otherwise. Hopefully life will go back to normal for us all soon. I bet you will be glad of those sausage rolls but I would be frustrated too having to change plans x
It’s definitely easier with only 1 child who wants to work.
I started my blog for the same reasons, and I do like looking back on these posts. But I don’t think I’ve done as many years as you. Well done on the increase in traffic. We have not had any snow here, but some fog. We are finding home schooling tough. And none of us can use google classrooms! Love a good sausage plait.
There is so much difference isn’t there the way different schools are doing things. Ours is more structured with live lessons and I don’t have to get involved and just leave them to it.
Happy New Year! You had a very busy week. It’s interesting trying to work and teach at the same time. We don’t have any zoom lessons which I’m partly glad about but also sad at the same time.
It looks like you had such a busy week! Mine was fairly lazy and I feel with this whole homeschooling schedule everything else goes off routine
It’s interetsing how teaching/learning methods and programmes differ from school to school in the same county. My son is on Seesaw app for most tasks, with links to Spellingframe daily, and Coordinates for Maths. He hasn’t even heard of Purple Mash, but I think Mary’s son also uses it? The parents here are not requested to be present on Zoom meetings.
Is that your house at the back of the photo? Very nice!
Lovely N wanted to cook lunch for you all.
Juggling home-schooling and meetings is hard work. Thankfully we just have registration and one story time session being fixed each week and otherwise I’ve been able to juggle Sophie’s school work with me needing to use the laptop. Glad that your work is understanding. I work for my husband’s company so that makes it easier with having an understanding boss! It’s frustrating when you’ve planned meals and the OH unexpectedly brings home other food for dinner. That’s happened here a few times too. #project365
I think I might have to invest in headphones as 45 minutes per lesson I find really hard to zone out and concentrate on figure work myself. But then I need to listen in to make sure my son does what he’s meant to. No way I’d be able to leave him alone in a room without me. This is the 8th year for me so can’t imagine you’re far behind that either? Best wishes to you all and hope we get to see you in the flesh at some point this year! #365
Yes, looking back I think it’s probably 8 or 7 for me. We’re now live learning this week too – on Teams all day, with teacher dipping in and out and the kids doing the same lesson at the same time as in school. Just had a call while he’s got talking too. Thankfully we’ve both got headphones, but mine echo so can only listen in one ear, and like you I want to know what he’s doing (although we have got paper instructions too). We have to have a parent in room with them when they’re online for safeguarding although all pictures are off apart from the teacher.
Well done on a good week of blog traffic, mine was really high over christmas but its dropped off again now. Sausage plait sounds nice, although I am partial to sausage rolls too – especially warm ones
I think this is my 6th year joining in with Project 365. It is a good way to look back on all the normal things.
Good on N for wanting to cook.
We have had thick frosts but no snow laying despite it falling thick and fast sometimes.
My youngest started using Microsoft Teams on Friday afternoon, the school activated it but they’ve not really used it yet. I am clueless when it comes to using it but my eldest uses it for college so can help if we get stuck. x