- Band
Asher is in the school band and plays percussion. Even though their school is back in person, band is still being done virtually (the teacher goes to 6 different schools, so decided to keep it virtual to avoid interacting with many groups).
Totally understand the reasoning, but it has been really, really bad for the band program!! Band is super $$$ (not sure if it’s because it’s a private school so we foot the whole bill? But it’s super pricey…). So, over half of the kids have basically just quit. I assume it’s because families don’t want to pay that much for virtual only instruction (especially since these kids are beginners and need a lot of help).
Instead of regular “band class”, they are doing small group lessons over Zoom and they have been pretty mediocre, honestly. Lots of tech issues on their teacher’s side, and obviously they are never playing with the whole band. Asher is now the ONLY percussionist left, from grades 4-8 currently!! Makes me sad for the future of the program, since I’m sure many of these kids will never return to band.
2. Trick or Treat at school!
The kids were pleasantly surprised by the trick or treat event last night. It was outside on the athletic field. It only took about 10-15 minutes to walk the loop, but they got a good candy haul and the teachers were all DECKED OUT in awesome costumes!! So fun! Plus, I think kids always get a kick out of seeing their teachers outside of class time. 🙂
3. Marathon memories
Facebook reminded me yesterday that it has been NINE years since I ran my full marathon!!!! Oh my gosh. I remember training for that like it was yesterday. Asher was almost 2 at the time and Ethan had just turned 4. I kind of can’t believe I did things like 20 mile training runs while working fulltime and wrangling 2 toddlers, but I did! One of the main reasons I signed up was because I wanted to do something just for me that didn’t involve taking care of patients, small children or my house.
I haven’t done another one since. I ran a couple more half marathons and then sort of fell away from running and got more into strength training. It was super fun while it lasted!! Maybe next year I need to do another one on my 10 year anniversary.
4. Dia de los Muertos
I’ve been hearing a lot about the Day of the Dead this year, more than normal. As you might know, it’s a Mexican holiday celebrated this weekend that honors the dead. Per tradition, families can welcome back the souls of their lost loved ones for a brief reunion, and the families here on Earth make alters with photos, candles, favorite foods and other favorite objects of the deceased to honor them.
Ethan’s Spanish class studied it this week, and they watched Coco (probably my favorite kids movie of all time!! SO BEAUTIFUL.) I actually want to watch Coco again this weekend too if we can. We have never celebrated Dia de los Muertos in our household, which makes me kind of sad. I don’t know why we haven’t, especially since Ivan is Mexican and said he did celebrate it growing up. It would have been a really cool tradition to share with the kids…might try to read/ learn more about it with them this weekend.
5 am Joel posted about it yesterday in his email too and has made some really cool alters at his house. I also loved this image I saw online yesterday:
Translation: “We are all going to die, so….
- Love
- Travel
- Forgive
- Let go of your fears
- Fall in love
- Enjoy
- And take the chance to enjoy life.
Very cool.
I noticed Ivan’s case of (Mexican) Victoria beer in the fridge was a special edition honoring Dia de los Muertos too! How pretty is this artwork!:
5. Podcast episode – “Being Time Smart”
I really enjoyed this episode of “Beyond the To Do List“. The main premise is that people spend a LOT of time and energy thinking about and planning their money/ finances/ expenses, but a disproportionately small amount of time planning their time use. Ironically, studies support the fact that using TIME well is probably a bigger indicator of overall happiness than generating more wealth/ using money well! (Obviously both are important).
Check it out here.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful that the kids got to enjoy a fun trick or treat event at school! Safe, good weather, and a major feeling of “normal” that so many kids needed I think!
GRATEFUL KAE 
I love that image you found- thanks for sharing and translating! Have a great weekend, Kae!
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We are going to watch Coco this weekend too! It has become part of our Halloween festivities ever since you introduced us to it a few years ago. There are so few great kid friendly Halloween movies out there and it’s such a visually arresting movie with great songs. It appeals to us all 😊
I am grateful that we got our kids out for trick or treating last night. We are having a terrible hurricane like storm today and there is no chance of going out so we went last night in the dark. I am also grateful that when I texted our neighbours to tell them we were coming they happily played along and had socially distanced treats and conversation with us all outside. We only got to four houses, but the girls got a huge haul (we are like the only ones who trick or treat here so they honestly got a whole bag of mini candy at each house 😂). They had so much fun and now we can batten down the hatches and stay inside today without feeling like they are missing out.
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That is too bad that band is so expensive and that kids are dropping out right and left… I imagine it’s unlikely they will re-join down the road, too. Bummer… I was in band 5-12 but I went to a public school so besides the cost of the instrument, I don’t remember it being expensive for my parents. It’s too bad it has to be so pricey! It would be super hard to do band virtually… you just really need to all be together but I understand why that is not safe in covid times!
Since our daycare if Spanish Immersion, they always do something for Dia de los Muertos. They usually set up a little alter in the front of the daycare and I think they touch on the holiday in each classroom, although probably more so in the preschool/pre-k classes since the kids are too young to grasp it in the younger classrooms. But they must do it in a way that isn’t scary since death can be scary for kids/triggering. But it’s cool for our kids to learn about this holiday. We have something similar in the Catholic church (all souls day) but it’s not quite the same since it’s not really a holiday – more of an obligation to go to church (at least that is how I thought of it when I was a kid).
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