Love this Kid

I took this photo back during the first couple of weeks of the quarantine. We quickly got into our routine . . . we got up and headed to our respective places to do our schoolwork. Caleb took the dining room table. Alyssia bounced back and forth from the couch, dining room table, and her room, and Zach and I took the kitchen table. At various times throughout the day you'd hear, "I'm signing onto Schoology!" which was everyone else's cue to be quiet.

I worked one-on-one with Zach for most of the morning, every day. This is when Zach began to pull ahead academically. He did not have as much work as Caleb and Alyssia. So, not wanting to waste the time, and not knowing how long we would be doing school at home, I found assignments that were interesting to Zach and I had him pick out a novel we would read together. I gave him a couple options and he picked out the first Percy Jackson book.

We worked together for the remainder of the school year. I can honestly say I loved every minute of it! I was extremely proud at how hard he worked and how motivated he was! The funny thing is I never told him I was adding extra work to his morning, and he never asked. When the school year was over he looked at me with a quizzical expression so like his father's (one eyebrow slightly up while giving me an "evil eye") and asked me, "Mr. Lybrand (his teacher) didn't assign all this work?!"

During those months, Zach finished all his assigned schoolwork, read 3(!) Percy Jackson books answering comprehension questions after each chapter, did a state report on his favorite state (Alaska), learned the states and their capitals, and started learning about the leaders of Russia. I loved those hours sitting at the kitchen table with him. So this was us - he with his crazy hair and me with no makeup - doing school together. It was bittersweet when this time ended. It was awesome to have life look a little more normal after the pandemic, but I was sad to see the slower paced life and extra time with the kids end. I will always be grateful for the time I got to spend with my Zach Attack!

Scrapbooking Tips:

I put this layout together using the Color Splash collection from Scrapbook Generation. The bright happy colors match the mood I felt when taking this photo. Even the heart embellishments came from the cutout sheet included in this collection. I adhered some of the hearts using foam adhesive, and I added some phrase stickers, but opted for black so they would stand out against the rainbow.

I created this colorful backdrop with one sheet of pattern paper. Included in this collection, there was a 12x12" sheet of hexagon print pattern paper. I simply cut around the hexagons leaving me approximately a 10x10" piece of the paper to create the backdrop. It couldn't have been any simpler!

To accent the backdrop, I stitched on three of the hexagons that had the printed heart in the center. I had punched holes around the entire backdrop, intending to stitch a border in black to compliment the title. However, when I sat down to stitch, I came up with the idea to change the color of my thread to match the hexagon. It was time consuming, but I was able to finish it while watching a movie with Caleb and I love the fun results. I will definitely use this technique again.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Pattern Paper: Scrapbook Generation

Letters: American Crafts Thicks

Phrase Stickers: Tim Holtz

Embroidery Floss: Hobby Lobby