Connor helps us to mend the bed skirt with the sewing machine.
Making Pho
Connor enjoys cooking. He learns how to operate the instant pot, our favorite kitchen appliance, and he is able to make beef pho from scratch. Delicious and healthy! What not to love? Let me share our recipe:
Ingredients (4 servings):
1 lb angus beef steak
32 oz low sodium organic beef broth (we prefer the flavorful Pacific brand)
1 star anise
1 small cinnamon stick
1 cardamon
dried pho noodles
bean sprouts
bok choy or napa cabbage
cilantro
scallions
fried crispy shallots
sriracha hot chili sauce
Instructions:
- Trim the fat off the steak and put it in the instant pot. Pour in the beef broth. Add star anise, cinnamon stick and cardamon. Pressure cook at high pressure for 30 minutes to an hour. Do a quick release when it is ready.
- While the beef is cooking, set a pot of water to boil and cook pho noodles according to package instructions. Once soft, drain, rinse and set aside.
- Wash the vegetables. Chop up the bok choy. Blanche the bean sprouts and bok choy.
- When the beef is ready, drain and shred the meat.
- Serve the pho noodles in a bowl. Place the meat and vegetables on the noodles. Ladle the soup and garnish with cilantro, scallions and fried crispy shallots. Serve with chili sauce.
Saying farewell to Mrs. Kanevski
Meet Mrs. Kanevski. She has been Devon’s piano teacher since 2017. Devon expressed to give piano competitions a try and we found Mrs. Kanevski. Many people who do not know her might think that she is very strict, since she is known in the area for having several students championing in the IMTA (Iowa Music Teachers’ Association) piano auditions. Not Mrs. Kanevski. She is the kindest, most patient and caring teacher I have known. She is quite the opposite of what you would expect. She prioritizes on her students, but never puts any pressure on them. Perhaps it is one of the reasons her students perform so well.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Kanevski was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020. She underwent chemotherapy and seemed to have some success with it. However, she had decided to leave Iowa to be closer to her family in Wisconsin. This was the last picture taken with Mrs Kanevski at her house in Ames, Iowa, before she left. As chemotherapy had stripped her immunity (she said that none of the previous vaccinations were effective after treatment), she and everyone around her always take precautions not to get her sick.
Even though she has given us a choice to switch to a different teacher (as she will not be teaching in person anymore), I cannot imagine going to anyone else. There are many piano teachers in the area, but there is only one Mrs. Kanevski. While she has the amazing ability of turning her students into great musicians, it is her positive and relentless attitude that make her unique. She is a role model for our children and us. We are very fortunate to have her as our son’s teacher.
Covid Vaccination
Devon and Connor received their first doses of the covid vaccination.
Homeschool PE
Since the pandemic started, lots of videos were popping up motivating people to work out at home. Here, the boys are doing step aerobics. We really enjoy working out with the videos and being exposed to so many different workout ideas.
Ninja Training
It can be a challenge to stay in shape during the pandemic lockdowns. The boys use the backyard ninja gym to stay in shape and keep active.
Using Labster
Very often, we complain about the pandemic on how it stops us from doing our normal activities or from going places. However, the pandemic also presented several opportunities that benefit many. Students and teachers can use Zoom at no cost. The USDA provided free school lunches to children regardless of their family income. With the lockdowns, museums such as the Louvre and the National Gallery of Art developed online tours so that visitors can continue to enjoy their virtual visits from home. Spectrum and Comcast offered short term free internet. Other organizations also offered free resources for parents and educators. For instance, BrainPop offered free access to their educational videos during this time. The Smithsonian website offered free resources to keep students engaged. This is how we stumbled upon Labster.
Labster is a virtual science lab simulation used by high schools and colleges. During this time, Labster allows free access to their program. While these labs can not replace actual science lab experiments, they are definitely the next best thing – being inexpensive to set up (in our case, it’s free), and enabling students to work in an engaging and safe space.
Homeschool P.E.
Our homeschool P.E. takes place every other day. It is even more significant during the pandemic as many activities were cancelled and we are spending more time in the house. We are fortunate to have trails around our home we could utilize.
Our Homeschool String Ensemble
Perhaps this is the picture in your mind when you hear “homeschool band”.
Well, I am all about shifting paradigms. This is us (picture above) on the first day of our homeschool string ensemble. In a typical year, the kids will be participating in the Des Moines Symphony Academy youth symphonies, but due to the pandemic, this has been cancelled, though the academy does offer an alternative online program. We decided to start our very own string ensemble. We will be practicing every day and meeting every Saturday. The kids have always enjoyed performing familiar movie soundtracks and music, and it is refreshing to get to pick the pieces you play. They also get an opportunity to be featured soloists, which would demand them to be better players. I am excited for the new school year.
New School Year 2020/2021
This is the first day of school of the new school year since the pandemic started. The public school ended with a lockdown last March and attempts to conduct lessons online were not very successful. This year, Devon is in 9th grade and Connor is in 6th grade. Ankeny schools offer the choice of online and in-person lessons. With the high possibility of interruptions in lessons again due to the frequent unpredictable changes to the covid-19 protocols and the distraction caused by angry parents protesting against mask mandates in school, we have decided to stick to conducting lessons at home. It also gives Devon the opportunity to take some online classes with DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) that are dual enrolled with the high school. Both children are also doing various online and video lessons that steer them toward being more self-directed learners.
