These Weird Times

Sunrise at the bus stop 

The trio last attended school on March 13th, meaning it has been 40 days since we have seen a sunrise. 

These are such weird times. We try to focus on the positive, and we keep news light around the house, especially with the family. However, I have the national and state COVID dashboards running on my iPad at all times, and it's just such a weird and stressful time in a lot of ways.  We focus on the positives but are constantly aware that there are so many variables creating a long road back to normalcy.  

We try to focus on the aspects of this situation that we like. We like having everyone home. We actually like distance learning, although I know how much they want to see their friends. We miss people... family, church, friends. They do miss their sports and extracurriculars, but we love having time to ride bikes, play board games, cook, etc. 

Some things we don't miss at all... like getting up at 5:30am.  

ExtraCurriculars (Remote Edition)

We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our schedule as much as possible. 

Lauren and Grace have fallen into a comfortable routine of having their dance classes on Monday and Tuesday now via Zoom. This has been a great way to keep in touch with their friends from dance, stay active with stretches and technique and to try to learn the routines they were going to perform at the recital in May, which has been postponed indefinitely.  

The good news is that they still get to dance, and Grace is getting to use the new pointe shoes we purchased at the end of February (versus her just outgrowing them during the downtime). But seriously, they are enjoying continuing their schedules as much as possible. 

When school abruptly ended on March 13th, Lauren's instrument was left behind. We were able to go to school Tuesday for a "zero contact" pick up. The band director had left the instruments spaced apart on the sidewalk and was overseeing the pick up from approximately twenty feet away. In addition to dance, they have resumed instrument practice. 

Seeing the school closed and quiet was a little weird for them, but Lauren was excited to have her flute back. 

As mentioned previously, George works on robotics at home on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

Lastly, George has gotten the girls involved in Minecraft so they spend some time working on that together. This has kept them busy for hours on end, and we can see some of the educational benefits of that particular game. 

How are you staying busy during the quarantine? Have you picked up a new hobby, or are you enjoying more time with a hobby you rarely have time to enjoy? 

First Day of Remote Learning

All of you have lived through the evolving schedule that the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated. However, for the purposes of our remembering later, hopefully when this situation has long past, bare with me on restating the way this has unfolded. 

School began looking questionable back on 03-09-20. We were busy making plans for upcoming events, e.g., a 5K run and book fair at George's school; a spirit night at Urban Air and service day at the girls' school. We were paying for a field trip to Chattanooga and a ceremony for the girls that seemed unlikely to happen. Beginning on the 9th, all of these activities started looking like they were very much up in the air. By the 12th, the 5K had canceled. Although the book fair had been delivered as planned on the 13th, it was looking increasingly doubtful. The girls had a band field trip on the 12th that happened as planned, which was ludicrous, but since they were still going to school at that time, it seemed pointless to question the field trip. It was a weird time of proceeding with plans, even though it was beginning to feel like maybe we shouldn't. 

The first school cancelation announced on the 13th called for school to be canceled on 03-19-20 and 03-20-20, ahead of spring break. Basically, students would attend Mon-Wed and then be out through spring break. This policy was quickly amended on 03-14-20 to state that school would be out 03-16-20 through 04-06-20. Later, of course, on 03-26-20, onsite schooling was canceled through the end of the year. Remote learning would begin on 04-06-20. In the interim, work was assigned - thankfully - to keep students engaged.  

I would be remiss if I did not commend the teacher and administration for their quick scrambling to get work to students and also work to get everything in place to begin working remotely. There are so many students and just as many unique situations to accommodate. They did a fantastic job on short notice. 

Yesterday was the big day... the start of remote learning, and by now, everyone was excited to log on, connect and get back to work. Now, it would be disingenuous for us to say that we miss our 5:30am wake up call. We don't.. AT ALL. They love getting up at 7:30am, doing a little work and being ready to start class via WebEx at 10am. The girls have a full schedule, and they love working from the comfort of their own desks (so much space!) and not having to schlep all around the whole school with their possessions. Of course, they miss their friends (they would much rather be there in person to see everyone), but they kind of like the new level of comfort. 

Logistically, the girls have 1-2 daily WebEx calls, and they have assignments posted daily via Google classroom. So much of their work was already completed online that this isn't a big adjustment. 

George's teacher uses the Class Dojo platform and has posted numerous references and assignments there. All of her assignments are posted with a daily schedule, and his class regroups on Fridays for a class-wide WebEx. Obviously, George misses his friends terribly, but he has connected via Facebook and phone to keep in touch. 

I'm sure all three would prefer to resume their normal schedules tomorrow. However, we are choosing to focus on the upside of the new normal (snacks while you work! sleeping in!) instead of focusing on what has been lost. That being said, you better believe they are ready to reconnect with their friends. 

What does your new normal like look? 

Venturing Out

We are taking the social isolating seriously. Today we had a "no contact" errand where we had to deliver an item and leave it at someone's house. You would have thought we were going to Disney. Everyone was so excited to climb into the car and enjoy a little scenery, and they reminded me that they had not been in a car nor had they left our house in over two weeks. 

So maybe we needed a little drive.  

(Again, with no contact.)

Social Distancing, Day 3; Online Schooling, Day 1

So... a lot has been happening this month. Like everyone, we have been watching the Coronavirus outbreak and have been tentatively making responsible plans about how to proceed with life. 

For example, on the 6th, my mom and I went to Costco for supplies, and we got my mom further supplies on the 9th.  Then, we were cautious as activities became questionable. On the 13th, George's school canceled its sixth annual 5K that was scheduled for the 20th. Announcements were made that school would be canceled on 03-19/03-20-20, but then later schedule was canceled completely for this week. Then baseball canceled through 03-30-20. The spring book fair canceled, and then dance canceled. Going to the beach for spring break is obviously not going to happen. Like everyone we know, our entire calendar cleared. 

I texted the girls on the 13th and told them to bring home all of their journals and/or notebooks. Although nothing had been decided at that time, it appeared that our schedules were about to radically change, and they did.  

The girls already had worked scheduled so they simply got up today and resumed their work. A lot of their work is online and/or they can scan the work and submit it online so remote schooling is a seamless transition for them. George's teacher had some assignments for him as well that were posted online.   

All of that to say, like all of you... we started a whole new chapter today, with everyone home and everyone learning as much as they can with online resources.