Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

I never thought I'd have this little free time working from home, honestly. I didn't think that distance learning would be quite this time-consuming. I didn't think that I'd have it easy, but I honestly feel like I am working round-the-clock right now. I don't want to whine- I am so incredibly thankful for my job right now. This whole distance teaching-homeschooling Sawyer- taking care of house- attempting to take care of self situation is intense. This is something I always grapple with and I try to know my audience; you don't want to complain about xxxx to people who wish they had xxxxx or they have xxxxx worse than you. Luckily I am friends with a lot of teacher-moms who I can vent to (and vice versa).

I went grocery shopping today and it's just so not fun anymore. The mask, the lining up in the morning if you want to get a jump on the good products, the wiping everything down, the massive meal plans for 10+ days, the freezer tetris... sigh...

Anyone else thing the bonus episode of Tiger King was a little lame? I mean Joel was funny and self-deprecating, but as a whole it was a little bit of a let-down.

I have been listening to Dua Lipa's new album and it is SO GOOD.

Reading! Still making my way through Elton John's memoir, Me, and then also White Noise, by Don DeLillo, which Julie and I will be discussing soon. 

Here's something fun: Sawyer and I finished reading the first illustrated Harry Potter book and we watched the movie over the course of a few nights. He loved it! Voldemort on the back of Quirrell's head freaked him out a little bit, as he couldn't wrap his head the whole concept (which is admittedly pretty weird for a little kid).

Yesterday I was the first day where everything felt like SO much work (and actually I wrote a lot of this post then and didn't post it, which was good, because I was able to edit out the grump today). Not that everything other day has been easy, but just way beyond the normal effort. Today was so much better, and I attribute two main factors: going to bed thirty minutes earlier and not reading the news in the morning. I've also had more contact with the outside world- the grocery store and Target, and then a Zoom department meeting with sixteen colleagues, several of which I am friends with. 

I made the Dalgona coffee everyone has attempted and it wasn't too bad. I need to work with the ratios to suit my taste, but it will be an occasional treat for a hot day (it takes a lot of milk for this day and age of limited grocery shopping). Next time I'm going to add some of my normal vanilla coffee creamer to the milk, which I think might counteract the bitterness. 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

If you hate social distancing than you have to suck it up and play by the rules: wear a mask in public, stay home unless you must work or do something essential (groceries, doctor, bank deposit, etc...), practice good hygiene, and don't hoard medical supplies. The rules apply to everyone, the end. 

Sawyer has had quite the social calendar lately- he  doe share-and-tell with friends a few times a week, FaceTimes two of his friends like once a week and yesterday he got to do a Zoom meeting with some of the kids from his class (he goes to a private school and they are providing child care for students of essential workers). It's been so good to see him interact with those his own age again. He didn't know about his class one yesterday, because I was a little worried it would fall through, so the look of surprise was pretty great.

Dr. Fauci said that he believes school will return in the fall, which made me feel so excited and hopeful, since there are a lot of people in the education community saying otherwise. Of course we have to prepare for the worst, and changes will have to be made in a lot of ways, but hearing his optimism was so nice. 

I keep forgetting Easter is approaching. Luckily I anticipated shipping issues several weeks ago, so I did all my basket shopping already, and also ordered all of Sawyer's birthday presents and whatnot too. I have a dinner planned and we'll do our usual bunny cake and egg dying. We have never done a lot for the holiday, so it feels like it will be normal. 

I keep falling down the rabbit hole of  educational subscription boxes for kids- the Little Passports one seems super cute... NOT THAT WE CAN GO ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW. 

The other day I didn't feel well, something totally unrelated to The Virus, and it really scared me because the idea of needing to seek medical attention right now seems like such a no-no. I just keep thinking about all these people who may be newly diagnosed with cancer, or people who have household accidents, or whatever. There are so many other non-covid related reasons to need to see a doctor and now the healthcare system is so... complicated. 

I am having a lot of trouble not working these days- it's one of the problems of working from home. I feel compelled to work all day, which is not the way it's supposed to be. Emails, fine, since I need to be accessible to students and colleagues as much as possible, but I need to set some better boundaries. Hats off to all of you who work from home on the regular!

I am reading Lauren Wilkinson's American Spy and it's so good! I hope to finish today so that I can start one of Don DeLillo's, which Julie and I will post about together in a new Bookish Banter post. 

Three Things I'm Being More Flexible About These Days (and Three Goals for the Week)

I. Like. Structure. And order, routine, lists, and self-discipline.

But, we're living in a weird time, so I've had to lighten up in a few areas, which is challenging for me, but important. I thought I'd share in case you also need a push to give yourself permission to be a little more flexible:

Phone Time- Prior to this fiasco I was trying to be really strict on myself about screen time. Now I am still fairly so during the "work" day, but afterwards, especially after Sawyer goes to bed, it's a source of social connection. The past two Friday's I've gotten together with friends on House Party, I'm in a few Marco Polo groups, plus all the Instagram banter. It makes me feel better.

Stepping back from the news cycle- This is similar to the previous; I try to stay away from it during the work day, so that I can focus on being Sawyer's teacher and my students' teacher. I don't need to get obsessed with information that I literally can't do anything about. I am incredibly worried and sad, but I am doing what I am supposed to do in my home, so being glue to CNN constantly isn't going to help. I take a little time before breakfast to catch up, and then maybe once in the late afternoon, and once at night. Be informed, no obsessed. 

Distancing myself from people who make me anxious or annoyed, even if I feel obligated to them in some way- I know this sounds vague, but I let guilt and obligation run the show sometimes. Not right now! I have to protect my sanity so that I can be a good mom, a good teacher, and good to myself. I have started muting tons of people on social media, am offering quick polite replies if I don't want to invest my energy in a lengthy conversation, and am refusing to engage in conversations that might cause me unnecessary stress. 

Also, three goals for the week:

In bed earlier- I have been going to bed way too late and am still being woken up fairly early. Just even thirty minutes will help.

Finish at least two books- I am a solid way into three right now, so this seems doable. 

Five student check-ins a day- I am trying to email five students a day to check in on them, and I was doing well until spring break last week. I need to keep doing that! It's important for them to know I care and am thinking about them, and it also helps me stay connected to school. 

Homeschooling a Kindergartner, as a High School Teacher

I wanted to take some time today to talk about how I have approached teaching my kindergartner at home the last three weeks, and will continue to do so for the rest of the school year. First of all, a few several disclaimers, in no particular order:

- This is what works for us; there is no one-size-fits all approach and I'm not here to tell everyone what they must do, I'm simply providing ideas if anyone wants them

- I am a high school teacher; I teach IB English to 12th graders. I am also credentialed to teach high school biology, and also elementary grades, which is where I started out. I have never taught lower than 4th grade, though (I student taught 3rd and 4th, and taught 5th grade for three years and then 4th for one). 

- My son is an eager student and is on track, if not a little ahead, in language arts and math. I don't get hung up on Lexile levels (confession: I hate them as a high school teacher) and I am not formally assessing him.

- I make up a lot of things on my own, but I also look at things online (especially Pinterest for crafts), have gotten things from Teachers Pay Teachers, and also have some workbooks that I've picked up over the year

- I am constantly working on my own classroom work throughout the day. I instruct him a lot, by modeling, but once he is released to independent practice on a new concept or reviewing something I jump onto Google Classroom or am planning. I plan out his lessons each night and I really try to be strategic so that I am delivering instruction to him and my students. Basically, between Sawyer and my job I am busy with those two things from about 8:30-4:30 every day, and then I work at night after he is in bed on planning for his next day and doing more work for my students. I have less free time now than ever! But it's okay.

- Sawyer didn't get a spring break, since I didn't want to ruin our newly established routine, and I didn't stop working myself. It's fine. Really! 

- I only have one child. For this, it is definitely easier, but also remember that I am his sole companion, so this can be tough at times when he wants to play or show me things constantly. 

- His teachers sent home nothing; he goes to a private kinder and they are under no obligation to do so, at least this month, since they waived tuition.

- We get fully ready and dressed before the school day starts (fine, I don't really put on a full face of makeup or curl my hair, but the idea of not being in our pajamas and starting "the day" is a good transition).

- Our day is structured and there is a lot of learning and practicing going on; this might not work for everyone, but I really do think it's important that there is an attempt to keep kids learning is essential. 

That was a long disclaimer, but what can you expect coming from me? 

Here's a general run down of our schedule:

8:30-9:40 (Sight Words and Phonics)

- 10 minutes of independent reading for him (I help as needed)

- Sight word practice (we go through the ones he has on a ring and then either come up with sentence that he writes from them or do some review worksheets). We spent the first two practicing what he already had and then I added two new ones this week. Sometimes we use Bananagrams, Scrabble, or Upwords, to also practice.

- Lately we have been working on digraphs- ch, sh, and th. There's a lot of brainstorming of words, doing worksheets, drawing pictures to go with the words, etc...

- Twice a week he does penmanship, writing each upper case and lower case letters from memory

- He reads a phonics book to me; we have tons of the boxed collections that I kept ordering from Scholastic (now I am so glad).

9:40-10:00 Snack break and a scooter walk around the block

10:00-10:15 We usually read a story and do a comprehension activity that's based to some sort of broader mini-unit we are doing for the week. The first week it was Iggy Peck, Architect, last week it was The Nowhere Box, and this past week it has been camping books. 

10:15-11:15 Math

- Number fluency chart, 11-20 

- Addition and subtraction practice- for this we use worksheets, dice, objects, and whiteboards

- Some sort of other skill- shapes, graphing, inequalities, etc... 

- I am trying to make this a mix of worksheets and interactive activities (like hiding dinosaurs with math facts all over the house that he has to solve)

11:15-12:15 PE (aka one hour walk around our hilly neighborhood)

12:15:12:45 lunch

12:45-1:30 Science

- The first two weeks we continued learning about bugs, since that was what he had been doing in school and was excited about continuing. Now we are doing dinosaurs (his choice... I am not the hugest fan)

- Usually I do two things, choosing from quick youtube videos, part of an episode of The Magic School Bus, books that we already have, and crafts

1:30-2:00 Independent coloring or "centers" (aka play while I do more work)

2:00-2:10 Share time- We share with some friends of ours on Instagram video, which gives the kids a chance to talk, ask questions, and see people who don't live with them

2:10-3:25 rest time in his room alone (this isn't really homeschooling, but I think it's important that parents are giving themselves a formal break in a safe way that allows their child to sleep, rest, or play independently).

Fridays have a culminating project from whatever little unit we are doing; the first week he was an architect and built his own city, the next week he got to decorate a large box like the character in the book, and this week we set up a tent in the backyard to go camping.

Once a week we read a poem and he does his own drawing based on it- he loves this and asks to do it daily. 

Things I need to work on:

- I need to stop planning the night before, like a rookie, haha. I hope to sit down this weekend and plan the entire week out, including printing everything I need. My students at work are back from "spring break" on Monday, so I feel like I need to even be more structured and organized to juggle all of this and give everyone what they need

- I need to let him do more dot-to-dots and color... that's what he loves and it's fine

- I need a more systematic approach to math, which I hope to plan this weekend as well

-  Taking a look at the standards a little more carefully

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

First of all, I hope everyone is healthy, handling their time in whatever way works for them, and is staying in their homes (unless they have an essential job). I don't want to sit here and lecture people on what they hopefully already know, but, please stop going to your friends' houses to hang out, letting your kids play on playgrounds/going to sports practices, and being in the "bubble space" of your neighbor when you chat. The more people are careful the quicker this will decline and the faster we can get on with our lives.

On that matter, California schools are closed for the rest of the school year, which I have been predicting would happen since we left work on March 13. If people look at China, it took over three months to lighten restrictions, and they shut down things a lot faster than we did. It's data, plain and simple. Does it suck for our students? Yes! My kids are seniors and are missing out on so much, besides content. Does it suck for teachers? Yes! We love our jobs, we care about our kids, and we know that playing catch up will be a huge challenge. But, in the scheme of things two and a half months isn't going to ruin anyone's entire academic career (especially since we lose so much time at the end of the year to testing, various activities, etc...). In order to flatten the curve, to save lives, and to allow our medical professionals to tackle this virus, people, everywhere, need to stay home unless they are an essential member of the workforce. Yes, young kids don't get terribly sick from the virus, this is true (and great). But, what happens when the teachers and other staff members get ill (or die)? Or when these kids bring home the virus they picked up at school and give it to their guardians at home? Then there are the adults on campus for student pick-ups, supply deliveries, special education services, maintenance issues, etc... Not to mention that most schools don't have the  man-power to be cleaned properly every day. It is horrible and I don't want to be out of my classroom, but when we look big picture at society in general, you have to see that there are way too many variables in schools that can increase the spread of the virus. It's a hard choice and it's going to have consequences, I'm not denying that. I want my own kid at school! He's an only child and is missing out on socializing and content (although I think we're doing okay there). But let's say one of my high school kids get it. They then bring it to school and pass it to their girlfriend, the three friends they were passing their phone around to for Tick-Tock viewing, the librarian they accidentally sneezed on while checking out a book, and one of their six teachers. Those people contract it, and then repeat the process. This can happen at any grade level; younger kids can still have the virus and not really show symptoms. It has to be this way. If you want this whole thing to get under control, it just has to. 

One last thing: I am an incredibly impatient person and a control freak. But, I am also realistic and I trust the models on community spread. I control what I can control in my home now- my daily schedule, how I present content to my students, how often I contact them ("Man, every time I get a notification on my phone there's a 50/50 change it's coming from Google Classroom from one of my teachers"), what I make for dinner, and when I do all my household cleaning. 

Now, some good news: every single one of my students have joined Google Classroom, 90% of them have done at least one assignment, and I am nearly caught up on the grading I brought home from before the closure. I am rereading The Awakening to teach with them next, and it's one of my favorites.

Sawyer lost his first tooth! He was so excited and, long story short, it almost fail down the drain since the big even happened in the shower. Judging by how small his (loud) mouth is and where that adult tooth is growing, I need to start saving for braces asap. 

What I'm watching: Tiger King, baby. 

What I'm listening to: the memoir Wine Girl by Victoria James (I am not a huge wine drinker, but this is really interesting!

What I just started reading: American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (so far, so good)

Current favorite apps for socializing: Instagram, House Party, Marco Polo, and Zoom (Facebook can suck it... there's way, way too much junk on there that ends up making my anxious