May 2020
At this point in quarantine, I began to realize that moving a lot less each day and being in the house (around snacks) had led to some unfortunate weight gain. Healthy snacks (and more moving) to the rescue.
My Two Writing Teachers post "Beliefs Inspire Actions During Remote Learning" went live on May 1st. I worked really hard on this post and was proud of the way each frame linked to a slide with resources.
My third graders had a Google Meet on May 1 to celebrate the end of our April Classroom SOLSC challenge. I created certificates for each child who participated and had special badge certificates for children who earned badges for their writing efforts.
I mean, murder hornets? What plague is next? 2020.
We usually get cupcakes to celebrate half birthdays. Alex was halfway to 10 on April 6 but we were otherwise distracted. Bought these to mark the moment, even if we were late!
Jax, the puppy, has arrived! Not ours... my nephew and niece added a puppy to their family, which already included a dog named Rylee. Jax's arrival has added a lot of excitement in our extended family.
To everything there is a season... a time to plant. It felt so hopeful to be outside, planting flowers, away from the computer screen which was dominating my days with emergency remote learning.
We took a family trip to Jones Beach (10 minutes away) early one May morning. The ocean air was so good for our quarantined souls.
My husband and son playing football. I have never seen the beach so empty.
We finally got to meet Puppy Jax in person! Outside get together with our cousins for the first time in about 2 months.
2020.
First Daisy meeting since the beginning of March....via Zoom. Each Daisy stuffed a different animal as we virtually met. Megan was surprised (not happily) to have gotten the pig! (We named her Petunia and she is now well-loved. Rocky start.)
Dunkin Donuts sold kits to make your own donut. This was fun but not good for my quarantine weight gain!
Back to the beach....this time we did the 4 mile health walk. Wish I knew we were doing that- I was in slides and carrying a heavy pocketbook.
I had the opportunity to present for the DEI Conference which was moved to a virtual format. So many different things to consider when presenting online- like using the chat feature for participation and conversation.
I used Buncee as my platform and shared how my beliefs were driving my actions during remote learning.
Goodbye to room 215 for the school year. An emotional pack-up. Students' belongings all bagged in big black trash bags for pick-up in June. The room had been frozen in time on March 13th.
I made word art for each student, with words their classmates said about them and a shape that I felt connected to the student. I rolled them up with a rainbow ribbon and placed it in the big black bag with all their third grade materials. I wanted them to feel something personal and joyful in an otherwise sad moment of receiving their belongings in this manner.
One of my other hats is to co-chair the PARP commitee at my children's elementary school. PARP was in early March. I had to go back to the school to take down the displays, including bookmarks students created for a contest. I wanted to return the items to the teachers so they could pack them up with the students' belongings. I had to wear a mask, of course, as I did this work in the too quiet school.
Puppy Jax is getting big! We celebrated a family birthday. It had been so long since we had all been together.
May 2020 ended with the horrific death of George Floyd and the explosion of anger and sadness. For those who didn't think 2020 could get worse, it was about to.