From across the hall, I listened to my three daughters laughing and bonding not only with each other, but with my sister and her daughter in Alaska. It was 11:00 p.m. on what, three weeks ago, would have been considered a school night. At 11:30 the party moved downstairs were they could, thanks to modern Nintendo technology, play Mario Kart with each other from 3,000 miles away. None of those shenanigans would have taken place if it weren't for the "stay safe, stay home" directive given by Governor Herbert in response the global pandemic we are currently simmering in.
Gratefully, the day ended in smiles, but it was an emotionally heavy day for some members of our household. Spencer has been taking a communications class, English class, and math class at Salt Lake Community College. He has been enjoying his time there and has been doing very well. All schools in Utah have switched to an online platform three weeks ago. This is not ideal for Spencer. He needs to interact with peers and teachers and receive regular feedback. He watched several videos to learn some new math concepts and then attempted to complete the homework problems.
He spent several hours on one assignment and kept getting the answers wrong. He couldn't identify where he was making the error and became very frustrated. I was impressed with his diligence. He was in contact with a classmate and always listens to the live sessions his teacher offers. He was ready to drop the class. He is halfway through the semester. He sent heartfelt emails to both the math department and his teacher. He also sent the problems to a smartypants friend to see if he could offer some advice. He was, in fact, doing the problems correctly, but his calculator rounded differently than the computer's; he also entered the answer in a different format than Canvas wanted to see it. It turns out math is not as cut and dried as one may think. The "show your work" expectations of all math teachers works when you have an actual teacher checking the work. He has a plan going forward to work with another student and also have live sessions with his teacher so he can ask questions and get instant feedback. I'm so glad he was able to come up with a workable plan going forward.
Emma, who loves her job at Chubby's has decided that she doesn't want to work during the pandemic so is putting all her scheduled shifts up for grabs. There are plenty of other kids who are looking forward to extra time, so it will not leave the business shorthanded. She said she doesn't want to risk bringing the virus home to Taylor. It is also too hard to be that close to your good friends and not hug them. She said it is easier to just stay away. And by easier she doesn't really mean easy. It is hard. Chubby's has been her home away from home. It is where she has made friends, learned how to be a good friend, and many other life skills. She was sad today as she was processing this change in her life.
I checked in with Sarah and her schoolwork progress and she was brought to tears. The online format is wearing on her. We emailed a couple of teachers, let her cry a bit and came up with a plan going forward. There are some inconsistencies within the school format. Canvas is used by all, but some are using Zoom for live sessions, others are using Google Classroom to post assignments. It can be frustrating for kids and moms to keep it all straight. Some teachers are posting a week's worth of work, while others daily assignments. Everyone is trying to figure this out and kids, teachers, and parents are being patient with each other as we do it.
We are learning the hard way that while technology is great in so many ways, it doesn't replace face to face contact. We have been communicating more with out of state cousins, yet we are missing them more. We are missing the hugs and face to face talks with our friends and Sunday dinners with our family.
We are all having good and difficult days. My only wish is that within our household we could get on the same schedule. Some days I wake up ready to slay all the dragons, others I wish I could just stay in bed and dream about them. I am noticing the same with my children. One blessing I am grateful for every day is that even on the most tear filled moments of missing, there is no lashing out at someone else. I have seen children who in earlier days would pick at and criticize one another become the best of friends. No one is fighting. Ever. There is understanding and kindness, lots of walks, drives, ukulele playing, baking, and game playing. And a lot more Phineas and Ferb watching than I care to admit.
It seems that other families are cooking more. I'm cooking less and ordering out more. I also have to deal with a new food I have to remove from my diet, but not my kids'. Two of my daughters have decided they want to be vegetarians, a notion that changes depending on their current mood. Forget hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer, we are clearing out the Cadbury eggs and ice cream.
I wrote this in April and I'm sure I had intended to add to it, but didn't. So I am publishing it now.
Gratefully, the day ended in smiles, but it was an emotionally heavy day for some members of our household. Spencer has been taking a communications class, English class, and math class at Salt Lake Community College. He has been enjoying his time there and has been doing very well. All schools in Utah have switched to an online platform three weeks ago. This is not ideal for Spencer. He needs to interact with peers and teachers and receive regular feedback. He watched several videos to learn some new math concepts and then attempted to complete the homework problems.
He spent several hours on one assignment and kept getting the answers wrong. He couldn't identify where he was making the error and became very frustrated. I was impressed with his diligence. He was in contact with a classmate and always listens to the live sessions his teacher offers. He was ready to drop the class. He is halfway through the semester. He sent heartfelt emails to both the math department and his teacher. He also sent the problems to a smartypants friend to see if he could offer some advice. He was, in fact, doing the problems correctly, but his calculator rounded differently than the computer's; he also entered the answer in a different format than Canvas wanted to see it. It turns out math is not as cut and dried as one may think. The "show your work" expectations of all math teachers works when you have an actual teacher checking the work. He has a plan going forward to work with another student and also have live sessions with his teacher so he can ask questions and get instant feedback. I'm so glad he was able to come up with a workable plan going forward.
Emma, who loves her job at Chubby's has decided that she doesn't want to work during the pandemic so is putting all her scheduled shifts up for grabs. There are plenty of other kids who are looking forward to extra time, so it will not leave the business shorthanded. She said she doesn't want to risk bringing the virus home to Taylor. It is also too hard to be that close to your good friends and not hug them. She said it is easier to just stay away. And by easier she doesn't really mean easy. It is hard. Chubby's has been her home away from home. It is where she has made friends, learned how to be a good friend, and many other life skills. She was sad today as she was processing this change in her life.
I checked in with Sarah and her schoolwork progress and she was brought to tears. The online format is wearing on her. We emailed a couple of teachers, let her cry a bit and came up with a plan going forward. There are some inconsistencies within the school format. Canvas is used by all, but some are using Zoom for live sessions, others are using Google Classroom to post assignments. It can be frustrating for kids and moms to keep it all straight. Some teachers are posting a week's worth of work, while others daily assignments. Everyone is trying to figure this out and kids, teachers, and parents are being patient with each other as we do it.
We are learning the hard way that while technology is great in so many ways, it doesn't replace face to face contact. We have been communicating more with out of state cousins, yet we are missing them more. We are missing the hugs and face to face talks with our friends and Sunday dinners with our family.
We are all having good and difficult days. My only wish is that within our household we could get on the same schedule. Some days I wake up ready to slay all the dragons, others I wish I could just stay in bed and dream about them. I am noticing the same with my children. One blessing I am grateful for every day is that even on the most tear filled moments of missing, there is no lashing out at someone else. I have seen children who in earlier days would pick at and criticize one another become the best of friends. No one is fighting. Ever. There is understanding and kindness, lots of walks, drives, ukulele playing, baking, and game playing. And a lot more Phineas and Ferb watching than I care to admit.
It seems that other families are cooking more. I'm cooking less and ordering out more. I also have to deal with a new food I have to remove from my diet, but not my kids'. Two of my daughters have decided they want to be vegetarians, a notion that changes depending on their current mood. Forget hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer, we are clearing out the Cadbury eggs and ice cream.
I wrote this in April and I'm sure I had intended to add to it, but didn't. So I am publishing it now.
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