First Day Of School—2020/2021!

Oh holy goodness, if EVER there was a first day of school that’s victorious simply because we survived...it’s TODAY.

Virtual learning in Fall 2020, you are an exhausting marvel. (Emphasis on the exhausting.) 

But first...let’s start from the beginning while I still have the brainpower to type.

Wake up was pretty golden in this land of virtual learning, since we get to shave a few items off our schedule.

First, we didn’t have to account for the drive time to load up and get to school, and, second, I didn’t have to shovel food in my babies’ bellies five minutes after they were awake, because we had a bit of fudge factor to breakfast later in the morning.

So...if all continues as it did today, we’ll have a super amazing household wake-up call of 7 a.m., that just might keep us gloriously bright-eyed and bushy tailed in a way that makes me want to cry grateful glitter tears whilst drawing rainbows and unicorns.

Seriously.

It’s that exciting.

And we even had plenty of time for our staged photo ops.

And as an important side note, peeps...let’s just be real here, and admit that I’m wildly intrigued to see how long we’ll continue this getting-dressed charade.

I give it two weeks before we’re back to virtual learning in pajamas.

Hence the pics with bathrobes—which are likely to be more representative of this upcoming school year. ;)

And can I just say that there is nothing—nothing—I don’t love about Little Man in this getup, in this pose, in this photo. PRICELESS.



Okay, now...let’s talk logistics.

I have to first start by saying that I am both SO grateful and SO impressed by the well-orchestrated machine of our school district today. It was no easy feat to organize, I’m SURE.

First off, each class has a dedicated zoom link that the kiddos log onto first thing in the morning, and the link stays open and active FOR THE ENTIRE DAY. And with the exception of a lunch break and a quick conference time slot, each class’s teacher is LIVE on that zoom link FOR THE ENTIRE DAY.

So basically, our kiddos log in first thing, and go through an intensely timed ballet of morning meeting, math, art/PE/music (depending on the day), reading, lunch, “recess,” writing, science and socials studies. 

And for EVERY one of these subjects, the teacher goes through a lesson live, then the kiddo minimizes their zoom window (while muting it and pausing the video) so they can toggle over to a dedicated app where they complete a corresponding assignment, before returning to the live zoom link for the next subject.

And the teachers even have the ability to place the kiddos in sub-zoom “rooms” of three or four kiddos for a short period of time, so they can have small group discussion and work, while the teacher toggles amongst those groups as if they’re walking around the classroom, checking in.

Now...if this sounds equal parts AMAZING and EXHAUSTING and CONFUSING, and STRUCTURED to you...join the club!

I mean, my thighs are burning from the number of times I ran up the stairs, down the stairs, up the stairs, down the stairs, into Chica’s room, into Chicklet’s room, into the playroom to check on Little Man, and then doing the whole circuit a bazillion times over again.

And don’t even get me started about the bruises on my knees because of how often I was kneeling down (out of zoom view), helping instruct a kiddo through a lesson or get them on an app or a link at the right time!

I mean...OYE.

And let’s not even even get started on the hilarity of trying to teach a six-year-old to quickly understand the logistics of muting and unmuting zoom calls, minimizing windows, and simultaneously opening apps to get to their assignments.

(Have I mentioned I’m exhausted???)

That said...it was a joy to see my girlies start with the pledge of allegiance and power though their days, and can I just say that I was RIDICULOUSLY RELIEVED we set up their desks in their rooms as their dedicated learning spaces, as I don’t think we would have survived, otherwise!

Now, let’s talk about a major bit of clutch help that got us through parts of the day: baby monitors!!

Though I pretty much trust Chica to pay attention and follow along and just holler to me (on zoom mute) when she needs technological help...Chicklet is another story!

I mean, she’s six. 

And she’s learning in a room filled with her toys.

And sometimes a bit distracted by stuffed animals or other play things when she needs to be focused.

And who can really blame her when she has to sit in front of an iPad with minimal breaks for seven hours???

So can I just say Amen, Halleluiah to utilizing the monitors as an extra set of ears when I wasn’t physically nearby and didn’t want to be a creepy, lurking Mama.





And then, of course, there were times when I did get to be the creepy, lurking Mama and take some pics—like when the teachers called parents to the screen for a bit of information. 





Thankfully, there are a couple of minor breaks within the girlies’ schedules (to help get the wiggles out; especially for Chicklet’s age group). So they were each able to decompress for very short time periods in the playroom. 



And interact with Little Man a bit—especially since he was such a champ today for all of this inaugural madness, while Mama was running around like a crazy woman!



Only complication that I’m hoping I can work out in the future with a bit of finagling: neither of the girlies have breaks at the same time and their allotted lunch time is even an hour apart from one another. And that’s just no bueno for smooth sailing within the household.

So...I plan to follow this rigid synchronous zoom learning to a T for the first couple of weeks. And then I’m hoping to condense and optimize by maybe 20% to help our family maintain a bit of sanity and cohesiveness.

And, luckily, all of that is apparently just fine by the school district, as attendance and grades are determined based on logins and assignment completions, and everything (including videos of the teacher’s lessons) is archived on designated apps, if a family just can’t manage to tackle their learning times in conjunction with the schedule.

I mean, working parents and single parents or parents of 27 kiddos of all different ages, or parents of kiddos with special learning needs, and a million other scenarios might make all of these shenanigans impossibly harder!

We’re all just doing the best we can.

So...yeah.

In summary:

I’m exhausted.

But I’m hopeful.

That we’ll manage some education this Fall that’s a bit more robust than the sudden Spring quarantine, but still allows all parties involved to maintain their sanity.  

Off to decompress and begin again mañana. :)

P.S. Chicklet hilariously stripped out of her real clothes (see purple puddle) THE MOMENT she was done with school for the day, and immediately reverted back to pajamas.

And I’m 100% on board and in line with this behavior. ;)

Stay healthy, stay sane, peeps.

OVER AND OUT.