Pandemic at School Week 30

Pandemic at School

 

Week 30

 

Day 202 – Sunday, October 4, 2020

 

After 200 days of writing every day, I forgot to write last night.  

 

Saturday morning, I started the day like every Saturday, with grocery shopping.  The difference in mask wearing compliance was like night and day.  Absolutely everyone was wearing a mask, and I only saw one nose.  Also, about 75% of the people shopping were Grocery Pickup shoppers.  Walmart had shelves full of cleaning wipes, something I haven’t seen since the first week in March, or maybe February.

 

For movie night, Leah and I watched Princess Mononoke, but it was too gruesome for Leah.  She baled about ¾ of the way through.  It was okay, but I didn’t like as much as Howl’s Moving Castle.  

 

This morning, I took Elijah driving at Wesselman park.  It’s just a loop, so I figured it would be pretty easy.  However, he had to maneuver around unleashed doggos, cyclists, walkers, and a kid on a tricycle.  I wasn’t exactly expecting all that.  He did a fantastic job, and strangely, I wasn’t the least bit anxious while sitting in the passenger seat.  

 

Leah and I went to Target, and we got stuff to make 48 Trick or Treat bags for Halloween night.  I figure we can set them out on a table and instruct kids to only touch the one they take.  Pandemic Halloween, who knew.  Leah was so excited that she went ahead and put the bags together.

 

I finally got around to sewing some Halloween themed fabric masks.  I only made three, but I have enough fabric to make maybe six more.  The thread I got last week didn’t play nice with my machine.  I wanted a large spool of Gutermann in black and white; however, I got cotton thread instead of polyester… and it’s THICK.  

 

All the chores finally got finished before we ate supper, but just barely.  We had a highly enjoyable weekend!  We have a four day week of school, so it’s bound to be a great week, right?

 

Day 203 – Monday, October 5, 2020

 

Leah walked across the room, and I had to ask, “Are you taller than me?”.  Almost.  She’s only ½ inch or so shorter.  

 

At school, I saw my little bitty guys with autism, then I took Leah to the orthodontist for an hour-long appointment.  They put brackets on her back molars and gave her rubber bands to wear.  It’s amazing how much her front teeth have straightened in two months!  Cosmetically, her teeth already look great.  After the ortho we got lunch.  Leah wanted a Happy Meal, so I went through the McDonald’s drive through.  They were super-fast which was nice.  We don’t go there often, but the last few times I’ve been it’s been very slow.  I prefer Chick-fil-a (obviously), so we drove across the street and I ordered curbside pickup.  Then we ate in the car in the Schnuck’s parking lot.  Chick-fil-a gave me a free brownie, so Leah got that.  I got back in time to see a few kids before the end of the day.  During kindergarten dismissal, I helped wrangle a student who’d had a difficult day.  She’s really something, lol.  

 

I made potato soup for dinner and it was delicious!  The kids and I sat around for a bit and watched some ridiculous SNL skits.  I helped Leah with a couple of math problems, but she seemed to understand what they were doing (algebraic inequalities with number lines).  I can’t help with ELA because I haven’t read the book (darn, lol).  

 

Trenty had a rough night last night, so I had a rough night.  He puked every 20 minutes from 2:50 – 5:00am.  Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.  

 

Day 204 – Tuesday, October 6, 2020

 

Today was the day of seven IEP conferences and two virtual speech sessions.  I wouldn’t call it productive, but it had to be done.  Most of the conferences were not for my students, but I was the second special educator that is a requirement for each conference.  I was able to get a lot done on my computer while I sat in on WebEx meetings.  

 

Teaching virtually takes more time, effort, and planning than teaching in person.  I now have nine virtual students, and I’m likely to get two more tomorrow…. I’m over it.  I’m also over the virtual kids who just don’t show up, especially when you know they are unlikely to show up.  

 

Leah’s teeth are killing her today, and she’s unable to eat real food.  I did send her a thermos of chicken noodle soup for lunch, and I had one more frozen mac & cheese in the freezer that she had for dinner.  She doesn’t like most mushy foods (mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, etc), but she did eat a bowl of ice cream.  Poor kid.  Hopefully, they’ll be a little better tomorrow.

 

I played a little Animal Crossing because HALLOWEEN, but I just don’t have the time to waste like I did while quarantined.  It’s a bummer, lol.

 

We have Friday off for a mini Fall Break.  Originally, we were supposed to have Friday, Monday, Tuesday off, and we were going to OKC for my dad’s 75^th birthday…. But due to COVID…

 

I started wearing my scar reduction bandage yesterday, and I feel like it already has made a difference.  It definitely seems flatter.  

 

Day 205 – Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

Today was an interesting “due to COVID” day.  

 

Elijah, who started the week with what we assumed were allergy and acid reflux symptoms, was visibly sick yesterday when I picked him up from school.  When he got up this morning, he was much worse.  He has a sore throat, congestion, runny nose, fever, and added blood shot eyes this evening.  I quickly decided he wasn’t going to school, and I scheduled an testing appointment.  I wasn’t even 6am when I was choosing a time, and the earliest was 12:50, so I took it.

 

I texted the two teachers with whom I was supposed to give group lessons to their students and scheduled WebEx meetings to cover those.  I also had three IEP conferences scheduled for today.  Since I felt like I had a pretty full schedule, I decided I was officially “working from home” instead of taking a sick day.  

 

The first group lesson (which was being recorded so another student could watch it later) was interesting, but we made it work.  They could hear and see me, but I couldn’t see or hear them.  The teacher texted their questions to me, while we played a “Guess in 10” game.  What was the first question they asked?  “What happened to your face?”  Yes, it was the first time they’d seen me without a mask.

 

I had two conferences for students who are in Virtual Academy, who will almost certainly be back at Daniel Wertz for the 2^nd grading period in two weeks.  So, we’ll have that conference again, and change the IEP right back to how they were.  

 

Staying home all day made me hungry, so I ended up eating what amounted to two lunches.  

 

We left for Elijah’s COVID test at 12:25 so we could be downtown by 12:40, the requested ten minutes early.  The line was much longer than when I took Hannah ten days ago, and finding the correct entrance to the parking lot was interesting.  I ended up squeezing the car between a cone and an empty chair to get in the line.  It was a double line of cars, and there were easily 40 cars in the line.  I’m not sure how many tests they schedule in each 5-minute appointment slot, but I’m guessing each tester can probably swab one person per minute.  We waited in line for 45 minutes, and they didn’t even give an estimate for when the results might be posted.  I’m guessing a couple of days.  

 

Because we waited quite a bit longer than expected, I missed my second group lesson, but it’s been rescheduled for tomorrow morning.  

 

After school was out, I went to my office to pick up some things that I need to do virtual therapy from home.  I saw the self-contained teacher for the little bitties, and we decided to try a group lesson tomorrow as well.  That ought to be hysterical.

 

It’s the end of Elijah’s grading period so he had tests and quizzes scheduled for all of his classes.  He’s kind of beside himself about that, but he’s also really sick.

 

Day 206 – Thursday, October 8, 2020

 

The big news of the day is that Elijah tested negative for COVID.  The results took 27.5 hours, which really isn’t too bad, especially considering the line.  He’s still sick, but improving.  He’s on Fall Break until Wednesday, so he has time to recover.  

 

Yesterday, I opened the blinds in my room to let in some light since I had WebEx meetings.  There was an older car parked in my neighbor’s backyard.  It seemed a little strange, but I assumed that it had expired tags or something.  This morning, the car was gone, so the story I told myself changed.  Clearly, someone was hiding at my neighbor’s house yesterday.  Whether they were hiding from the cops or a domestic problem, I may never know.  My neighbor is a kind man who “takes in” friends and relatives who are struggling, so I guess it’s just par for the course that one of them needed to hide for a bit.

 

I had a busy morning of work with two group lessons and an individual lesson.  I have to say that our internet certainly was not at its peak today with three of us doing online school.  The afternoon was lighter, and I’m glad that I can work from school tomorrow.  I’ve come to count on using my document camera for online therapy.  

 

With the end of the grading period only two weeks away, I’m thinking that a few more of my online students will head back to the school buildings.  Virtual school really does not work well for students in special education when they are tied to a strict, state mandated curriculum.  I may have to completely re-do my schedule again…. This is a crazy year!

 

Elijah and I watched the vice-presidential debate last night.  Neither candidate answered any question that they didn’t want to answer.  We need a different debate structure for sure.  I was mostly listening, and not watching much, but I looked up at one point and pointed out the fly that had landed on Mike Pence’s head.  That fly sat there for more than two minutes.  I thought maybe it had gotten stuck in his hairspray.  I said, “SNL is going to LOVE that”.  The Facebook memes were IMMEDIATE.

 

Leah really enjoyed these “remote learning” days.  Sure, she likes to see her friends, but she really enjoys doing her school work in whatever room I’m in (and not just to get help, lol).  I enjoy it too.    

 

Day 207 – Friday, October 9, 2020

 

We had today off of school for Fall Break.  I slept in a little bit.

 

Leah and I got haircuts.  I got my normal haircut.  Leah got about 8 inches cut off, and now it’s shoulder length.  It wasn’t exactly planned to cut off that much, but she had considered getting it cut that short, so it worked out.  She requested 3 inches off, but it had been over a year since her last trim, and there was about six inches that needed to come off.  A little more off here and there to even it up… then because it’s wavy, it shrunk as it dried.  It’s super cute, and she’s happy with it.

 

We drove home, and ate lunch.  Then we found out her friend was available to go the pumpkin patch with us.  Hannah decided we should take some of her senior pictures today since we were going to the pumpkin patch anyway.  So, I loaded up the girls, drove hither and yon to get Penny then drive to Mayse Farm.  We had a fun time taking pictures, getting lost in the corn maze, drinking cider slushies, and going on a hayless hay ride out to the pumpkins.  The weather was warm but cloudy and quite pleasant.  

 

On the way home, we got stuck in traffic behind people trying to buy Half Pot tickets (it’s a raffle where half the money goes to the winner and half the money goes to charity).  It’s up to a million dollars, so people want to buy tickets!  We ended up taking the back roads home.

 

We had our normal pizza night for dinner, and when I went outside to bring in the “contactless delivery” of pizza a neighbor asked me where I had gotten my political yard signs.  We had a nice short chat, and I felt like my neighborhood is a better place.  

 

Hannah’s photos turned out great!  We plan on taking some photos in other locations as well.