Pandemic at School
Week 31
Day 209 – Sunday, October 11, 2020
Yesterday was a normal Saturday full of grocery shopping and laundry. I took Leah to Target and somehow got roped into buying her earrings and a sweater. I was under the impression she was spending her money, lol.
For movie night we continued our Studio Ghibli streak and watched The Wind Rises. Leah was bored halfway through and left me (again) to finish on my own. It was an extremely placid movie with beautiful animation. The story was sweet if not exciting.
Today, I took Elijah driving on the roads for the first time. He did well, and we stuck to mostly country roads. I also taught him to pump gas. He’s not one to notice things on his own…. I’m pretty sure that no one had to teach me how to pump gas, but we are all different.
It was nice to have a third weekend day, and I think we should every week should be like that.
Hannah applied to Indiana State University today, it was super simple. She said University of Southern Indiana was similar. She waiting on one letter of recommendation for The Common App, then she’ll be all done with applications.
Elijah is off school until Wednesday, and he will take the PSAT that day. Hannah will be at home on Wednesday, because the high schools don’t want Seniors at school during the PSAT, lol.
Next weekend, I plan to take all three kids downtown to take pictures of them for their “school pictures”.
Day 210 – Monday, October 12, 2020
It was nice to have a normal day. I got to work early since Elijah is on Fall Break, so I didn’t have to take him to school downtown. I was able to prepare for a new-to-me virtual student for an 8:15 session. The day went pretty smoothly, though 2 of my 3 virtual students didn’t show up for their sessions (the new one did). We have yet to get any guidance on how many missed therapy sessions are allowed before a change is made to the IEP.
Leah had band practice after school, so I had just enough time to stop at Aldi to buy bread. The kids went through an entire loaf over the weekend…. Hannah called when I was halfway home, and her boyfriend had gotten into a wreck. She and her car were not involved, but she was driving right in front of him when he hydroplaned into the barrier on Ray Becker Parkway. Since he was okay, and was getting things sorted out, I told her to come home since there was nowhere safe for her to wait in her car (there’s no shoulder). She was pretty shaken up.
A cold front moved through around the time I picked up Leah. It was warm and muggy all day. The AC in my office has been out for a few weeks, but today even having the window open did nothing to help. Now it’s nice and cool, fall weather.
Hannah’s favorite teacher, the one she visits daily after school just got back from having COVID. I don’t know if he was sick or not, but he definitely had a positive test. Hannah found that out today…. So, around the time that I took her for a test was likely the time she would have been exposed. That was fortuitous since we were not notified of the close contact.
Day 211 – Tuesday, October 13, 2020
It was one of those days where all the little, annoying things added up to really push me to the brink of losing my cool. There are a lot of difficult things to deal with right now and absolutely no good answers.
I got to see my “middle aged”, lol, (1st-2nd grade) self-contained kids with autism today. I have some favorites in that group. I had a successful virtual session with a student who was previously in that class. It kind of went downhill from there.
A previously dismissed from speech therapy for lack of progress student is back from an out of district school which put him back in speech…. In middle school.
One of my virtual middle school students, who has yet to show up for his therapy, replied to my WebEx invitation email during the scheduled time saying “You didn’t send me the speech stuff”. If he’d just clicked the link…. I know there is no one at home who can help him, and he needs the help.
On Thursday, we have a faculty meeting to “see what a virtual schedule would look like this year”.
At home, Hannah’s new phone (18th birthday present) arrived, but her old SIM card wasn’t compatible (it fit!), so I had to order a new one. It will be here in two days. Her phone case and Pop Socket arrived… so, everything is ready except the one thing that makes it a phone.
Leah’s black and white copy of a diagram of a cell didn’t look anything like the full color picture she had to label it with. Too many small, plain circles on the line drawing. The lysosomes and the ribosomes and the vacuoles all looked the same.
At that point I got the Switch and played Animal Crossing for about an hour. I needed the mindlessness.
Day 212 – Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Wednesdays are always a little crazy for me since I’m at three schools. Elijah was back at school after his fall break and had the PSAT. Hannah had the day off because of the PSAT. Poor Leah just had to go to school like normal.
I had a high schooler for virtual therapy at 8:15 this morning. I was shocked that he actually showed up. Then I went to Perry Heights and saw three students. Then back to Daniel Wertz for a group lesson, a preschooler, lunch, and some articulation student before heading to Reitz for my Life Skills group lesson. Then back to DW for a few more students and the end of the day. Everything went pretty smoothly today. I have a feeling that when the next grading period starts, I may have to completely re-do my schedule with students coming back to in person school.
Leah had a Wednesday night church activity with Libby. I hear she gets a little rowdy with that group which is pretty hilarious.
Not much else going on. We had chicken bacon ranch quesadillas for dinner with homemade guacamole. Yum!
Day 213 – Thursday, October 14, 2020
We have fall weather that looks like it’s here to stay. The only drawback is the distinct lack of sunlight in the morning and evening.
Today was a busy, but good day. I started off the day with one of my preschool students, and she literally refused to make any sound for me, lol. She’s a little stubborn. I don’t know if she won the stubborn game, but I do know that she didn’t get to play with my toy farm that she loves to play with…. I have a feeling that she might not be feeling well.
It started raining late in the morning, so the kids had indoor recess, maybe for the first time this school year. That’s a bummer any time, but especially during COVID. Poor kids are stuck at their desks nearly all day. Poor teachers!!
We had a faculty meeting to discuss what a virtual schedule would look like this year. There was some speculation about that, but for now, we literally just have a virtual schedule with no plan on using it. The rumors are flying around town and in the schools, but we know nothing. The schools are definitely getting their “just in case” plans together for virtual.
Elijah forgot to tell me that he had a speech team meeting today, so I waited for him for an hour that I could have been at school or home. I finally just put it on the calendar. He brought home papers to sign, and apparently, they will need parents to be judges. That could be fun. Also, I need to get him some “formal” attire to wear.
I made chili for dinner, and it is definitely chili weather today. Leah opted for chicken nuggets, lol.
Day 214 – Friday, October 16, 2020
It’s Friday!
The highlight of the day was Hannah got some college acceptance texts/emails and was offered a nice scholarship. Her Common App was completed yesterday, so those schools will be starting the process. She has some personal things weighing her down, so it was nice to get some positive news.
Next week is Red Ribbon week at Daniel Wertz. It goes back to Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No”, right? I think it is truly ridiculous to think that dressing in silly clothes will keep kids from one day having a drug problem. It reminds me of the “Drug Free School Zone” signs that were/are(?) posted around OKC schools. When I was in high school, we just made fun of them and said It was more like a “school free, drug zone”. Keeping kids housed, fed, clothed, educated, and their parents earning a living wage seems like a more effective way to keep kids off of drugs. Anyway, there are different, crazy ways to dress each day for Red Ribbon Week, but our principal said teachers can wear jeans all week, so that’s fabulous news.
Day 215 – Saturday, October 17, 2020
It was a busy day!!
I got up and went grocery shopping. When I was in the baking aisle, I decided that I should get a brownie mix for Hannah’s birthday on Friday (OMG, she’ll be 18!), she prefers brownies to cake. Then I decided to get birthday candles. I picked up a 1 candle, an 8 candle, and some that spell out “Happy Birthday”. When I got to the check out, the 8 was nowhere to be found…. Weird. Did it fall out of the cart? Did I fail to actually pick it up? No idea.
Hannah went out to breakfast with a couple of friends at Kite & Key. A toddler thought Hannah was her aunt, and kept waving and saying, “Hi Holly!”.
After I got groceries unloaded, I took Elijah to get a haircut. We go to a kids’ haircut place, and have for the 15 years we’ve lived in Evansville. For the first time ever, I witnessed a small child who was convinced the haircut was going to kill him. It was impressive, and reminiscent of being at work. On the way home, we got Starbucks.
After lunch, I took the girls to the mall so Leah could get some Doc Marten’s boots. She needed to try them on, so I couldn’t just order them. Thankfully, she has tiny feet, and I was able to buy kid size boots. They are cheaper. The sales clerk recognized me for the sucker that I am, and got me to buy Leah some socks as well. I did turn down the Doc Marten’s leather balm kit, lol. On the way home, we stopped at Walmart to get a #8 candle, and some hair dye for Hannah.
When I finished the laundry, I bleached Hannah’s hair…. She bought two boxes in case one box wasn’t enough. It didn’t take evenly, so I’ll have to do it again. So, while Leah and Elijah will get their photos taken tomorrow (by me), I think Hannah will wait until another time. She might have decided on a different hair color by then.
For movie night, we watched another Studio Ghibli, My Neighbor Totoro. Wow! Another good one. It was so funny and sweet and SO Japanese.
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