Etch 'n Sketch Reflections

Well, we got a couple of weeks into school, and it happened. We knew it was a possibility, but it would have been nice if it could have held off just a little bit longer. Yup, we are back to learning virtually at the middle school. Since the very first day, students have been going home with some of the warning signs of COVID (not that they necessarily had it--we aren't testing for it, just simply watching out for signs so that we can contain the possibility of spread). However, last Thursday we had our first confirmed case, and an entire class of students (and the teacher) had to begin complete virtual learning for 2 weeks. However, things expanded early this week, and due to some close contact situations with individuals who had tested positive, it increased the population of people who would need to learn from home as well as put a strain on being able to allow for substitute teachers in situations where teachers were in close contact with positive cases.  So, on Tuesday we got ...

So, I usually post my blog on Thursday nights (sorry this one was late, but I was REALLY tired last night), so with all things considered (with teaching in the world of COVID), my post for last Thursday made it seem like the first week of school wasn't too bad. Then Friday came. And it was time for my science lesson (not that I'm actually into my science content yet--we are still working on launching procedures with the students). If things could go wrong with my science time on Friday, they did. It was an EPIC fail.  My focus for launching procedures with the 5th graders has been centered around using Canvas, our online learning platform. On Friday, my lesson was about showing the students the different ways that they could submit an assignment in Canvas. My hope was to show a short video over the Google Meet that we had going so that we could use it as a jumping-off point to discuss procedures. Well, the volume levels in the different classrooms didn't really jive well wi...

 Wow, I can say that I've never had a first week like this one! It was mind-bogglingly exhausting! Tuesday morning was the first day, and in some ways it was normal: the kids come into school with feelings of excitement, but they are still shockingly quiet as they sit in their seats. We talk about what we did during summer, get to know one another, and discuss procedures and expectations. However, in many other ways, it was clearly not normal: classes of masked students, plexiglass dividers on tables, and many (MANY) squirts of sanitizer. We talked about and practiced procedures that are put in place to keep everyone safe. Probably the biggest change of all is the combination of in-class and virtual teaching that was going on. I have a cohort (class) of 24 students in my room. We are with each other all day, so in many ways, it feels like my old experiences at the elementary school. This is my core group of students--the ones I am going to end up connecting with the most. However, ...

                                                Usually I would make a comment at the beginning of the school year about how it seems like summer just flew by. I can't really say that this year. Summer didn't seem very quick this year. That's probably because it wasn't a normal summer. And this won't be a regular school year. I mean, gosh, walking back into my classroom for in-service felt a little strange, like I hadn't been there for 6 months...oh, wait, that's right, it has been 6 MONTHS! This was an in-service like I've never experienced; of course, that's because we are living in a time where much of what's going on hasn't been experienced in a very long time. However, I think our district has handled things well. And the number one thing that was done correctly was providing us with time. We are needing to prepare ourselves for teaching in a way that a large majo...

This week was most definitely the strangest last week of school that I can remember. It was a week of mixed emotions and one that I hope I don't have to repeat again. Cleaning, meetings, conferencing, teaching, and partying (yes, partying) all rolled into one week. In all my years of teaching, I don't think I've ever been able to get my room packed up and ready for the summer in 2 hours. Well, that's what I did on Monday. As a staff, we were provided with a sign up to choose a time to go in and clean things up for the summer. It was the first time I had been in my room since the middle of March, and the date was still on the board. When we left, we thought we were just going to be gone for a few weeks. Those few weeks turned into a few months. There wasn't a lot to clean up--I mainly just needed to wipe off the boards and clean off my desk and shelves. But it was just really strange to go through those things that had just been left there and to think about what had...

Memorial Day has come and gone, and the feeling of summer is upon us. While it isn't quite here yet, it's close. If we were at school, the buzz of energy from the students would be through the roof. Virtually learning, however, has definitely put a damper on that. At school, we would be wrapping up units while trying to rein in the students' attention away from their dreams of sleeping in late and other summer plans. This week, units are still being wrapped up, but that struggle of reining in their attention isn't quite there; many of them probably already sleep in late, and summer plans are obviously still up in the air. Last week was when I officially wrapped up my final science unit, so this week was made up of some enrichment activities related to that final standard. We have been learning about how chemical reactions occur when two substances are mixed and a new substance gets created. This week I gave the students an opportunity to dig in a little deeper to chemi...