Dear Friends,
As I know you ALL know, this past school year has been challenging and life changing. Ever since we closed our classrooms and left for summer break, I have felt disoriented and unable to find my groove. I have always been a person who has used the summers to "get something done." I would clean closets, organize craft supplies, go through clothes and household goods and give them away. I would update the resources in my TPT store and fine tune my blog. But not this year; the only thing that I have accomplished (so far) is working in my flower garden and watching my Monarch butterflies...
As I talked this over with another teacher friend, she told me that she is going through the same thing. We both feel like we are ships without rudders - just drifting through the day unable to find the port. As I think back to the past year and a half, I remember using every spare minute to learn new technology, finding ways to get students to learn away from school AND even when we were at school, we were teaching through masks, social distancing, and trying to push away the frightening feeling of not knowing if we would be the next infected person. So, I think being outside has centered me and has given me that connection to nature that was lost during covid. And I think we all need these days of no schedules and no worrying if you are keeping your little ones safe. I told my husband that when summer came, I felt like a mole coming out of its tunnel.... seeing the light, excited, but a bit confused about what I should be doing. I DID walk into my empty classroom today and it started me thinking about what life will be like in school THIS year. Covid has caused me to re-think much of what I used to do. Some changes that we made I plan to keep, such as each child having their own supplies - no more sharing boxes in the center of the table. That was ah-mazing to not have squabbles over who got the pointy red crayon or the clean glue stick... LOL...... BUT, there are some covid protocols that I would LOVE to say good-bye to.......
QUESTION 1: I asked maintenance to return my round tables, but as of now, I am not sure if I will be able to use them AND if I can, will I need to come up with unique ways to implement social distancing at these little spaces?
QUESTION 2: Will I have to use these boxes to create individual centers again? Or will I be able to use them in other ways?
QUESTION 3: Will I be able to use these shelves for a classroom library that kids are allowed to access independently? Or will "book shopping" be once again limited?
QUESTION 4: Will student spaces be outlined with a hula hoop and sharing of toys limited?
All of these questions have no answer..... yet....... So, until I get answers, I think that I will go outside and spend some time doing something that gives me results that I can implement now... pulling weeds and deadheading flowers..... :)
As much as I loved my blog before covid hit, I know that I have totally ignored and neglected it these past eighteen months. Gosh, I even wondered if it was still here when I logged in today... LOL..... I am hoping to not be such a silent creature from now on.
So, my wish for you this summer, is to take some time to enjoy the things that give you joy, to spend time with the people you love, and to not feel guilty just "smelling the flowers!" And I hope to be back soon... :)
Until next time,
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