If you have ever taught a group of children, then you know getting them to walk in an orderly straight line is virtually impossible.

Today I was included in a strategy meeting with the administrative powers that be, who were round tableing what shape they can paint on the sidewalks outside our classrooms that would be enticing to preschool students! What shape and what colors would best encourage them to walk from point a to point b, in a straight line while also maintaining six feet apart! I just can’t make this up but they were discussing it with such a seriousness that it actually made me laugh out loud. There are just so many issues with the fantasy they were trying to spin!!

First, let’s pretend the preschool students walk in straight line, have you ever been 6 ft away from a preschool student? You might as well be wearing an invisibility cloak because they don’t know you’re there!! Unless you are unwrapping a brand new toy or eating a cookie they are not paying attention to anything 6 ft away. They certainly aren’t capable of walking in a line following a person 6 ft away in front of them.

Second, have you ever tried to get from point a to point b with a group of preschoolers? It’s similar to herdng butterflies. Administrators have pictured a group of 12 preschoolers 6 ft apart. Let’s do the math: 12 students times 6 ft is 72 ft! Add in two teachers and you have 84 ft! The line going from my classroom to anywhere else they’re imagining will be an 84-ft line and we are going to be able to keep track of all 12 students spaced that far apart??!!! I hope there isn’t a turn! “Yes”, they say, “because if we pick the right stencil and color combo it will keep them engaged and moving forward in the right direction!!” What the Hell!? My students aren’t watching their feet. They’re looking at the clouds, the trees, the birds, the squirrels, that blade of grass, that leaf over there, And they’re most likely running towards whatever they’re seeing!!

Oh, and let’s not forget, wherever we will be walking guided by these magical, colorful, perfectly painted shapes on the ground we will be passing a playground that they will not be allowed to play on. Because it’s safe for us to be inside the classroom again, allegedly, but not safe for the students to be playing outside together on a play structure!! That won’t cause an extra fun little wrinkle. I am sure the yellow caution tape that they’ve wrapped all around it will be a clear indication to my students that they can’t go play 😂

Hopefully a glass or two (or perhaps three) of wine tonight will help shed a more positive light on the lunacy that is administration!! The lack of classroom experience in school district leadership has never been more glaringly obvious than during this pandemic!!!

It’s New Year’s Eve, and every where I look people are counting down the hours, as if when we wake up tomorrow the Rona is going to be a distance memory. Also, everyone is listing their Top 10, Top 50, Top 100, Top Whatever Most Hated memories of 2020. There have been a ginormous amount of sucky things in 2020, that is without a doubt. But I feel like I have so much to be grateful for, and so many silver linings of 2020 that I want to give more attention to those memories then the ugly ones.

So my 2020 Silver Lining Recap:

• Everyone in my homestead is healthy!
• Even the people I personally know who were sick with the Rona have recovered.
• My husband and I are still working!
• The months where everyone in my homestead were sharing table space all working/learning from home.
• Seeing my own kids engaging with their teachers and classmates via zoom.
• I have gone 10 months without being sneezed on, puked on, peed on, or bled on!!
• In all my years teaching, I have not gone 10 months without being sick! I haven’t had a cold, the flu, a cough or even a runny nose. I haven’t been exposed to ring worm, lice, scabies, or some other mystery rash! A PR that will never be repeated I am sure!!!!
• I have definitely grown closer with my team! We have the time (and desire) to collaborate more, be social (via zoom) more and we have really learned each other strengths, what makes us tick, and learned about each other as individuals.
• I have gotten to know the families of my students WAY more then I ever have before. I have the time (and desire, most of the time) to meet with them weekly (via zoom) and have learned where their needs are. I have found ways to give them the supports they need, as well as built a much better working relationship then I ever have had with parents before.
• I have had the time to create parent supports so that they can better understand typical child development (3 year old’s, even those with autism, do NOT read chapter books, no matter what you’ve seen on social media!!)
• I feel like, even though the minutes may be less, I spend more quality time individually with my students, and that is definitely impacting my lesson planning and their learning in a very positive way.
• While my house always looks ‘lived in’, underneath all the daily learning/teaching stuff, it is cleaner then it has ever been.
• I have rediscovered a love of cooking and baking!
• I start every day enjoying a hot cup of coffee before the day’s crazy starts!!
• I am grateful everyday for all the extra family time I have had the last 290 (and counting!)

There is so many negative things in the world that have happened over the last 10 months. And I am certain that I have forgotten many things I am grateful for, but I definitely wanted this blog post to highlight the positive. Not everything in 2020 has been a GIANT SUCK! We cancelled vacations, time spent with extended family, and couldn’t always get what we wanted at the store, but when the sun set at the end of every day, we had much more to be thankful for.

So now I am off to enjoy a large glass of wine (or 3) because there is no ‘too early’ to drink during the RONA!!

Stay safe, stay healthy, and wear a mask!!!!