School – Page 4 – Jocelyn Rau

March 17, 2020April 6, 2020

The great shutdown of 2020

On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, COVID-19, aka a novel coronavirus, was deemed a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. 2 days later, on Friday, March 13, our school district announced that we were shutting down for 4 weeks, tentatively reopening on Monday, April 13. The governor of Wisconsin ordered mandatory 4-week school closures to begin by Wednesday, March 18, for all districts.

To say that sent shock waves through my brain would be an understatement. I thought we might be closed for the week after spring break, which was scheduled to be March 23-27, but I never imagined an entire month (or more!) of school closure. Our district has no virtual learning in place either, so everything we’ll be doing at home is not counted as “official” educational minutes. I’m just hopeful that the district waives the educational minutes requirement for this school year, or else we’ll most likely lose our summer vacation entirely. Because I have a funny feeling that we won’t be going back to school on April 13.

Ryan’s work turned to 100% online classes beginning this week, so his office has been a nightmare. They didn’t have all-online infrastructure in place either, so he’s been scrambling like crazy with all the higher-ups to get them up and running as well as possible. Plus a bunch of their professors/deans/CI-whatevers have to self-quarantine right now because they took trips to high-risk areas, so he has to deal with that, too.

However. I’m actually kind of looking forward to this. Being at home with all 5 kids with literally nowhere to go, in fact being told to go nowhere, is kind of my thing. We’ve gotten emails from all their teachers with online resources and ideas for learning during the break, and Lana came home with writing and math packets, too. So I’ve already bookmarked a bunch of cool websites – museums and galleries offering free virtual tours; zoos streaming their animals since they’re all closed, too; authors doing virtual visits; artists sharing daily drawing tutorials; tons and tons of awesome science experiments; NASA’s live International Space Station cam; free online library subscriptions; math and reading programs the kids use at school; and a bunch of videos for dancing, singing, exercising, and learning pretty much anything. We have a very loose schedule in place for the weekdays, but my biggest priority is to have them all treat each other with respect, embrace and hopefully enjoy this change instead of shying away from it, and simply enjoy and remember fondly all this extra time we have together.

I’m going to keep this post as a daily log of what we do each weekday during the shutdown, mainly as a posterity record for myself, but if you’d like to see what we’re up to feel free to check back daily. I’ve certainly never experienced anything like this before, and as Twilight Zone-ish as this all seems, I’m expecting never to again. So here we go!

Monday, March 16, 2020

Drove to Metro Market with the kids to pick up groceries ordered online. They finally got toilet paper back in stock! (that was probably the craziest part of all this – a toilet paper shortage!)
Quick exercises with the kids
Dancing raisins science experiment
Started watching Frozen II
Lunch break
Boys went to nap, the girls and I finished the movie, the girls had writing time
Lunch doodles with Mo Willems for the big 3
Dreambox for the big 3

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day breakfast!
Reading time for the big 3 while I got laundry going and ready for the day
Long walk to count shamrocks in windows/doors and go down to Big Bay to look for sea glass. It was cold, but we found 60 shamrocks and a surprisingly big haul of sea glass, since the beach is essentially gone down there.
Dreambox before lunch while I switched laundry loads
Lunch break
Experimenting with magnets – what sticks, what doesn’t, homemade magnet fishing
Naps for the boys while the girls and I went outside to rake and bag up all the leftover leaves from last fall
TV time while the boys finished napping
Lunch doodles with Mo Willems
Cincinnati Zoo live safari for the big 3 – Rico the porcupine. I’m having them each write down 3 facts they learn about that day’s animal.
Writing time for the girls

March 18, 2020

Dreambox and Raz Kids/reading for a good hour after breakfast while I cleaned up, vacuumed, and did my workout (I feel a million times better after exercise!)
Cosmic Kids yoga
Learning about osmosis and celery stalk/colored water science experiment
Kids’ cardio exercises
Lunch break
Story time from space
Naps for the boys, girls writing, shower/lunch/clean up for me
Virtual tours of the British Museum in London and MoMA in NYC – the girls thought both were boring 🤣
Lunch doodles with Mo Willems and drawing with Narwhal and Jelly (by Squiggles & Scribbles by Ben Clanton) for the big 3

March 19, 2020

Cosmic Kids yoga
Jack Hartmann phonics/sight words/letters for L and M; reading for D
M write around the room – letter O
P.E. outside – run up and down our side of the block 10 times
Science – check on colored water celery stalks; Mystery Doug – what makes a rainbow?
Lunch break
Naps for the boys, writing and TV time for the girls
Cincinnati Zoo home safari – Sihil the ocelot, Mo the sloth, and Fiona and Bebe the hippos
Lunch doodles with Mo Willems
After-dinner math lessons for each other

March 20, 2020

Cosmic Kids yoga
Making birthday cards for a little girl who had to cancel her celebration
Reading/Alphablocks/Dreambox for an hour while I did my workout
Weekly email to teachers
Running through dining room obstacle course, sit-ups, push ups, squats, plank, jumping jacks, and limbo for P.E. class
Lunch break
Story time from space
Nap time for boys, TV time for girls
Science – last day of celery experiment

I think I’m going to break this all down by week, because this post filled up faster than I expected. So if you’re following along, please come back Monday to see how our social distancing/homeschooling adventure continues to pan out.

September 19, 2019September 19, 2019

And they’re off!

The big 3 all started school after Labor Day, and I can’t even believe Morrison is there with the girls now!

Della and Lana were both excited to get to know their teachers after finding out who they had at registration and meeting them at Meet and Greet, and I am just elated that Morrison got Mrs. Koch, who both the girls had for K4 and who is now paired with Mrs. French as the paraprofessional in her room. Mrs. Koch is so wonderful, and Mrs. French is the absolute nicest person I’ve ever met. The two of them combined is going to be amazing.

The morning of the very first day ended up being stormy and rainy, so all grades except K4 were able to line up inside. Fortunately they were split up between areas so the entire school didn’t try to jam into one place, and double fortunately the girls lined up in the same area. So their lines ended up being closer together than they usually are, and I was able to wave them both off through their lines the entire way. I even got to watch Lana go all the way into her classroom before heading back out to get Morrison for his start.

Morrison has been beyond excited to start this school year, and I love seeing him come out so happy every day. It warms my heart to no end when I hear that they’ve all already seen each other in the hallways, and I know how ready he is to be part of the school community, just like his big sisters. The 3 of them will be at this school together for 2 years now, which will be great.

Have a fantastic year, my loves! I know you’ll all finish taller and wiser than you started – I’m right there with you every second, even when you can’t see me. I love you all so much and am so very, very proud!

September 19, 2018September 19, 2018

Back in the saddle again

School started for the girls right after Labor Day, so we’re fully back in the school days swing. K5 for Lana and 3rd grade for Della; Lana even wore the same dress for the first day of K5 that Della did. My loves! I must admit, the first week was a little mind numbing for me. It took me all 4 of those first days to figure out exactly when I needed to get up, when I needed to wake the big 3 up for breakfast/clothes on/teeth brushed, if I had time in the mornings to make lunches or if I should do them the night before, when the babies would wake up and if they’d need to nurse again before school, what time we needed to be out the door, etc., etc., etc. See? Orchestrating 6 bodies in the morning while preserving a modicum of my sanity takes talent.

But once we made it through that first week with all the first-day morning and afternoon pictures and a couple more days to smooth out our system and schedule, I felt much better. Last week was pretty easy and harmless, and now it’s fairly smooth sailing. The girls are loving their new classes and teachers, and so am I. I’ve already had great communication with both teachers, something that’s very important to me. I like having a good relationship with their teachers, since they’re in charge of huge pieces of my heart and soul all day long.

But before we started packing the backpacks and lunchboxes again, we had a lot of fun in those long, glorious summer days. We weren’t able to make it up to Canada for a vacation this summer, so I made sure the kids got to do plenty of fun things around here to make up for it. I inflated our backyard pool and kept it filled pretty much the whole summer for the first time. It was a really hot summer this year, so that worked out well.

We went to the zoo, Bookworm Gardens, the beach to hunt for sea glass, a pool/water slide park right near our house, did the library reading program again, and the big 3 played outside with neighbor friends as much as possible. One of the neighbor girls babysat them so I could run with the twins a couple times each week, which they loved. And I let the girls each pick a camp through our rec department, which we never usually do in the summers. Della picked a week-long gymnastics camp at the high school, and Lana picked a week-long NASA-sanctioned space camp at the other elementary school. They both had an absolute blast with their respective programs, and I know they liked getting to do some new and different things.

I took the kids to Peoria for a couple days in August to see family and give the big 3 some pool time, since they’re all little water bugs. That was a great trip. Much fun was had by all, and the twins got to meet a lot of new family members.

I think I hate to see summer vacation end just as much if not more than the kids do, but I have a really good feeling about this school year. Lana was totally ready for full-day kindergarten, and her teacher has already said how good of a listener she is and how well she follows the rules. And Della loves every single thing about her class so far, and her teacher totally understood all my over-emotional messages those first couple days. Plus I’ve figured out how to transport all 5 of them when we walk and where’s the best place to park when we drive. So we’re golden. Off we go!

September 19, 2017

Buddies

This was my view on the walk to school this morning, and it made me so very, very happy.

All day yesterday, Morrison insisted on loading up his little dinosaur backpack and toting it around the house like he was going to school like his big sisters. Then this morning, when the girls got their backpacks ready for school, his was right there in the mix. So Della hung it on the stroller hook with theirs, and off we went.

He had a couple dinosaurs and books in there, so I stuck it in his lap because it was too heavy to carry on the backpack hook. He held tight to it the whole way, and it was the cutest thing. After a little while, Lana started helping him take books out and “read” them. First she helped him spell his name out loud, and then she’d say, “Now you try.” I about melted! Then they went through the little collection of books, and Morrison was in 7th heaven.

I absolutely love watching the bonds between these kids grow stronger every day. They love playing with, teaching, and learning from each other. Prime example, when we got home from dropping the girls off, Morrison set this up on the arm of the couch, exactly like Lana has. They amaze me constantly and make every day that much better.

September 6, 2017

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy

Unfortunately, those days are over for us this year, as school started for both Della and Lana yesterday. Waaahhhhh!!!!

I really hate seeing summer go, but I’m actually looking forward to this school year. Both girls are so excited – Della has been ready to get back for a while now to start 2nd grade, and Lana is happy to be going with her big sister this year for her turn in K4. Lana got the same K4 teacher Della had, who we loved, so we’re all really happy about that. And we’ve heard some great things about Della’s teacher, so she should have a great time, too.

Della’s so happy to be back seeing her friends every day, and it fills my heart to exploding to see her thrive at school. Lana is just such a goofball, I am beyond curious to see what her experience is. I’m just so grateful that we already know her teacher, so I am perfectly comfortable telling her anything and everything and making sure I’m giving and getting enough feedback for how Lana is doing. This is pretty surprising to me, because I honestly thought I was going to be a mess sending little Lana, my fairy girl, off on her own. But thinking back, I was much calmer than I thought I’d be when Della started K4, too. So who knows why my mind thinks the way it does.

But please stay tuned. I have a whole post planned about our summer, including plenty of pictures; I just haven’t had a chance to get it written yet for the world to see. Life has been busy around here lately, but it’s coming, I promise. In the meantime, I’m hoping we get a little taste of summer warmth to enjoy again before it’s gone for the year!

September 1, 2016

1st grade

Della started 1st grade today, and I missed her the second she walked through those doors to begin this new school year.

I miss her like crazy every time she goes to school, but I know she’s going to have a wonderful year again. After meeting her teacher, Mrs. Tauscher, the other night at meet and greet, she is dying to get started on their classroom travel adventures and getting her passport stamped.

One of her good little girlfriends from K5 is in her class again this year and they’re even sitting at the same table, so Della is very happy about that.

I hate it when these giant chunks of my heart leave me to walk around in this big, wide world all by themselves, but at least I can rest a little easier knowing she’s in such good hands at this school. I just pray that it forever stays the safe haven it has always been for her and all the other kids there.

Good luck this year, sweet pea! 1st grade looks beautiful on you! (feel free to slow down on this growing up thing any time, though…)

September 10, 2015October 23, 2015

The real deal

Della started K5 last Tuesday, and it’s the real thing, folks. All-day school. Wow.

Just like last year, I had no idea how I was going to bear having her at school, let alone for the full day now. The night before the first day, I was a complete wreck. I couldn’t focus my mind – get her backpack ready, get her dress out for the day, get her snack in her backpack, make her lunch, figure out what time to get up so that I was able to get ready before anyone else needed me, how to get us all to school on time, where to go now that she goes in the doors in the back of the school with all the other kids, how to survive the back of the school with all the other kids.

I asked her as we were waiting in line that morning if she was getting nervous because she had gotten really quiet and I could tell she was looking around at all the chaos, trying to take it in, but she said no, just excited. I’m glad one of us was, because I still wasn’t even sure we were in the right line! I couldn’t see her teacher for all the seemingly millions of parents and kids back there. Then when she walked up the steps and that giant building swallowed her up, I thought I was going to lose my mind.

But thankfully, as usual, she put my mama heart at ease at the end of the day when she chattered the entire walk home, telling me everything they did, step by step. She had walked out the door after school that first day looking like a little zombie with a panda sticker on her forehead, and she was very proud to show it to me when she was dismissed from her line. What’s the sticker for? I asked. For sleeping so well at rest time! Coincidentally, that was her favorite part of the day and continues to be thus far. I think she’s secretly happy she gets to take a nap again.

As I was tucking her in that night after her first full day of school, she was saying how much she liked her teacher, and, as if she were telling someone else how much they’d like her, too, she said, “Mrs. Murphy is the best. You’d just be amazed by her.”

I hope you feel that way about all your teachers, peanut. And I hope the excitement with which you’ve embraced kindergarten is something you’ll carry with you through all of your school days. I love you so much, sweetheart, and Daddy and I could absolutely not be prouder of our big kindergartner!