Virtual School (VS) has begun!
Two+ weeks before VS: Everyone was expected to use Zoom.
Right before Spring Break: We weren't allowed to use Zoom. Schoology Conference only.
Monday at 12:56 PM before my 3rd class: An email came out. You can use Zoom if you want.
VS is new for everyone, so it's a little bit like the wild, wild west. I used Schoology for 'class' on Monday and Tuesday. Then I switched to Zoom for office hours on Wednesday and Thursday to see how they compared to each other.
It was a busy week. I sent out a reminder email to all my classes the day of with links (including a phone number for kids without internet), held three classes a day, a PLC meeting, answered a ton of emails, figured out grading, and it was my turn to make the assignment for all the classes.
Attendance was better than I expected. My honors classes were nearly full. There were a couple of kids who stayed on after other kids because they just wanted to talk.
It was tiring, but it felt good to be teaching (even virtually).
Shane had his own virtual school. He logged into a platform called Seesaw. His teachers had a spot for him to post a journal, a reading assignment, and a math assignment every day. There was also a once a week PE challenge (Shane did it daily).
It normally took Shane an hour and a half to do everything. I liked the variety of the assignment. He spent a long time on Monday's journal and I was really happy with the effort he put in. Then there was the Hula-Hoopin' Queen read by Oprah he had to listen to and find things he could relate to. And the math work! He was supposed to learn about polygons and the names of shapes.....which is what I teach! Any student who was in 3rd grade in ACPS has no excuse to say "I've never seen this before!"
Bottom line: I would have liked more work to keep Shane busy, but I was really happy with the quality of the assignments posted.
We relaxed a chunk of our 'home-school's assignments. Shane's teachers only required 20 minutes of reading, but I kept it at an hour. He still had to empty the cat pot and help around the house.
A couple of days I made him work outside for half an hour of weeding for PE.
It's looking better!
Shane was really good about starting his school early in the day. Normally, we both popped on the computers to work between 8 and 9 AM. I did my morning emails, set up, and looked through what he needed to do.
Shane would work through my first class (9:30 - 10:00 AM) and then have a no-electronics break.
At 11 AM, Shane would get a break to play with electronics until lunch at noon.
Shane's next electronics break would hit for my 1 PM class. I normally let him play on Steam, watch Minecraft videos on Youtube, or play on Minecraft to keep him occupied while I worked (Carrie was usually at the barn or away - which is a different post).
I can't say I'm a fan of the YouTube videos. They were mostly of the same guy walking around blowing up his own world while trying to act super cool and silly at the same time. He kept saying "What the flip?" and commenting on "flipping withers," so the language was kid friendlyish.
I just thought it was dumb.
Tuesday and Thursday, Shane got to have a Zoom call with his teachers and classmates.
He was ecstatic and/or desperate. He kept trying to talk over everyone and wanted to run with his computer up to the top of his loft bed.
It was really funny when I turned on a virtual background for him. His shirt became a green screen. Shane saw me do it once and then he knew what to do the next four times he did it himself!
I hope no one noticed that he wore the same green t-shirt on Tuesday AND Thursday, though. We've been a little lax about things like changing clothes daily....
Shane spent a lot of time on electronics, but I tried to keep him in the really, real world some. I've been wanting to play a campaign style game with him, and he finally agreed to it.
I brought out Descent and Shane spent the next hour playing with the models.
It was fifteen minutes before a class when he finally looked up and said, "I'm ready to play now!"
He had to wait, but we got a game in. I played EZ mode and made sure he won.
It gave rise to Shane coming up with his own "Mega-dungeon!"
Shane stepped on cards, made a mess, and probably lost pieces, but it made him use his brain. We've played over the course of several days....though not much gets done when I do play his dungeon. Shane comes up with new ideas and new rules every other time a dice is rolled and sometimes I wait 5 to 10 minutes as patiently as I can while he's wrapped up in his new vision!
This guy was a bit of a problem.
He likes the taste of cardboard. He likes it too much.
We spent a lot of time inside over the week. We didn't practice lacrosse at all!
Descent isn't typical school, but new experiences are a huge part of learning. Since Shane can't play with kids his age, I'm the main source of his socialization....and it's wearing me out!
This still seems like a period of growth for Shane. That's been my goal for being at home along: Keep the family growing. Don't put life on hold.
Schoolwise, I'm looking forward to wrapping up and having closure. The students need it. I need it.
Anyway, one week of VS down. Five more weeks to go.
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