The first day back from winter vacation is always hard. I love the two weeks off with my family, and I am never quite ready to head back to school. Once I get there, I get excited, but the days leading up to that first day back area always a little somber.
This year, all of my emotions are amplified. We’ve been learning 100% virtual since things went off the rails in Michigan mid-November. Around 60% of my students will be coming back to the classroom, and the other 40% will be learning virtually when we kick things off. It is hard to give my distance learners what they need when I’m in class all day. We are working on hiring a few additional teachers to help us with our virtual learners. I’m excited to work with these new teachers on creating a plan for supporting our kiddos. Hopefully, we can get that going sooner rather than later.
I’ve been wearing contacts during this school year because my glasses fog up too much when I wear a mask. Not really looking forward to putting those back in my eyes, or having to put on regular pants. Six weeks of nothing but sweatpants has been glorious.
Seeing my in-person kids is going to be great. I miss seeing them in class, and talking to them as we walk around the track during our mask breaks. My kids taught me how to plan Among Us during break. Fifth graders are going to love giving me tips on how I can up my game.
I hope I can keep my students safe. I’ll be losing a lot of sleep thinking about safety in the coming weeks.
I know this blog post is a collection of random thoughts. My guess is that most people are feeling a mixture of emotions as we face the rest of winter and the coming spring. Hang in there. Stay safe, and PLEASE take care of yourself.
sharpread 