The Palace of Zoom

Aaaaaah, Friday!  I scanned through my emails once last time and made sure that zoom was closed down for the day.  As I was about to close my laptop, I remembered that students had used padlet to share connections they were making with the books they are reading.  Although it’s not quite the same as paper, I’ve been impressed with their six-year-old ability to use padlet to share their thinking.  I quickly scrolled through the entries and made some mental notes about whom I should touch base with during reading conferences on Monday and Tuesday.  Then, towards the bottom of the screen was a purple note:

It made me laugh and then I realized that today is the one year mark since we left school for what we thought was an extended spring break.  One year.  Amazing.  Similar to Vivi, I feel trapped in zoom, but I love her imagery better: we’re all a bunch of princes and princesses stuck in a palace called Zoom!

Finding Topics

 My daughter sat down with me at the kitchen table after dinner.  My work materials were spread out and I was deep into work on my laptop.

“This next writing unit is going to be harder for me I think,” she said.  She had just flown through the narrative unit in her Writing 121 course and grew some much needed confidence after a series of high level math and science courses.  

“Ok,” I said, “what unit is it?”

She went on to explain that she will be writing an informative piece with narrative components.  Her teacher had led them through a brainstorming activity and put them into breakout groups to share their brainstorms.  

“When everyone shared their ideas, I felt unsure.  They were sharing their thinking about large scale topics like ‘women in stem’ and ‘sports and mental health’.  I realized that my brainstorm ideas were really simple, I’m not sure that I’ll have enough to write about.”

We talked about ideas that she cares about and knows more about than she realizes.  We reminisced about some of the inquiry work she did in elementary school and which topics resonated with her.  By the end of our conversation we had added to her brainstorm and she was ready for the next day's writing activities.

Similar to my daughter, finding writing ideas has been the biggest hurdle during these last twelve days of this writing challenge.  But true to the challenge’s purpose, it is helping me grow strategies and to see story in my everyday life. Writing alongside my high school senior daughter is also giving me points of inspiration and reflection as a writer and as a teacher of writing. I think of the teacher character in Ralph Writes a Story telling Ralph and his classmates that "stories are everywhere". I'm learning to live this and will be better able to support and instruct my very young students.

Whispers

I’ve learned in zoom school that if the independent work task is something students need to record on Seesaw, then I need to be quiet.  Students have shared that they record my voice, not theirs.  We’ve gotten a laugh at my expense about talking too much and so I've worked on giving them quiet minutes when needed.   That said, I also want to be able to answer questions and help students during this independent work time.  We of course use breakout rooms but sometimes I feel that I need to stay with the whole class, so on occasion, I’ve taken to whispering.  Through zoom.

“Mrs Parks,” Peter whispered through the screen.

“Yes,” I answered in a whisper.

“Should I take a picture of my lesson?” 

“Yes,” I answered, both of us still whispering, “add a page at the end for the picture.”

“Ok, I’ll do that,” he whispered back, clearly enjoying having a conversation in whispers.

Peter gave me a thumbs up as Sam’s thumbnail lit up.

“Mrs. Parks,” whispered Sam.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Ummmm, I can hear you guys...,” he whispered informatively.

I don’t know if this sounds as funny as it was - the whole class, including Sam, giggled.  We weren’t whispering to tell a secret and of course he and the others could hear us.  It was so sweet.

An Afternoon Walk

I walked in the afternoon today, instead of the evening.  I tried to take a route that would put me in nature more than houses, in quiet rather than amongst traffic.  The option that is closest to my house isn’t perfect, sometimes the afternoon pedestrian traffic is as congested as the cars, but I set out nonetheless.  The route was pleasant.  Roads were easy to cross and the other walkers were few and far between today.  My choice to wear a hat was a good one - it was chillier outside than I thought.  

Along the way I noticed: 

various pine cones growing down, and up, on trees, some were crushed on the sidewalk 

so many daffodil varieties:  bright yellows to some so light they are almost white 

playful bird songs all around

brightly painted rocks with a cardboard sign:  

“Enjoy or add to the rocks, but please leave them.  Returns welcome.  Many thanks.”

sleeping mallards, their bills tucked into their wings

a hawk perched on a telephone pole, flying off everytime I get close

three young boys walking and talking happily

a patch of snow that I can’t believe is left from Valentine’s Day

a new stretch of trail, smooth and dark

a sign that told me I was entering a farming area and there might be dust

three young boys walking and talking happily on their return route

When I came to the end of the path, my mind was clear. A lot of time and distance had passed.  I turned around to head home.  I looked at the route that I came on, it looked long.  I looked at my watch, thought about dinner and called my daughter to come pick me up.

Listening to the Youngest

 I handed my son his bowl of Annie’s macaroni and cheese.  It wasn’t a fancy lunch but a favorite of his.  I was proud that I had tried out a new way to mix the cheese powder into the noodles so that there weren’t clumps of powdered cheese.  I let him know how smart I was and noted how yummy the bowl looked.  

“Well, how did you do it?” he asked.  I explained my method and again noted how lovely it turned out.  

“Um, I’m pretty sure that method is what the box directions say to do,” he replied.  

“Hmmmm,” I thought.

“I tried it a couple of times,” he continued, “but no one really let me do it that way because no one reads the box directions and they tell me I’m doing it wrong.”  

He followed up by getting the box and reading the step by step directions to me.  Sure enough he was right.  My genius strategy was actually just a regular strategy published right there on the box.  I'm sure the directions haven't changed in all the years that boxed macaroni and cheese has been around.  And to think that I’ve been making clumpy boxed macaroni and cheese all this time.

No one listens to Henry, the youngest of four, but sometimes we should.

A Weekend List

 A weekend summary list:  

Out of sorts

Not feeling quite right

Things are starting to get busy

Two soccer games, a birthday party, one game to ref

Grocery shopping, meal planning

My brain feels slower and trying to catch up

Embracing a light at the end of this long COVID tunnel

Plans to return to in person school

Nervous about the stress that comes with a busy life

A little overwhelmed and undermotivated

Trying to keep it all together

And move forward

A lovely end to the weekend

Dad’s favorite birthday treat:  

Carrot cake

Number Two

 It was towards the end of our zoom day on Friday afternoon.  I could tell that the class was growing weary of zoom and my efforts at entertainment.  A few zoom videos were off.  

    “Are you there Laura, Clarence, and Simon?  Can you let me know you’re there?” I gently asked.

Laura turned on her video and waved.  Clarence gave me a thumbs up emoji.  The border of Simon’s thumbnail lit up.  I focused on his thumbnail expecting to hear “I’m here Mrs Parks” or something of that nature.  This check in routine for students with videos off isn’t new, we do check-ins as necessary.  But this was new:  Simon’s voice came through the screen:  “I’m here, Mrs Parks, I’m going number two!”

Table Rock Mountain

 

“This feels great,” my dad said.  And he looked great.  Hiking up a mountain in Idaho’s high desert, he was in his element.  He kept up the pace as our large group spread out.  “I just feel so good,” he said at another point.  I was happy to get this time with him and I wasn’t surprised that the hike felt good.  Growing up, he was always at ease in the natural world and never thought twice about taking his four small children on outlandish outdoor adventures.  Our family lore is rooted in the mountains of Idaho and being outdoors still offers peace of mind and physical vigor.

We turned the corner, arrived at the top and gazed over Boise.  We located familiar landmarks and talked about how Boise has changed so much over the years.  We took some pictures: squinty eyes in the rising sun, with Boise as the backdrop.  I wished I had insisted all of my children wake up for this early morning adventure so that the pictures would be complete.  My sister and I posed for pictures with our dad and made some ‘favorite kid’ jokes at our missing sibling’s expense.  Then we ventured down the hill as the sun was just getting hot.

At the bottom, dad didn’t get back in my car.  Instead he wanted to walk home from the trailhead.  It’s not a long walk and one that we’ve all walked many times.  I wasn’t surprised that this was his desire, but I felt a little unsure sending him on his way alone, but of course, there was no changing his mind.  He set off and we got our car organized and moved out of the parking lot.  By the time we passed him he was already on the main road and gave us a wave.  I looked at him in the rearview mirror and felt a whisper of worry - would he make it home safely?  Is it possible that he could lose his way?

I called when I returned to the hotel.  Dad was home safe.  That afternoon we enjoyed a family reunion picnic and late night swimming at the neighborhood pool.  It was a genuinely good weekend visit, a good accomplishment for our big family.

I stare at the pictures from this day and wish I knew then that this was the beginning of the end.  Maybe I would have been more thoughtful about the conversation.  Or planned out the pictures a little better.  I definitely would have made sure that all of my kids were there.  My dad’s life was long with many twists and turns.  He didn’t live looking through the rearview mirror of regret and wouldn’t want me to either.  So, today, on his birthday, I study the pictures, I remember the morning and I am grateful for this last hike.

Not a Writing Day

 I could see her head down as I popped into writing (breakout) room two.  Through the screen I could see pencils moving and engaged writing, except for one thumbnail screen. “Lili, are you there?  How’s it going?” I gently asked.   She raised her head and looked blankly at the screen.  She was clearly not happy and not interested in writing.  

“What’s happening?”  I asked.  

“I don’t know what to write about,” she responded.  

Oh yes, I thought, we’ve all been there.  Anyone who tries to write regularly has that moment and those days.  I offered up ideas and reminded her that she can write and draw anything she wants, there were no genre boundaries in this writing unit.  She was resistant to my suggested topics and seemed to have her mind made up:  today was not a writing day.

I tried to encourage, nudge and cheer her some more, then gave her some space by visiting another writing room.  When I checked back in with her she still hadn’t written and her mood wasn’t much better.  For today, we needed to move on.  Lunch break was next.  Hopefully time for Lili to reset and be ready for the afternoon.  Today was not a writing day. Not all writing days have happy endings.

Eyesight

I sensed a flicker in the corner of my eye. I glanced out the window and saw a little dark spot of movement in the sky. It landed on the branch of a bare tree and sat perched for the shortest of minutes. I grabbed my phone to get a picture and then it was gone.


I looked at my picture later in the day and the hummingbird can’t be seen unless it’s pointed out. And isn’t this true for so much in a classroom? The eraser smudge on a paper, a brow furrowed, a sideways glance, scribbles in a writing booklet might be clues to pause and look a little closer. Maybe there is something to see.

**Missed posting yesterday.  This is the first of 2 posts for today**

Wednesdays

Wednesdays are different in CDL.  It’s an asynchronous day for my students and a meeting and work day for me.  I look forward to Wednesdays with plans of all that I’ll accomplish.  But often, by the end of Wednesdays, I have extreme zoom fatigue or confusion about how little I got done with so much time.  I’m grateful for the time on Wednesdays but it actually puts me off balance a bit.  I’m not as productive as I imagine I will be and I get frustrated with that.  

So here I am, two hours before midnight, writing a less than mediocre post for the writing challenge.  I have four more Wednesdays in March, surely I can do better than this.  I will certainly try.

High Fives and Laughter

 “Ok... I wrote my blog entry and posted it.  I’ll link it to the comments as soon as I get the email, maybe that’s tomorrow morning….sound good?”  I asked my teenage daughter.  

“Yes, great,” she dutifully replied.  

“Right...?” I said and she nodded, very slowly...

We locked eyes mid-nod and burst out laughing.  It was late at night and I really don’t know what I’m doing.  My daughters are supporting and helping me as much as they can.  Both of them have social media knowledge that far exceeds mine and perhaps more importantly, they are comfortable with it.  As they are trying to encourage and help me, we can’t help but find the humor in my ignorance.  A blog has thrown a whole new level of excitement, and also laughter, into the situation.

Although I’ve had a Facebook account for years and years, I’ve shied away from posting about myself and my family and have instead used social media as a spectator sport.  But as social media has grown and become part of my professional life, I’ve felt a little left out.  So, for the second year in a row, I made a resolution to find my way in and give it a try.  And my girls have been there to support and teach me.  Every time I get ready to share something they both gather around and encourage me to hit ‘post’.  Then we giggle as we check back in to see if anyone has read it or ‘liked’ it.  And they give me high fives and "good job mom" as needed.

I’m hoping my comfort level will increase this month...writing daily is a welcome challenge.   Learning to participate in the online and social media world is a welcome challenge too, but is a much bigger learning curve and test of confidence. High fives and laughter help.

Bunnies

 “There’s a bunny in the bush,” my oldest son said.  We all ran to the window and tried to help each other see it through the foliage.  Once it caught our movement in the corner of it’s eye he hopped along the garden bed and under the porch.  He was gone in a blink.  We all ran out, including our dog.  Duke ran in the opposite direction barking at what we think may have been a bird.  We giggled at how Duke guards our yard from the squirrels and passing dogs on walks, but has never once noticed the bunnies.  Not even their scent after they are out of sight

We go for days without seeing the bunnies and everytime I get hopeful that maybe they have left, we see them again.  They are the most adorable pests.  I love seeing them and yet they have eaten up every single one of my heuchera plants.  What will the hummingbirds drink in the summer?  I love the hummingbirds too.