Our small accomplishments

It has been so long since we have ventured outside, gone to any social gatherings or seen our friends. Some of us have been home for 45 days or more, without having an outside connection with the world. Thanks to technology, we are not feeling aloof athough we all have been socially isolated and distant. I know that we all are getting tired of COVID-19 and can’t wait to go back to normal! It has been tough for businesses, essential workers (and their families), students (and teachers) , kids and senior citizens, as well as everybody else.

But in this post, I am not complaining; instead I am writing about little accomplishments that we may have made over the last few weeks and months.

I know that I have learned to take things slow and enjoy life a little more.

I have learned to be thankful for a healthy and happy family.

I have learned to see more positive around us and count our blessings.

I have learned to work remotely as an educator and to have daily communication and weekly contacts with my students. Last week I had successful 1 to 1 conferences with 70 students. I hold 2 live sessions in a week and students are highly encouraged to attend at least one, although it is not required. I try to give a voice and choice to students, and let them work at their own pace. The assignments become live on our technological platform at the beginning of the week and the student have until Friday, 11:59 pm, end of the day to do the submissions. Some activities to engage students include use of discussion boards, word/card sort, foldable, graphic organizers, Cornell notes after video watch, choice of biome research paper, summary or reflection in the form of video and quick checking for understanding through questioning and Kahoot games during live sessions. I am proud of my students for embracing this new way of remote learning and doing their best.

In home front, I am still learning to balance work, home and kids. My middle schooler & high schooler keep busy throughout the week with their own submissions, projects and other activities as required by their teachers.

I have learned from the standpoint of kids, my students as well as my own children, that most of them like the self-pacing and self-directed learning. Although few students are still struggling with how to be more organized and balance their study time with leisure time, more and more of them are getting comfortable with the online instruction and are working hard to get caught up. The biggest loss they feel is not being able to see and meet with their friends and peers, and not being able to come to the school building to do social interactions and learning. They are learning to focus, set a routine so they are not overwhelmed with submissions at once at the end of the week, self- pace themselves and are getting confident in asking for help and asking questions.

I have learned that we will be providing remote instruction till the end of this school year, which is June 1st for us. We are still not sure about summer school, but are very hopeful and looking forward to the fall session when these students will be joining in the next grade level.

I have learned that during the weekdays, I feel accomplished when I have met and exceeded my goals of the day, by remotely teaching and reaching my students.
I have learned that in the weekends I feel accomplished when I get a home project done, however small it may be. Few weekends earlier it was the cleaning project, as I have not called my cleaning ladies for almost two months now.

This past weekend, I worked in the yard as we have not yet called our landscaper back. My hubby did the spring cleaning of trimming the hedges around the house, and I helped with clearing, weeding and taking care of the front landscape area. I love to water my plants and grass, and prefer that to the sprinkler system:) I do not have a green thumb as such- only the money plant, also called pothos, grows well indoors in my home with minimal care; so I have few of them inside my home.

Another small accomplishment that I am proud of is working out regularly as a whole family. It can either be walks in the neighborhood or exercising in the garage or working out in the living room. When we had our foster dog we used to take daily walks with her for an hour or more, but then she got adopted few weeks back and our daily walks stopped. Now we have to drag ourselves out of the house for family walks couple times a week in evening, and my husband and I try to go for morning walks daily while our kids sleep-in.

We also enjoy our daily outdoors time in the yard. Our backyard is one of the best places we use on a daily basis. In addition to getting Vitamin D from the sun during the day, we also use the patio table in the yard to play board games or have a snack. Research says that it is a great idea to be outside as it helps reduce stress.

In addition, we are trying to eat healthy and have more fresh fruits and vegetables on our table instead of processed food. Healthy eating is something we all have been trying for many months now, and getting better at it.

I know that living with this pandemic has changed all of our lives. We are all impatiently waiting for this to be over. But the battle is still ongoing; we have to continue to be very careful with large groups, social distancing, washing hands and taking care of ourselves and others around us. Only with all of us working together, will we be able to face this new reality till the vaccine is made. Till the time we find a cure and destroy our invisible enemy, we need to diminish its effect. We have to be careful, stay safe and stay healthy.

Ending this post with a note of thanks and gratitude, and a prayer of wellness for everyone in this world. Take care & be careful, and I wish for good health and positivity for everyone!