Day 1 of 2020 Remote Schooling in a Remote State! (Surviving...)

 

Hey guys! Hope everyone is well and holding up amidst the CHAOS that is school start for K-12 kids! (I know college students are starting too, but since I only have young kids, that’s all I currently care about!)

We are halfway through our first day of “remote learning”. That means material delivered via a computer (mainly). So far there have been video meetings (Zoom, Google, Skype, etc.) and about a thousand different required websites and platforms to deliver all the material (math, science, reading, spelling, on & on…)

Well, we have encountered all sorts of technical difficulties with audio & video, and trying to work out those kinks. Also have had teachers with tech issues, as I sort of expected. I don’t think the remote learning is SO bad for older kids…my daughters are in 7^th grade now and use technology regularly when they are at school in person. But my son…yeah. He’s only 7. His attention span is not that great, plus he is just one of those high energy kids who NEEDS recess, play time, jumping around and so forth. He gets very restless and after about 2 minutes, tuned out of what the teacher was trying to say on Google (can’t blame him though, it was laggy and there was nothing really to keep his attention. He’s also shy so not a person who talks much in class ever anyway.) The poor teacher was having lots of difficulties so, basically…today’s school is over for him. Fine by me!

Now, don’t take this to mean I don’t care about my kids education. I absolutely do. However, I can’t teach my kids, at least not all of them. My son NEEDS a structured environment, and school has served him very well for kindergarten and 1^st grade. He needs the social interaction and the structure, as well as the obvious learning. He has reading difficulties, and he is not that patient, so me as a teacher…it just doesn’t work out well. He winds up getting frustrated, tossing the book down and leaving. Forcing him to do the work at home is PAINFUL for all involved! But at school, it isn’t this way. Environment matters a lot. Even me, as an adult…it’s SO hard to concentrate on work at home. My son NEEDS PUBLIC SCHOOLING!

And my daughters, thank the lord, are pretty self-sufficient. They generally enjoy school and learning and will keep up on what is required, mostly. I don’t have to police them too much which is a HUGE blessing because if I did…well, with 3 kids doing different classes, schools, schedules, curriculum from home – it just wouldn’t happen. I know for a lot of people, it still isn’t happening, due to social and environmental issues (can’t be home from work, kids have to be in daycare, etc.) I myself am starting a new job in a week and so I won’t be here to help my kids. It will fall on their retired grandfather to help. God bless him for being willing!!! If he weren’t there…I honestly think they would just be left to their own devices. As a single mom, I don’t have a lot of options for this kind of intense child care help.

So that’s how it’s going so far! Whew! We will survive…somehow. Looking forward to in-person school resuming though!!!

Summer is flying by - divorce is consuming my time & mental state! UGHHH

Hi guys!

Wow, it’s been awhile. I hadn’t realized it’s almost 2 months since my last posting. Life tends to fly by sometimes when you aren’t paying attention, doesn’t it?!?!

The school year ended in May and so I was just relaxing for a few weeks (my brain was completely strained from the math course I took…I am no math wizard! Haha.) I had so many plans of school related things I wanted to get done this summer:

       Study and test out of my next math class

       Study and test out of my humanities class

       Study for and take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam – Grad school admissions test)

       Get involved in volunteer activities in the psychology community in my city

WELLLLL…since my divorce is now beginning the legal process, that has been so stressful to me that unfortunately, over the last month I have been able to accomplish nearly nothing on that list :( It makes me so sad!!! Between dealing with my ex and his mood swings, dealing with kids (who are themselves out of school for the summer), and trying to sell half my belongings and move out of my house so I can sell it, school hasn’t exactly been my top priority.

There is a lot going on you can see. My head is kind of swirling most of the time and I feel quite overwhelmed, like there is a lot hanging over my head. I HATE that feeling. I am a list maker, a checker-offer. I like knowing I accomplished things and have them under my belt. Stuff that hangs in limbo…leaves me feeling anxious :/

So, that is where I am now! Summer is half way down and it is my goal to AT LEAST test out of my math class, at the bare minimum. The rest of the school stuff may have to wait. I’m in a bit of a rush to get my house on the market, hopefully a month from now, so there is a lot happening.

My mental state is….OK. I go on meds and I go off them…that is just the nature of things I guess. Once my divorce is final (it seems to be getting dragged out slowly and painfully, unfortunately) I think my mental state will improve drastically. No longer being attached in any way to a toxic relationship will help me so much to move forward and try to make positive changes in my life. Right now I’m still sort of dangling in limbo-land while things are not finalized. And that is the toughest part!!!