Dear Class, Did you have a good weekend? We spent a lot of time outside soaking up the sun. It was wonderful! I FINALLY finished my cards for you and got them mailed. It's been hard to get motivated, so I let myself have last weekend to be lazy. Hopefully, I can be more productive this week. The kids spent most of the weekend playing Roblox and Minecraft together. It was a lot of device time, but they were playing together and being nice to each other...so I'm going to count that as a win. They've also been watching a lot of Netflix. The girls are watching the new Barbie series...and sometimes Luke and I get sucked in to that, too. Shhhh! We rented Zathura from Amazon last night. It's based on the book written by Chris Van Allsburg. He wrote Jumanji and The Polar Express, too. I love his books, and they make great movies because they are usually suspenseful. Zathura isn't for little kids...just a heads up. Anna was pretty nervous in some spots and was afraid she'd have nightmares, but she didn't. She's also seen all of the Harry Potter movies though, so she's not your typical kindergartner...just a typical third kid who gets stuck watching what the big kids choose! We've also been reading a lot of books. I have a huge stack of books I want to read, but I've been having trouble focusing so I'm just reading easy books right now. I got a few from Books a Million which was still open last week, used my library card to get some online (including a few audiobooks!), and I've been listening to some podcasts that read short stories out loud. Emma usually reads a ton, but she's trying to decide if she wants to save the huge books she's checked out for when she's back at school so she can get AR points for them. (When you go to North school next year, you will have to take and pass AR tests each quarter...it's not just for fun anymore.) Luke's been rereading some of our graphic novels. He finally read the adventure book I got him from the library that I told him he would like. I was right; he liked it. Ha! Anna got the new American Girl Joss for her birthday, along with the first book in her series. I just finished reading it to her last night. It took us a while since we just read a chapter a night. Have you read anything good lately? Love, Mrs. Smitley
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Dear Class,
My internet was super slow last night, and I didn't have the patience to wait it out to type my letter, especially since we didn't really do anything yesterday. I went to bed early instead. Well, that's kind of what happened. I actually fell asleep on the couch watching the Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix. Oops. We didn't do school today. None of us were feeling it. I worked on the computer and made phone calls trying to find out which classes I need to take at ISU this summer. Even though I prefer being the one to GIVE homework, it looks like soon I'm going to GET a bunch of homework. Emma, Anna, and I took the dogs on a walk this afternoon. We met up with a neighbor and walked with her and her dogs. One of them doesn't get along with Lucy and attacked her, and we had to pull them apart. Lucy was fine except for some slobber all over her face. I think my dogs were trying to pull my arms off today so they could chase squirrels and roll in the mud. I'm going to have HUGE arm muscles if I keep walking the dogs everyday! Anna spent a large part of the day doing her makeup. She asked me this afternoon if I have to put "codes" of makeup on. It took me a minute to realize she meant "coats" or "layers" of makeup and what she really wanted was to touch up and reapply her morning makeup. She's going to need a shower tonight to get all the glitter off of her face. Ha! Anyway, she's looking fabulous again and insists that she can safely paint her own nails. I don't think so. I hope you enjoyed your day with the warm weather and sunshine. I got a sweet note yesterday from one of you and then another note this afternoon. I miss you! Love, Mrs. Smitley Dear Class,
We survived day two of night shift!! Today was a good day. Luke and I are finally starting to sleep better, so we're not as cranky and emotional as we have been. He is my mini-me, and we've both had trouble sleeping at night because of our anxiety. We are adjusting to this week's schedule, and it's helped force all of us to not lay around in our pjs all day on devices. We exercised, ate all of our meals at the table, and got outside for some sunshine and fresh air. We also escaped to get lunch at Wendy's. It's the first non-home cooked meal we've had in five days. It's an embarrassing record for us. I miss my Friday lunches with Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Wood. I miss my teacher friends. I'm still missing you guys like crazy! At one point to day I just sat in my van in the sunshine with the doors closed all by myself. It was blissfully quiet and peaceful. I think it's going to be my hideout for the duration of this lock down. So don't mind me if you see me chillin' in my driveway napping or reading in my van. And DON'T tell my kids about my secret hidey hole! Luke is due for his allergy shots tomorrow. We're going to head to Cork during morning, well people only time, and then we'll thoroughly disinfect our devices and wash hands when we come home. Wish us luck avoiding the germs! Love, Mrs. Smitley Dear Class,
Today was rough. Not only are we adjusting to being at home all day, but this week Michael started night shift for the first time in a couple of years. If you have parents who work shifts, you know how it feels. We tiptoe around all day trying to be quiet...which is super easy with an old house, wood floors, two big dogs, and three kids. Not. Then it gets super fun when he wakes up cranky at the same time the kids and I hit our pre-dinner crankiness. One day down, only six more shifts to go. Will we survive?? Tune in tomorrow to find out. Ha! As far as schooling went, we had an hour set aside today for Luke and Anna to do five worksheets that were fairly easy. Apparently Luke never does that many worksheets at school, and it was a traumatic event for him. I'd like to send him back to Mrs. Sims and Mrs. Scamihorn because I'm 100% sure he doesn't act like this for them. He and Anna are going to get sick of my new motto "Do it nice or do it twice." I should have grabbed some of my big erasers from my classroom when I snuck in! I had to check Emma's answer key for 6th grade math. I thought I knew what she was suppose to do, but I didn't want to teach it to her wrong. Packets are nice because they don't involve technology, but they also aren't self checking like the iPad apps. Luckily, I'm pretty confident I can answer 1st grade and 3rd grade questions. :) Today was the kids' first Face Time piano lesson. It was good to check in with Ms. Jan. I may need to see about getting some kind of iPhone stand so she can see their hands as they play. I held the phone for a while, but that gets awkward for everyone when I get that involved and stand over their shoulder. Mrs. Davidson will be shocked to hear that Anna moves around too much while she plays piano. That girl has ants in her pants 24/7! I think tomorrow we're going to pick up lunch or dinner. I'm tired of cooking three meals a day. I miss fast food. And fountain Diet Coke. We're also going to try and spend more time outside. Do you think we can fit a pool floaty in the hot tub?? I miss you bunches!! Mrs. Smitley Dear Class,
If I had a clip chart at home, one of my kids would have made it to red today. Guess who?? 🤔 Just kidding. He wasn’t that bad...but it was a frustrating morning for both of us. Turns out anxiety and “to do” lists don’t mix well...even though the list was mostly things that are done every day, like BRUSH TEETH!! Fine. We’re switching to an hourly schedule. I’m tired of being the device police. The clock is in charge starting tomorrow. Well, maybe not tomorrow. Michael has to work nights now as part of the state lockdown and Marathon’s new policies, so the kids have to be quiet tomorrow while he sleeps during the day. And I won’t be here to make sure they are quiet because I have a chiropractor appointment in Terre Haute that was miraculously not canceled! My dentist and my esthetician both contacted me Friday to cancel my appointments for tomorrow. I was going to be beautified, but now I am not. Bummer. Anyway, we got out of the house to walk and pick up stamps to send letters. Maybe by the time the quarantine is over my dogs will walk nicely together. Daisy yipped and whined the whole walk because I wouldn’t let her be the leader, and she kept tangling up in Lucy. Lucy was on the prowl for squirrels. It’s a good thing Emma is strong because I thought Lucy was going to drag her down the sidewalk a couple of times! 😱 I hope you got outside today. I picked up some stamps from the post office. Let me know if you want a 🦖, 🐶, or 🐸 stamp! Love, Mrs. Smitley P.S.--Here's what we're trying the rest of the week. "Acadamia" time is five must do worksheets for Anna and Luke. This is maybe 20 minutes of work if you cut out the complaining, stalling, and fixing of sloppy handwriting. Everyone has to write in their journal. Emma has to write ten sentences documenting her life and her feelings while on lockdown. Luke has to write five. And Anna just has to write one sentence about anything and draw a picture to match. If they finish early, they can do an educational app...if they can find one that will load. iXL and ABC Mouse have been SO slow or not working at all. We're getting our internet upgraded tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if it was our internet, or if it's just that millions of kids are trying to use the same apps that we are. Dear Class, My house is a disaster!! I’d rather be at school where I only have one room to keep organized. My kids have too much stuff. I think I’m going to throw it all away. Just kidding. Maybe. If you don’t hear from me again, my head started spinning and burst into flames when I tried to find a spot for all of Anna’s junk. She thinks it’s TREASURE, but I know it belongs in the trash! You don’t save pieces of toy wrappers and tiny things and random toy parts and stash them in all sorts of hidey holes...do you?? Wish me luck. Love, Mrs. Smitley 9:45 PM UPDATE: I didn't get all the junk cleaned up today. I'll try again tomorrow. I'm attaching the resources I'm using for homeschooling my own kids this week. We'll see if it works; I'll probably switch it up next week. Who knows.
For Anna: A Teeny Tiny Teacher has some free Listen and Learn Activities right now. Set 1 Set 2 The Moffatt Girls have some good $5 packets for ages Pre-K through 3rd grade. I got Anna the 1st grade ones so we can continue to work on them this summer. Weeks 1-3 Weeks 4-6 For Luke: I got him the Moffatt Girls $5 packets also, but for 3rd grade. Weeks 1-3 Weeks 4-6 For Emma: There isn't much for 6th grade since it's departmentalized in most schools at that level. I picked this one because it was easy to print out and assign, but I don't necessarily love it. It does have an answer key!! She'll probably end up having to do more in her text books which she was able to bring home...or spend more time online. Isla Hearts Teaching $10 6th Grade Summer Review Packet And here are a few other free resources from TpT that I printed and hung in the office...just in case I needed them. Editable Daily Schedule from Reagan Tunstall Self Regulation Poster from Pathway 2 Success Dear Class, Do you have anything special planned for today? We have some errands planned that we need to get done. First, I need to go get eggs from L&A Farms in Paris. They have the best eggs and Walmart was all out!! 😱 Next, I have to go to school to get some things to torture, I mean TEACH, my own kids. They are super excited. Then, we need to run to Lowes to get some things Michael needs to fix our bathroom. Finally, I have to clean the house. I’m so excited about it that I left it for the very last just in case I run out of time today. Unfortunately, I promised the kids I’d finally let them start a YouTube channel today once the house was clean. Now they won’t leave me alone and let me drink my coffee in peace. Enjoy your day! Love, Mrs. Smitley Dear Class,
I miss you! I've seen a few of you at the grocery store and received a few messages from others. Your smiles made my day! One of the only materials I had time to get to you was your journal, so I thought I'd lead by example and keep a journal of our days home. Here's a quick recap: Day 1: Tuesday was suppose to be a day to meet and prep work for you. I spent the day anxious and worried that you wouldn't have enough books to read or work to do. I also spent the day waiting, just like you, for information. I am not a patient person. This is apparently something I'm going to get a lot of practice in, whether I like it or not. Ha! At least the day was sunny, and my family was able to take the dogs on a walk. Anna fell off her scooter, so I ended up carrying it most of the time. I knew that was going to happen. Day 2: Wednesday I went to the grocery store. Having all of us home means we are going through food like crazy. The rain and gloomy weather is back. Ugh. I managed to pick up the house, make my bed, and do some other random chores...so there's that. I also made it to school to grab some books for Anna to read, some games to play, and my laptop. I left my two favorite plants with the office to babysit until we return. The other one was mostly dead anyway and not worth saving at this point! Day 3: Thursday I was exhausted mentally. I've spent so much time worrying about you and my family, that I was just drained. So I sat on my friends porch and we talked, and then Anna and I grabbed some time in the hot tub between storms. And that was about the extent of my day. My husband was thrilled with the state of the house when he returned home from work. Oops. Day 4: Friday! I ran to Walmart AGAIN. I've become an accidental hoarder. I kept looking for signs about limits on items, but I didn't see any specific number by the milk and the bread. As I was checking out they had a sign posted to please take no more than one item. It was too late at that point! I had two milks and three loaves of bread. I feel guilty, but a family of five does go through a lot of bread and milk. I'm sorry!! It also looked like I was doing a major shopping trip with two carts, but seriously, it's just how I shop. It's so much easier to load the bagged groceries into a new cart than try and get it all back in one. I'm not really worried about teaching my own kids this week. This is a traumatic event we are all experiencing right now. They play a few educational apps before they can play games. I kick them outside when it's not raining. And we all have to get dressed and brush teeth before we can eat lunch. Maybe next week we'll try and get on a schedule. We'll see. I miss you! Mrs. Smitley |
AuthorWelcome! I'm a second grade teacher in Marshall, Illinois who is now unexpectedly homeschooling my three kids while our schools are closed for the coronoa virus. While I've always wanted to homeschool, this was not how I wanted to do it! Archives
May 2020
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