This week, Amelia’s “extended spring break” came to an end and she started doing some distance learning activities with her class.
She was really excited to be able to see her teacher and classmates, even if it was on the computer screen. She even got to connect with her friend Hannah down the street, which brought a big smile to both of their faces.
Amelia is a very social kid, and I can tell those connections mean a lot to her, so I’m glad she is back to some kind of school schedule, even though it is still brief and surreal to be doing it in her bedroom. After the Zoom sessions, they have homework to do, like recording themselves reading books, and other exercises.
Just like regular homework, I feel like it often seems more confusing to the grown up trying to help out than it does to the child, forcing me to wonder if I would do very well if forced to repeat the first grade right now.
That said, I was super impressed by Amelia’s work on her writing exercise. As a guy who has been writing professionally for 20 years, I can say it wasn’t a terribly easy assignment. It was basically educational Mad Libs and she had to fill in lots of blanks.
To her credit, she had creative responses and a better handle on spelling and capitalization than plenty of grown ups and presidents.
I was back to work this week also, and Henry provided a nice musical accompaniment to my first conference call. I know yesterday I was comparing him to Monk, but today had more of a Django thing going on.
While I was making dinner, the kids invented some kind of indoor Olympics and were challenging each other to how many laps around the house. I’m not sure who won, but they were both laughing too much to care.
We also had storytime and a nice FaceTime chat with Grandma and Grandpa Schneider.
And finally wrapped up the day with a viewing of Space Jam. It was the kids’ first time seeing it. They love Bugs Bunny (as do I), and they ate that movie up with a spoon. It’s goofy, but actually held up better than I would have expected.
What really struck me was how prescient the movie was. The villainous alien Monstars were stealing the talent of NBA players, who were being examined as being sick. In one scene, fearing the spread of illness, the NBA announced it was suspending its season until the health of its players could be ensured.
SPACE JAM PREDICTED THE FUTURE.
Yup, my mind is blown.
