I don't know if y'all know it or not, but 2020 was crazy! I was looking back through my blog and realized I never document my 10th year of teaching. Having Kinsley and then COVID quarantine kind of overshadowed what was my 10th year of teaching, but I can't let it fully pass without some kind of reflection.
I started the year pregnant...very pregnant...as you can probably tell from the puffiness in my face in that school picture. Kinsley's pregnancy wore me out. I was so tired the whole time! So my goal going into the school year was to make it to January. August to January was pretty much a blur as I wobbled through teaching those few months at the end of my pregnancy. A lot of the details are hard to remember other than just trying to survive.
It started with our annual first day of school Chick-Fil-A breakfast date.
Chloe started day care and loved it!
I was so sad about her going to day care and drove Stephen crazy those first few weeks checking on her, but she loved it so much!
I don't remember what this drill was for, but I remember laughing at the ridiculousness of it! Being very pregnant, I did not participate in this drill. But, this gives you a good look into my classroom full of students...even if they are all on the floor under their desks! :)
I may not remember a lot of the details of the end of 2019, but I do know I had an awesome group of students! I had the privilege of teaching the son of some good friends of ours as well as a bunch of other super fun and awesome students! These girls below were 7th graders, but they loved Chloe and always entertained her whenever she was at school with me.
I had amazing teammates who took excellent care of me at school, always checking to be sure I was ok and not doing anything I shouldn't.
Right before I left for maternity leave, they threw me a baby shower...
...and my last day at school one of my students brought in pink iced cupcakes to celebrate Kinsley being born! It was a surprise for me and so so sweet. I told you I had awesome students!
My days quickly went from spending 7:00 to 3:00 with close to 100 middle schoolers everyday to LOTS of baby snuggles! When I left school on January 8th, 2019, I did not look back for one second!
Then, a few weeks into maternity leave, the rest of the world joined me in COVID quarantine lock down. I was already 100% checked out of work because I had a newborn. So despite the stress and fear of those early days of lock down, it felt a lot like everyone had just joined me on maternity leave. I had Stephen home and our neighbor friends. It was like a long extended (never ending) weekend with LOTS of outside time! You can read all about the details of those first 2ish months of lock down here, here, and here.
Before we knew it, the school year was over and I was celebrating the last day of school playing on the playground at home and having a Zoom meeting. I technically "went back" to work before the year was over, but because of quarantine, it didn't feel like it and I was so grateful for those extra weeks at home with Kinsley.
I did have to go back one day to do yearbook distribution.
Oh yea! And in the midst of the world being shut down, Stephen accepted a job in Durham so a few weeks later I went back and packed up my classroom to begin the move...
We then spent the summer moving...moving...moving...Have I mentioned I hate moving? Now I also hate buying a house...in a pandemic...when the real estate market is insane! Nevertheless, we made it and are so grateful for the Lord's provision through it all!
"Year 11"
We were not settled in our house in Durham really well until at least September. With all of the unknown, I did not even venture down the path of finding childcare or a job for the 2020-2021 school year. I picked up several tutoring jobs and those sustained us through this past school year. I did feel bad that those students who really needed private tutor were the ones who were not getting it. So I reached out to Carrington to see if they had any opportunities to help students. I needed an income, but also still wanted to serve those who I knew were truly falling behind. Through many conversations and shifting of plans thanks to education funding, that eventually led to me taking a long term sub position in May for a girl who was going out on maternity leave. It was a crazy few weeks juggling being in the building 2 days a week and teaching virtually from home with both girls at home, but we made it! The morning class was the craziest because both girls were awake and needy. Thankfully I had a long break during the middle of the day and my last 2 classes fell during nap and quiet time so those were much more manageable. My students loved seeing the girls on Zoom!
Being back in the building was weird. I only had students a few of the days I was there. Even then, I taught virtually the whole time. The kids were silent and it was so bizarre. I begged them to talk. The culture Zoom created with students was so unexpected for me. Students kept their cameras and mics off. They would occasionally chat privately with me during a class, but usually I was just talking to a black screen. For students in the building, they still went to class virtually and in between classes, sat silently at their seat...usually looking at their phone. The lack of socializing was heart breaking. I didn't think I'd ever say those words in regards to a lack of socializing in the classroom, but alas...COVID...
I knew my private tutoring jobs would be ending for the summer so I had also reached out to Carrington about summer opportunities for work. I had planned to teach summer school for the majority of the summer. Thankfully, they were so eager for teachers to help with summer school, they decided to actually pay more than pennies to teach it. Because of that, I only had to work one session of summer school. Summer school was back to plan A...all day...face to face..."full" classes. Full summer classes are still less than 20, but more than the 5 I had during the school year. We had three full weeks of a "regular" school day. I wasn't sure how the transition back would be for students, but it did not take them long to jump right back into being middle schoolers. I think being in a true classroom setting (not just a glorified learning center) and having live teaching helped with that. They got to do group work and were expected to interact with their peers. For the most part, they all jumped back in socially and that was so encouraging to see! We did three weeks of a mini ratio unit and even got to do a fun project programming robots.
Now, after a crazy 2 years that feels like a lot longer than that, I am going to enjoy a month and a half of summer break with my girls. I have one more tutoring job I am wrapping up, but other than that, I'm just hanging out with the family before starting a new full time role at Carrington as the Math Interventionist!
For fun...a look back!
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