Like many teachers across the country, I am eyeball deep in preparations for our district to go online with our learning. Like many teachers, I’m putting an immense amount of time and energy into thinking about how I will preserve the relationships I have with my kiddos while I maintain adequate “social distancing.”
What’s so very hard about the whole situation is that I will just…miss their faces. I will miss the joking around together. I will miss our dismissal dance parties, our musical partner activities, and I will miss the sheer joy and love my kids have for all things learning. I’ve thought about a few ways to maintain those relationships, and I’ve got a few ideas, including:
-Google chats for kids who want to talk about their writing
-Video “pep talks” from me where I share encouraging messages for my young readers and writers
-An open forum for them to post videos, writing they’re proud of, self-made memes and the like
But the one thing that dawned on me today? One thing I’m crazy excited for?
Well….it stretches back probably about two decades to an assignment I used to give to my students. At the start of the year, I would ask my students to scope out their houses for a cozy place to read. Kids came up with all kinds of things: their closets, their beds, under the dining room table…you name it.
Then, once a week, their homework would be FYCPAR:
Find Your Cozy Place And Read.
It was, by far, the most popular homework I have ever assigned. (That, and the Shakespearean insults. But I digress.)
So today, as I was considering how to continue my students’ writing instruction, it hit me.
Ladies, Gentlemen and Non-Binary Friends, I hereby give you:
FIND YOUR COZY PLACE AND WRITE.
I’ve found mine, and I can’t wait until my students show me their hidey-holes, their nooks, their crannies, their soft and safe spaces.
I don’t have to like that I’ll miss my loveys for however long. But I can savor and appreciate the time and space we will create, however we can.
If you need me, you know where I’ll be…
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
THE. PERFECT. POST … for this crazy time! Yes, let us find our nooks for reading and writing, and maybe remember our humanity in the process … love this, love your spirit.
Thanks. You too, Fran! I think a little hidey-hole finding will be absolutely essential in the coming days.
Such a great post, I say from my bed where I have just finished writing my post. We are a step away from schools closing here, I love your ideas about staying connected.
Thanks! I’d love to hear any of yours if and when it becomes a reality for you. I think this is really going to be hard for me. And now that I think about it, it’s probably important to express to my students how very much I miss them too.
What a great idea! I know I am looking forward to finding mine.
Oooh! And maybe if you find it, will you post a comment here? I’d love to see it!
I will take you up on this homework assignment. Thank you!! These are all great suggestions for distance learning. We are using a lot of seesaw and google classroom as well as happy numbers, XtraMath and eSpark. Your students are lucky to have you on the other end of their device connection.
Oh I wish I had read this before my class dismissed! This is a wonderful idea considering how many readers I have this year. We both share the same sentiments about this situation. I’m going to miss so much about these kids. It’s different and not like sending them out the door for summer vacation. For that you’re prepared and there’s no uncertainty hanging in the air. I hope we get to see our kids again soon.
Yes! Agreed. It was so bizarre, because it felt so much like sending them out on summer vacation: backpacks packed, lots of goodbyes (for now) said, the whole barometer of the hallways seemed to indicate a longer break.
And yet. As you mention, there is that uncertainty. And I DO hope I get to see my loveys, and soon.
What a great idea. I am sure kids have some interesting cozy spots for reading. I am not creative. I just like sitting in my recliner, book in hand, car in lap.
I’m not sure you cat needs creative, just…cozy. Which it sounds like you have!
What I am sad about is we didn’t get to say goodbye, or send a good book home.