I would never make it as a filmmaker

 

Planning, prepping, filming, and editing learning content is EXHAUSTING. I also have school supplies all over the house. It's a mess! I would never make it as a filmmaker. Having to BE on camera is also not my favorite thing. I need hair and makeup, people! And the camera really does put on thirty pounds. Zoinks! I don't do retakes though as like I said, it is exhausting. So ya get what ya get and if I worked at a public school I would share it with ya but I don't so I can't but really, you're not missing anything. 

Trying to film videos for school is even more difficult when you have to wait until your partner is done with their work meetings. We only have the one big room, and mr. a-go-go seems to have multiple meetings throughout the day, every day. Sigh. The only place for me to make the videos is at the kitchen table and I need the light to be right so I have to film just before dinner which means I am smooshing crayons and glass gems, and fiddly bits out of the way and they somehow end up everywhere. So, today I tried to make a video outside and the cat kept interrupting so instead I am eating my current favorite cereal outside instead because apparently I make too much noise when I am eating it and the mister glares at me over the computer the whole time. 

zoom classroom busyness

 

Well, that was a fun meeting! We read three books, wrapped yarn around sticks, shared our yarn star projects, made galaxy jars, sang songs, and played moon rock basketball. We were zooming for over AN HOUR! Not too shabby for hanging out with ten three and four year olds via zoom. I found that if I make it the "jek show" and don't take any breaths we can keep going without the goifness that is prone to happen with the preschool set. 

I've heard so much about teachers having to do long meetings of house tours, etc. but my class never did that. We began our first meeting with a LOT of hellos and I asked the children to each bring an item to share. we focused on "Tell me three things" about their items and we counted out each one and moved on to the next child. I had the parents set out play dough before the call so the children had something to do if they were camera shy. I do have one sweet friend who has to be far far away from the camera to feel comfortable. I make sure to tell my parents that if they have an opportunity to be outside, be outside. I can do a solo zoom with their kiddo for a song if they need it. So far, it's all working out. 

zooma zooma zoom zoom zoom

 

Time for a staff meeting. One of the pluses for a zoom meeting for work is that I can put Bailey's in my iced coffee. Everyone else was drinking wine. Me? i went for the Bailey's...and dinosaurs...of course. How are you hanging in? Stay safe! 

this is all I do now

 

Bake a few muffins here, a batch of cookies there, and oodles of sun tea and iced coffee everywhere. A girl can cope, can't she? 

garden goodness, again

 

The neighbors who live kitty corner behind us (the ones who we may have stolen polyoestre from) have this giant cactus in their backyard and it grows right up against our fence. It's probably the only thing holding the fence up (ugh, we need a new fence). Even though it is covered in cochineal (which can be cool), I love seeing the blooms when they happen. They're so pretty! 

We had to add a chickenwire skirt to our feeds because the darn cat can jump. she can jump super high. Ack! The birds don't seem to mind.  It's getting warmer everyday which means we'll soon loose our nasturtiums to the sun, but until then, I plan on enjoying their brilliant colors. haven't been adding them so salads lately, but I did try to make paint. You'll see how that turned out soon enough. 

The chickadees are still here! Hooray! I love how they constantly chick-a-dee-dee-dee. I call them Mary Poppins birds as they move completely different from the other birds, kind of like little birdie robots. We have a pair, I think. They prefer the feeder in the front yard but methinks that one is empty now. Either way, yay for chickadees! 

my covid cafe

 

The table is three feet wide and there is two feet between each chair and the table. I faced the chairs out so we can face away from each other and have a visit. I have been able to have parent/teacher conferences for those who need the face time this way, and it has been so lovely connecting with my families during the chaos of this pandemic. I might not have been out anywhere but this has been nice.