It's Day 10 here for us.
But it's only Day 2 since the Germany lockdown.
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| Solo activities on an all-time popularity high! |
So it's likely that our personal self-imposed quarantine is going to last a lot longer than the originally planned fourteen days.
Even if Germany is only on lockdown for fourteen days, that will put our personal quarantine time at twenty-two days.
And, unfortunately, based on the continued spread of CoVid-19, we could really be looking at a lot more days at home than just twenty-two.
We are mentally and emotionally preparing for something more like two months.
This means we would, indeed, need to go grocery shopping again. But we did find extra latex gloves in our cars' medical kits, so those will come in handy later.
I have noticed some friends have been sewing their own face masks, and, with enough days going by, I might be jumping on that bandwagon, too.
I think there are four levels to this pandemic, and we can each do our part to try to slow down the progression of each step.
By the end of the CoVid-19 pandemic...
1. We will all know at least one person who knew someone who tested positive for the virus.
2. We will all know at least one person who tested positive for the virus.
3. We will all know at least one person who knew someone who died from the virus.
4. We will all know at least one person who died from the virus.
So far, we are still at level one. We pray it stays that way, but are realistic that we may have to deal with levels two or three. Of course, nobody wants to deal with level four, and that is a huge part of the reason we have chosen to self-quarantine.
It has been really great to see how quickly and efficiently so many educational systems have mobilized their efforts into online learning. I understand that not every district or region has this luxury, but, for example, the teachers in Bavaria immediately began WhatsApp texting groups with their students. Every weekday morning at 8:30AM, the students are expected to be awake and ready to work on the assignments.
Thanks to the work I do with EliteVolley.com and Athletes In Action, I am familiar with the video conferencing tools that make digital communication much easier. My two main "teams" with Dingolfing Damen 2 and AIA pro volleyball player Bible study are still meeting two times a week. We meet to chat and give updates and we meet to workout together.
I think all the teachers and coaches out there are really giving their best efforts to be creative and progressive during this time.
I also think and hope that most parents already really appreciated the teachers and coaches in their kids' lives. There is a whole new level of appreciation being experienced right now, as parents have now had to assume full responsibilities of everyday life for their children.
It's been all over the internet for a couple of weeks now: teacher pay does not equal teacher sacrifice.
A lot of parents are finally being faced with the reality that they have lost their handle and influence on integrated learning FROM HOME which should then be supported by the schools. It has unbalanced so far in the other direction that so many parents literally do not know how to spend time with their own children, let alone how to teach them life skills or educational skills.
Teachers have had to be teachers and become parents. And they have done it for groups of twenty-five to forty children at a time.
So, as teachers and coaches mobilize to assist families as best as they can from a distance during this time, let us all appreciate the teachers who not only have to deal with the couple of kids you may have at home, but with ALL the kids at the same time. For, like, $1.75 per hour.
I really hope that whenever school does resume normalcy, that kids will be able to return to their classes and teachers as better people, who have more support from their parents and who appreciate their education as individuals so much more.
This is no easy task. But it has always needed to start from home, and now is as good as time as any.
Check out Playworks in Colorado for FABULOUS ideas on how to stay busy learning at home AND three times daily LIVE RECESS streaming for families!
(NOTE: if you know someone who does not have internet access or a smartphone at this time, consider spending time with them with an actual phone call, sending a letter, or sending a gift to be delivered from an online order, like for books, magazine subscriptions, coloring books, etc.)
You can follow all of my daily updates during the CoVid-19 quarantine here.