Read more about the article What’s this week going to throw at me?
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What’s this week going to throw at me?

We've reached the final few days of what is probably the worst school year ever due to COVID. I'm so grateful that the boys made it through and that in person learning will resume full-time once again this fall. I'd prefer to never, ever do this again. This week is just fun stuff and a time to turn in missed assignments. If this had been a typical year, I would be concerned with the boys grades. The reality is, they survived a global pandemic and still managed to make it to school everyday. Did they put in their best effort, I doubt it, but how many of us adults, just phoned it in this year? I know I did. I'm once again first in line for parent pickup and I'm…

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May 24, 2021
Read more about the article Tips for Parents Managing Distance Learning at Home
Link / Sponsored Post

Tips for Parents Managing Distance Learning at Home

Distance learning is a skill that, when mastered, opens routes to lifelong educational opportunities! Although our collective journey as parents of school-aged children has been bumpy on a global scale since March of 2020, we have all found ourselves making strides in our endeavors to accommodate our kids' educational needs. Despite massive odds against all parents, there are a few key tips that have helped online learning aid our children in their educational blossoming. You can also click here for more information on online learning. Proper Tools: While this may seem to be an obvious answer, a more in-depth analysis of what online learning tool kits should include exposes the fact that a lot of thought must be given by both teachers and parents. Because our homes aren't always set…

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May 24, 2021
Read more about the article Let them be who they are
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Let them be who they are

Elliott made his triumphant return to the classroom, if only for a day. He had state testing and it went well, at least as far as he can tell. Mr. Elliott decided to dress up in his cosplay outfit, which I wasn't sure about. Personally, I didn't care if he wore it but I was a little concerned about how people would react. It wasn't anything crazy but it certainly wasn't street clothes. I didn't want him to be in an uncomfortable situation. He told me he wanted to do this while last night and I had my concerns but ultimately decided to let him be him. Apparently, cosplay is a big thing in his class, so no one thought anything of it. Also, I respect the shit out of…

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April 16, 2021
Read more about the article Day 2 of being back in the classroom
Emmett John / School / Victories

Day 2 of being back in the classroom

I just picked up Emmett from school today and his second day back has been a resounding success. He's so excited and I feel so good right now because after focusing so long on his physical safety, I can finally doing something positive for his emotional health as well. Everything went well for him today and he's anxious to return. Tomorrow will be state testing again, as well as the last day of the school week. He'll return on Monday for regular in person learning. Assuming nothing changes dramatically with COVID, he should be able to finish out the school year. I'm so grateful for all the love and support as he ventures back into the classroom. Unfortunately, Elliott doesn't have the same opportunity but he will be back at…

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April 7, 2021
Read more about the article Emmett returned to the classroom today
COVID19 / Emmett John / My thoughts / Planning

Emmett returned to the classroom today

Today was such a big day, especially for Emmett. I haven't mentioned this in a little while because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Today was the moment of truth and here's what happened. State testing is ridiculously mandatory this year, despite the pandemic. I have made my thoughts on that quite clear. It's flat out fucking stupid that we didn't skip testing this year. We know the scores are going to be lower but it's because our kids were surviving a fucking pandemic, not because they're incapable of learning or the teachers aren't doing their jobs. Sorry, I get pretty fired up about this but I digress. Anyway, Emmett was required to return to school for the testing process and he will be required in and off…

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April 6, 2021
Read more about the article It’s been a heartbreaking day
COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts

It’s been a heartbreaking day

Remote learning is like a fucking emotional roller-coaster for everyone involved, but especially for our kiddos on the autism spectrum. We have had our ups and downs but today was a particularly challenging. I stopped working today, which is hugely problematic, in order to help Emmett navigate his schoolwork. For some reason, he was completely overwhelmed by the tasks on the screen before him. There's a million reasons he's overwhelmed but I don't know what pushed him over the edge today. How many of you out there have seen similar with your own kids lately? It's currently 3pm and I've been trying to help him work through his anxiety, frustration and whatever else he's feeling that I can't see on the surface, all day now. Remote learning is a necessary…

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October 6, 2020
Read more about the article A slight hiccup to the start of our day
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A slight hiccup to the start of our day

First of all, I love waking up in the morning with my balcony door wide open. The morning sun shines right in and it's just a good start to the day. I've not been sleeping well lately and getting up in time to get the kids to school isn't easy. On this particular morning, Mr. Emmett is under the weather. He's dealing with nausea and I think it's due in part to post nasal drip, with a heaping helping of stress on the side. Anyway, he's struggling a bit and I called him off from his first class this morning. I'm hoping that a slower start will help him work through this and get back to school in time for his second class. I got him setup on my bed…

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September 28, 2020
Read more about the article We kicked off our first full week of school
My thoughts

We kicked off our first full week of school

We just kicked off our first full week of school. As I've stated previously, we've chosen the remote learning model for a number of reasons. Today was largely a success because everyone got into their respective classes and did well. The boys seem to really be enjoying this experience better and I'm so happy with that. They love the face time with their teachers and friends. That's very positive and frankly, a huge relief. In other news. I've been thinking and I spoke with the kids today. Rebuilding my podcast studio has inspired me to make changes throughout the house, one room at a time. This has inspired me to work on the rest of the house It's important to me that we make the best of our current situation.…

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September 14, 2020