Dear Wonder Families #SOL20 #SOLSC20

Beth Moore has been slicing letters to her kids during the SOLSC. She inspired me to give this slicing form a try and I did last night slicing a fictitious letter to my Kindergarteners about our abrupt COVID 19-related closure late yesterday afternoon. Today I write (again fictitiously) to their families.

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Dear Wonder Families,

While I am certain it wasn’t completely unexpected, I know it was a surprise to learn late yesterday afternoon that we’d be closing for a week. Please know that this was an incredibly hard decision for the district to make. These are strange times and the situation, as many have said, is fluid. By the time Admin presents decisions made to faculty and staff, there is a good chance the circumstances have already changed. As a member of our Admin team put it yesterday, “This is like flying a plane and building it at the same time.” There is no precedent for what is taking place now in our district, the state of Massachusetts, the US, or the world.

As you know, all buildings and buses are being thoroughly cleaned again today. During our PD days tomorrow and Monday, faculty and curriculum specialists will be planning online learning should our closure extend past next Wednesday, when we will have expended all our “snow days” for the year. Suggested Kindergarten lessons and activities will be delivered to you and your child through Seesaw. In developing them, we are keeping in mind how hands-on and experiential Kindergarten is. Learning isn’t about staring at a screen or completing worksheets. Our ideas will be thoughtful and appropriate. No new content will be included as our focus will be on continued practice of skills and content already taught. Please continue to read to your child and encouraging them to read to you.

We also know having your children home on such short notice is a challenge. Many of you, I can well imagine, are trying to figure out how to handle child care while working. These are, indeed, challenging times and we all need to take care of ourselves and each other.

That’s all for now. You’ll hear more from me and the district soon. Until then, keep washing those hands and remember Country Cares!

Be well.

Mrs. Wyman

P.S. Take good care of my Wonders. I miss them already! 😦

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Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. Many thanks to the crew at Two Writing Teachers, and the extended SOL community, for giving us the time, space, and encouragement to live the writerly life here every Tuesday throughout the year and daily during the month of March.