In March I was substitute teaching a lot and really kind of getting my groove doing it. Heading toward the middle of March talk about the Coronavirus and its spread into the US was really ramping up but still seemed very "the stuff of movies" and very far from our tiny town. While in school on March 10th the teacher I was working with brought her cell phone over to me and showed me that the college her son attended was sending students home until after spring break. I remember feeling shocked and that it seemed a bit extreme at the time.
The next day in the lunch room I found out that the school board had cancelled the band's trip to Ireland which was to take place the next week. I felt devastated for those kids and parents and prayed that nothing would happen to my boys' Europe trip. It still being months away I figured if anything did happen we would be well past it by mid June. Right? As the week progressed, the virus and its spread was still consuming the news.
On Thursday March 12th as I prepared to take my students out to recess I was shocked to get a text from Trent saying that his Newsies musical was being forced to restrict seating and pretty much cancel for the night. It wasn't safe to have that many people in one confined space due to the virus. That was when things started to get real. I felt sick for him and his students after the months of work they had put in to make the show come to life. He told me that Hailey and I could sneak into the balcony if we wanted to see it - which we did - but his seats were so limited that the students could only invite two people. Even that was pushing what his administrators wanted.
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Hailey in the balcony before Newsies freaked out by the giant. The last time we would set foot in that school for months - though we didn't know it yet.
I was scheduled to sub on March 13th. As I woke up that morning and looked at my phone I was in shock. The governor had declared that Friday to be the last school day for Michigan schools until after spring break. The kids had three weeks off until they had to go back. I told my kids to make sure they bring home everything they would possibly need. Don't leave coats, hats or anything in your locker. The whole situation just gave me a bad feeling.
I went in to my 3rd grade class with no idea what to expect. The other teachers told me that they were told in their morning briefing to just keep things light. There is nothing to worry about. This is all to keep everyone healthy and safe. It felt weird to have a "script" to stick to. As the kids came in they were mostly ecstatic to not have to go to school for three weeks. I tried to make the day seem as normal as possible. At lunchtime I spoke with the teacher I was subbing for and she was frazzled. She didn't know what to have them bring home with them as far as work to keep them occupied during the three week hiatus. She asked me to make sure all lunch boxes, water bottles and food were out of the desks. The principal stopped in and said to send them out in small groups to get everything out of their lockers. It was such a weird day. One thing that stuck with me was during our end of the day story time where I was reading aloud to the kids - I forgot the name of the book but there was a character that was a robot. As I read his words the kids corrected me and said I had to read them in a robot voice. I did my best robot voice and they were in hysterics. I know I was not their regular beloved teacher but the fact that one of their last memories in that class was laughing at my robot voice was a good thing I think - at least it was for me.
At the end of the day we all came home - and the world came to a screeching halt.
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We took advantage of the mild for March weather to explore the trails in our woods.
It's getting warmer! Thankful for that and my "Tiny Walk" buddies.
