Month: April 2020

Since we’ve been doing this for more than a few weeks, I’ve started to get into a routine. Now with the Governor of Indiana closing schools for the remainder of the year, I thought it would be nice to go through my typical day.

Typical Quarantined Morning:

• 5:00- 5:30 ish- Hemi wakes me up to feed him
• Go back to sleep Hemi on my chest, Issi plopped next to me
• 7:00 ish (give or take an hour) go through email and the news on my phone. Reply to messages from family or are/seem urgent. Note: cats have not moved. Issi flopped on my hip & Hemi purring on my chest. Post something profound while trapped.
• Shower, brush teeth, get dressed
• Turn the kettle on for tea, toast some bread, sometimes I’ll fix bacon & eggs.
• Eat breakfast
• Go over any tasks for the day that are time sensitive – Monday’s record weekly drawing lesson & LCL meeting, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s Zoom meetings with kids. Thursday’s staff meetings.
• Look at daily to do list- check email, Seesaw & Canvas. These are learning management systems- Seesaw for grades 1-4, Canvas for grades 5 & 6. This is where I post activities and lessons. I am currently looking at adding Flipgrid to the mix.
• Throughout the day
  • Share appropriate tweets for school (building challenges, new things that have become available online) post similar items to Facebook
  • Read currently reading Lifelong Kindergarten. Finished The Queens of Animation, rereading Ready Player One, Understanding Comics, and Making Comics.
  • LEGO- could be sorting and cleaning up or building
  • Work on something for school- I have brought a number of things home to learn more about including WeDo 2.0, Spike Prime, micro:bit, beginning Arduino, Makey Makey, Chibitronics… and every time I have a chance to get into the building, I bring more stuff out. I still need to bring home: a Sphero RVR, a Qdee, so many Kickstarter things I felt would be cool in my classroom and haven’t had the time to figure out.
  • Lunch happens sometime along with lap time for Hemi.
  • Draw
  • Clean my studio
  • Look at the long list of projects that I said “when I have time I really should…” shrug shoulders and move on.
  • Check Social Media, Seesaw, Canvas, & email.
  • Think about heading out to: Comic Carnival, the LEGO Store, school… remember- I can’t do that.
  • Shake my head at something silly someone seriously posted in Social Media.
• Dinner- either look around the kitchen or (once a week) order out and pick up.
• Play with cat (Issi)
• Sit with cat (Hemi) on my lap wondering what happened to the TV remote- use my phone instead.
• Have cat (Issi) meow incessantly about playing, even though we just played for ten minutes.
• Watch something silly on TV so far: The Tiger King, Ugly Delicious, Making It Season 2, Frozen 2, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Jack Ryan (we saw an episode at ComicCon Paris), one episode of Kingdom, a Korean historical zombie series… basically a wide variety of junk, that will grow bigger and bigger as the weeks go by. We subscribe to Disney +, CBS All Access, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime- so there is a large library of dumb things we can watch.
• Complain about how I need a new phone because mine doesn’t hold a charge that long. Especially since the iPhone SE was just announced and a re-engineered iPhone 8 > an ancient iPhone 7 but still a manageable size.
• Look at the time- go to bed, with Hemi on my chest and Issi attacking my feet through the covers or flopped on my hip.
• Rinse & Repeat

The differences between this and a typical school day not during robotics season.?

• Cats wake me up at 5:30 for breakfast. Return to bed.
• Wake up rush through a shower, etc. no time for breakfast.
• Arrive at school between 6:30 – 7:00.
• Get things ready. Start answering email- have alarm go off for bus duty before I get anything finished. Grab a breakfast/protein bar or whatever is around for breakfast at my desk get a large cup of tea (Earl Grey- Hot)
• 7:30 Bus Duty
• Continue prep/office work until alarm goes off to pick up breakfast trays for first grade classes at 8:00
• 8:10 today’s 6th grade class starts, followed by 5th, and 4th grade classes. 5 minutes between classes if everything is going perfectly- humans are involved, so it doesn’t ever run perfectly.
• 10:30ish Prep time- clean up from morning classes get ready for the afternoon classes, have kids come in to work on projects during their free time.
• Work on LEGO project at the window if a build has been started (one bag a day)
• Check email
• Grab lunch
• 11:55ish 1st grade class starts followed by 2nd, and 3rd grade classes.
• 2:35ish Bus Duty
• Clean up room- let late bus kids check out books from my graphic novel library. If robotics kids are staying late, help them as needed.
• Review projects from the day, adjust plans accordingly- fix any glaring errors or add new discoveries.
• Check email
• Work through project ideas & grant opportunities
• Look up at clock and realize it’s after 5:00
• Get whatever I’m working on to a stopping point.
• Go home between 5:30- 6:00

My “contract day” is from 7:30 to 3:45 with a 45 minute prep period and 30 minutes for lunch. I think the most difficult thing I’m having to adjust to during the quarantine, besides not interacting with the kids (I never realized how the kids give me energy throughout the day), is being able to use the bathroom whenever I need. This will be one of the most difficult transitions when we return.

As for time and projects- I’m finding the time I spend directly working with kids has flip-flopped with the time I prep and research. Instead of teaching 6th graders about building and programming Sumobots using NXT blocks I’m building and programming a Sumobot using Spike Prime to see how that transition might work. I’m finally working through some of the items we have in the maker space, or I’ve had for years. I’m learning how and when to integrate Makey Makey into lessons. I’m reading books like – Mitch Resnick’s Lifelong Kindergarten, and Michael Cohen’s Educated by Design. I’ve always done various webinars, but I was able to go to Wonder Workshop’s Virtual Summit, and I’m part of the Learning Creative Learning group through M.I.T. So I’m learning Scratch all over again. Many of these activities I would not be able to actively take part in during the school year.

Another thing that is missing- the sometimes panicked rush of the school day. What I mean is, I’m having time, actual time, to really get into a project and spend an entire day on it. School days I’m bouncing between classes. During my Lunch & Prep time is when I get to read and respond to emails during the school day. On a normal day I will have just started to work on a reply to some urgent request when my alarm will go off saying I have 5 minutes until my class shows up. by the time I get back to my computer 3 hours have passed, and hundreds of micro-events so I basically need to start over.

This week while it being Spring Break (for some strange reason I just am not feeling it right now) I have been asked to answer a few questions for a local publication on Teaching & Learning during the Quarantine. This is what I came up with after reading and answering the questions. This is not what was published, I’ve added a few more random clarifications, and thoughts. As with anything I post you get typos free of charge.

Before you say anything else- 1. No, I don’t have kids, therefore I really don’t understand anything about kids, or raising them. I’ve enjoyed hearing that for over 30 years. Ask my little brothers- I have done my share of raising kids. 2. I’m a proponent for playful learning and believe younger kids especially, learn best through play. Structured sometimes, guided sometimes, but still play. I don’t know of a single primary ages student who likes doing worksheets, unless they are coloring pages-I like coloring pages. The adult just needs to watch and ask questions, even silly ones throughout the process. 3. For the most part everything I mention I have tried in some form in my own classroom. Genius Hour for example, I failed many times, just because I am not good an managing the progress of 200+ individual projects from 5th & 6th graders who all they want to do is avoid doing anything. However, one kid- I think I could handle that. Just always keep in mind that children are just as anxious as we are- maybe even more so because they haven’t had their imagination squished. Don’t expect everything to work- everyone IS different. Oh, I was planning on doing a lot of this while visiting my niece and nephew this week, but something came up and I find traveling to New Rochelle, NY a little bit more difficult than I had first thought. So here in unedited glory are my thoughts on spending unlimited time with kids trapped in a house.

Bruce Nelson is the 2019 Lawrence Township Teacher of the Year, after almost 30 years as a classroom teacher, technology coordinator, and STEM specialist he now serves as the Robotics and Design Teacher at Indian Creek Elementary working with students from first to sixth grade. Mr. Nelson is currently the only LEGO Education US LEGO Master Educator in Indiana. As a LEGO Master Educator he works with LEGO Education on development of new products and curriculum.

Opportunities to learn surround us every day, it just matters what we choose to do with them. As adults, we’ve learned to focus on the task at hand and ignore many of these opportunities. To a child, they tend to be filled with questions- “why?”tends to top the list. Learning at home is not going to be the same for every family. As a parent you need to work within your available time and comfort level. Setting up a basic routine helps, but things happen so unlike at school your routine can be a lot more flexible. If there are specific times you need to be “at work” schedule some independent activity for your children at that time. Let them know that you will be glad to see what they have done after you have finished. While this is a scary time for all of us, it is especially frightening for kids- everything that they know has changed. Be aware of this and be patient. While this is a hard time for everyone, it can be a wonderful adventure too. Make time to create happy memories for both of you. In 20 years, around the dinner table think about the stories you and your child can share about the 2020 quarantine.

Every school is different in what they are asking students to do. Do your best to help your child through whatever work they have. If you have a question, get in touch with your child’s teacher. I know that the teachers at my school have been asked to contact their students and families at least once a week. Many are using email, text messaging, or social media to stay in touch some are even video conferencing with their class so the students can see each other and know their friends are safe and healthy. One of those routine things that is missing are kids having a chance to socialize. You can have your child talk with friends and family via, any of the software and websites available (FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Zoom, etc.) Right now I’m using a combination of social media and email to try to keep all 700 students at Indian Creek up to date with activities. Please feel free to follow @explorobots on Facebook and Twitter to see some of my suggestions. I tend to post links to some of the amazing free resources authors, museums, and companies have made available. Starting the first week in April I’ll be releasing a drawing/design unit on YouTube, for any interested students. As for a silver bullet website or app? There is no easy answer to that, all I can say is if your child’s school is using it, that is a pretty big endorsement. As for limiting screen time- I’m usually a big fan, but right now the key is be flexible.

As a parent their are hundreds of activities you could do with your child they may not match the state standards, but they do teach valuable skills. Playing a board game or card game (winning against an adult is something to be proud of- don’t be easy on them). Games teach math skills, active problem solving, perseverance, and how to lose graciously. To take this to the next level- have your child create their own game- Maybe something where the players have to find toilet paper.

Making sets and costumes from whatever you have around the house- this leads into story telling, maybe movie making. They might even be able to make a stop-motion LEGO movie!

Cooking and learning how to follow a recipe are great activities that teach math, sequencing and patience. Look online for simple recipes.

As students get older “Genius Hour” where the student decides on a project and then they do it. This could be solving a major problem like trash in the ocean, or maybe researching how hospital workers are protecting themselves and see if they can find a better way. Maybe trying to figure out how the pyramids were built. This type of project follows the engineering design process- basically see the problem, research what has been done, develop a solution, test it, then improve on it. When a student decides on something they really care about- they won’t stop working on it.

Also for older students- think about things that you wish you had known before you became and adult, things that you had to learn- the hard way. Maybe it’s figuring out loan interest, budgeting, changing a tire, or taxes. Give your child some firsthand knowledge on things that they will need forever. Middle schoolers are notorious for asking “When am I ever going to need this?” Teach them something they will need.

Have your child read or read to your child. If you aren’t comfortable reading aloud- Find an audio book you all may like. Stop every once in awhile and ask questions- like “Why do you think that character did that? Or”What do you think will happen next?” Have everyone guess and see who is closest to what really happens- then again someone’s guess might be better than what the author came up with.

You all know your child better than anyone else, you know when they get frustrated, or tired- no matter what, this shouldn’t be a time where you are fighting with you child. A large portion of the day should be up to them. Have your child set a daily goal- some things may be nonnegotiable- like schoolwork, or reading time, but you’ve got all day there isn’t a rush.

I have been amazed at how everyone is stepping up to help out. online many authors, actors, museums, artists, and even publishers are sharing with the public. Find your favorite author, or cartoonist and see what they may be doing. It could be posting activities, maybe a video, or an online Q&A. It’s been wonderful to see how everyone is trying to help out.

As for your child’s teacher- Believe me teachers are missing their students just as much as some of the kids are missing school. Schools are figuring this out as we go. The analogy I keep coming back to is “We are building the plane while in flight.” ‘Fasten your seatbelts it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Those of us who feel comfortable with technology are trying some pretty awesome things, but not all teachers are the same. Your child’s teacher may be a wizard at teaching face to face. So don’t judge- we’re all in this together and teachers, in a lot of cases, are parents too.

Remember: be patient, be flexible, and wash your hands often.