Dear Friends (last time?),

Happy back-to-school! We may not be post-pandemic, but we are back together . . . and (drumroll please!) back in the Art room, teaching Art . . .to every student, all year! (at least that’s the plan ; ) For some young friends, they are coming to the Art room for the very first time, due to last year’s COVID “shelter in place” cohort model. Masked, but grateful, we spent the first week sitting our three feet apart, which offered coveted “head of the table” status for pairs of friends. My seven art room tables only allowed for 14 children and without more tables, budget money to buy them or the ability to push back the walls and expand the room (!), I salvaged an old-fashioned wooden desk (in stark contrast to the cheerful 4’ primary color tables) on the occasion of a 15th classmate. (Not sure what happens at 16!) This solo option is played up as a special turn for all over the course of the year. Quite literally, my lovely 101 year- old sunny corner classroom is too small for any more tables. In fact, it took the sacrifice of my coveted classroom rug area and ritual circle time start of each weekly class of sharing lessons, stories and marching orders in order to accommodate the bossy COVID social distancing rules and regulations. Despite the sterile (we’ll say clutter free and clean!) appearance of the room, we are in it and with the all-clear to share materials! I have to say that again! We are able to share materials again-and in the Art Room!!!! This is such a relief as you remember the calamity and work of devising a way to collect and disperse individual rations of materials to each child last year (those at school and at home) depleted all reserves of crayons, markers, colored pencils et al! As promised, many materials were replenished enough to now share between 25 classes over 5 days! Hooray! Beyond reacquainting our still-masked selves with each other, our newly reclaimed space, rules and procedures, we are set to embark on a full Year of Art across four grade levels in comparison to 2020’s ⅓ of a year and third trimester shift to being a second grade homeroom teacher to a classroom of eight (or, half a cohort).

Finally it feels like we are steering our own ship again! There is a most noticeable absence of the time-consuming all-hands-on-deck dred "students who forgot to home health screen list" which had us all scouring droves of kids departing school buses and parent vehicles looking for the unknowing culprits to escort them for a temperature check and all clear prior to entering the building. Now, we self-screen, including teachers, saving time by not having to stand in line for the temperamental tablet temperature check which previously guarded the front door. She has quite thankfully disappeared, hopefully powered off in a drawer somewhere forever! The masked smiley face signs still guard the doorways, but the 6’ apart signs have vanished. Masks are now required (vax or not) indoors of all as our littles are the last remaining bodies to be offered the vaccination. (I am personally relieved my children age out of the below 12 age group as I wrestled long and hard about our own youngest (14) receiving the shots as a freshman in high school. I do not envy the uncertainty and understandable fear that must currently reside in the minds of most parents). But the students are arriving every day with masked smiles, eager to learn and enjoy as they so deserve. The bravest demographic of our national population (besides all healthcare and essential workers, of course!) shifting relatively easily back into their known and original habits of learning . . . Despite red zone statistics (all masks, all the time) for our sleepy little seaside community, we are moving forward-enjoying the establishment of space that promotes a bit more togetherness (by three feet!). We are able to sit together apart and talk and share materials and smiles through our masks. We still resist the strong temptation to wiggle our loose teeth, but know those coveted tooth holder necklaces from the Nurse’s office will be awarded us even when those teeth are pulled out at home! A lovely contrast to last year is the newfound freedom that follows students outdoors for lunchtime recess as their masks are pocketed and their noses and mouths are welcome recipients of fresh (often salty ocean) air and sunshine to play and shout and smile and recognize friends & classmates as they reclaim lost luxuries and expanded networks of playmates (not just last year’s cohort segregated recess buddies) for 20 minutes a day.

Back inside, we are washing our hands constantly, (#thankfulformynewsinkandnon-leakyfaucet!) and practice our almost forgotten in-person manners of sharing. We accept responsibility for our actions now, as opposed to “leaving the meeting”! avoidance. Though still a bit quieter than in the past, masks still seem a silencing tactic visually . . .despite the adorable patterns and features that instantly turn little child faces into cats and dogs, sharks, superheroes and crayola crayons. We'll say focus and thought are positive outcomes of pandemic learning (and living). Wherewithal and independence will make a strong comeback with a bit more time and consistency of routine and expectations. Variations on themes of the past are still accessing innate creative alternatives and responses as we are still shackled by COVID guidelines, measures, parameters and union MOAs. I am improvising whole group student response reviews with a Gallery Look rather than Gallery Walk, holding up each student’s work for perspective taking and broadening horizons (a quasi-elementary level crit!) as they learn from and support each other from afar. They build community and respect as they indicate their own work with a silent thumbs up, sharing what they were doing when everyone else was in their “bubble” busy with their own creating and responding. Following a shared reading of a loved picture book (the way I intro most lessons), I have my travel cup of hot lemon infused green tea at the ready to keep away the sore throat which always accompanies prolonged talking through a mask-relentlessly making you doubt these by-product symptoms as the long list of COVID indicators! Staff commiserate together as we revel in our nearing normalcy days, smaller meetings in person, larger via Zoom, walking classes in the hallways again, hosting collegial Staff Birthday Breakfasts and a return to our annual outdoor staff picture day photo, but we acknowledge the uphill tired and frustration that still takes over at some point each day. We have vowed to work hard to find a way to bring back those lost traditions in some capacity for our kids, such as mask-free recess, monthly (virtual) all school sharing celebrations, Halloween parade and controlled classroom holiday parties, Literacy month and Field Day. And, like these letters, flood our school Facebook and Instagram accounts with positive, adorable, amazing and more normal everyday depictions of our resilient and patient students.

In anticipation of hosting my alumni alma mater’s upcoming back to school roundtable webinar, "Takeaways & Throwaways from Teaching through a Pandemic", I thought about my own takeaways and throwaways, keepers and deleters from last year’s upheaval and vowed to my students to maintain the privilege and opportunity to move class to our outdoor space whenever possible! Now in our new, better routine of nearing normal (fingers crossed!) we have gained the long pursued permission to take our learning outdoors beyond recess and our annual Field Day in June. With little prep or equipment, we are choosing to take up our former residence outdoors on the front lawn. We space our hand me down mats out in a circle and sit apart together facing each other, celebrating our sparkling smiles as we take in our whole adorable happy to see you faces, not just our all too familiar edited 50%. We work with the cool breeze refreshing our sweaty chins and cheeks, fresh air and sunshine all around. So, especially on the best weather days, we will relocate to the soft green lawn under the dappled shade of the honey locust tree, where we will once again revel in the flitting chickadees, mischievous paper stealing breeze and adorable smile revealing mask breaks! In hopeful anticipation of maintaining this new alternative learning space, I wrote a Donor’s Choose grant for supporting materials, which was graciously funded by amazing and grateful parents! Among the helpful items: foam garden kneeling mats to keep friends comfy and dry, a wireless, waterproof speaker to maintain our tradition of working to music, especially Classical (and Disney!) and a brilliant, rechargeable, cordless pencil sharpener!

Other takeaways include accessing the arsenal of recorded lessons and learning experiences developed for my students during online learning. The videos of me teaching as well as the archive of student (and parent) response, both visual and written through email, chat and Google Classroom serve a previously obscure opportunity for self reflection of professional practice, outcomes and effectiveness. I am more than happy to never teach live through a screen again, at least to my 3-8 year old students. I am happy to continue to connect with far away colleagues via Zoom as I had been doing well prior to COVID & quarantine. My affiliation with The Innovation Collaborative, NAEA and my alma mater, RISD, all have conditioned me to facilitate and participate in work, trainings and collaborations through virtual modes and means since 2014. I am also looking forward to continuing the new connections and rapport developed with parents and the community during this time. I am working to maintain and even add lines of communication to help families stay in the know and involved with their child’s learning in Art through a new Integrated Arts team website, continued posting on my classroom Instagram page and via print and digital letters and visual share platforms throughout the year.

Taking up more familiar than not routines (but only familiar to those who have been here before, pre-pandemic), we revel in the day’s formerly missed predictability, all five days in person, no screens except to take attendance and practice skills. Books, pencils, base ten blocks in hand, ever aware of the looming possibility of being forcibly reintroduced to words like quarantine and isolate in our so called connected 21st century world, unpredictable like Jenga, anxious and sickening like remission. Before, we washed hands and Lysoled religiously to avoid temporary and minor annoyances like common colds, strep and the dred stomach bug. I enforced my annual classroom Don’t touch your face challenge every October in an effort to keep students in school and well. Now the stakes are higher and much scarier. I chide students into staying seated (which crushes me!) indoors and deem myself the "waitress, " delivering and collecting all necessary materials to my seated "patrons," in order to keep them their 3 feet apart. This is easier said than done as they revert to their sweet, helpful (and restless) selves. Like a game of Whack-amole, I access my very best classroom management skills drenched in humor and literal bribery as needed! (#nottooproud!) The responsibility is great!: exhausting and real.

Despite stifling realities, students are learning! They delight in every new idea, material, fun diversion, resource, bit of knowledge! They make connections to themselves and each other. They encourage each other from a distance as we read and share our beginning of the year summer illustrations and postcard writing lessons. They cheer for each other sharing their triumphs and ahas from their seats and thumbs up acknowledgement. I keep up my hummingbird pace of constantly flitting around the room in order to avoid being in front of any one child for the dred 15 minute period questioned during contact tracing interrogation! I stand still sometimes to soak up the semblances of normal. Sigh. So, we will move forward hoping to avoid any catastrophes (despite weekly district case notifications and ongoing discussions) the sight of our school nurse giving us cause to hold our breath a moment to see if it is us she needs to talk to and inform or deliver bad news . . .We will do anything to stay in our brick and cinder block buildings which were built as schools for children-four walls supporting each wriggly, smiley, bubbling over with excitement brilliant little body-the best way to be! Hopefully enough pages will be turned in this chapter to bring us to the next, hopefully brighter, better, and without scary villains with names in all caps chapter of our collective story.

Best Wishes,

Kimberly

Kimberly Olson, BFA, MAT, CAGS
Art Education Centre School