everything is canceled

Hello, hi, how's everyone holding up?? It's officially day one (sorry, weekends don't count) of staying the bleep home, working from home (as I'm so lucky to always do), with the kids home for the next three weeks (including Spring Break), at least. I wanted to write a quick update to let y'all know what we're doing, in case any of this is helpful. I've seen a lot of pushback to the idea of homeschooling kids during this unprecedented time. Which, hey, if unstructured time and unlimited access to screens works for you, more power to you! Seriously, do what works for you. But, as a working parent who’s experienced various (some as long as 10 weeks) stretches of NOT working with kids at home, now that I have a job, the first thing I did when I learned our schools would close is create a schedule.

In Oakland, between wildfires, power outages, and a teacher strike last spring, this ain’t our first rodeo. The difference this time is knowing from the outset that we’ve got at least 3 weeks of this. During last year’s teacher strike I had the same attitude about schedules & academics - pshaw, I said! Let's take advantage of this opportunity to have NO schedule! Key difference now (in addition to having a job) is social distancing. Nothing’s open! Three weeks, spent mostly inside a smallish home with two bickering siblings who aren’t the most self-directed individuals? They need structure. I need structure. It’s also an opportunity to think about education differently. Watch documentaries, learn about the tech behind the video games they play, cook something new, make clay with flour. It’ll be fun!

Additionally, a recurrent theme lately is how to manage your and your kids’ anxiety around all this. Guess how I manage my anxiety? I plan stuff, I put things on my calendar, I use my calendar to visualize how I'm going to get through the next three (plus?) weeks. I realize I can’t control everything (anything?) but this gives me back some sense of agency. Most kids benefit from a sense of normalcy and routine, especially during times of increased chaos. My kids, although they’d love endless screen time for a day or two, would be hot messes by day 3. With that, if you're curious to see what I have planned for the rest of the week (and I'll update this document with next week's plan once I get around to it), I've shared a view-only version of our "schedule" here.

Finally, for some comic relief, I wrote a coronavirus/COVID19 parody to the tune of 'Everything Is Awesome." Everything is canceled, and if it's not, it should be. Sing along!

Everything is canceled,
everything is closed due to COVID-19,

Everything is canceled,
‘cause we’re social distancing.

Trying to remember we’re in this together
Do our part, you and I, a social endeavor
Reduce spread however.

Work from home, if you can,
if you can’t, better start saving your money.

Everything is canceled,
everything is closed due to COVID-19,

Everything is canceled,
‘cause we’re social distancing.

Woo! Three, two, one, go!
Did you scrap that cruise? Bad time to travel.
Probably should, ‘cause everything is canceled.
Little kids seem to have some immunity
But schools close if there’s a case in the community.

An updated sample of canceled examples:
The NBA suspended its season,
St. Patti’s parades, for good reason.
TV talk shows with studios abandoned.
GDC, and college classes.
Coachella’s canceled, even Sunday masses.

Trying to remember we’re in this together
Do our part, you and I, a social endeavor
Reduce spread however.

Work from home, if you can,
if you can’t, better start saving your money.

Everything is canceled,
everything is closed due to COVID-19,

Everything is canceled,
‘cause we’re social distancing.

Social distancing, what exactly does that mean?
Isolation or quarantine
You know what’s canceled? Everything!
School field trips, gatherings
Use a tissue when you sneeze
Do your part, however you can
Flatten the curve, that’s the plan.

Sports, church, shows, they’re canceled!
Trips, fests, races, they’re canceled!
Festival of art, it’s canceled!
Everything you watch or buy or play is canceled.

Everything is canceled,
everything is closed due to COVID-19,

Everything is canceled,
‘cause we’re social distancing.