Read more about the article Emmett finally got into his first live lesson
Distance Learning / My thoughts / School

Emmett finally got into his first live lesson

I'm not gonna lie. Distance learning has not been a positive experience thus far, but today is a new day. Elliott and Emmett are back at it and giving it yet another shake. Thus far, Elliott's been met with more frustration and technical issues but Emmett seems to be doing pretty good. He's currently in his first live lesson. They haven't been working but he was able to login today. Fingers crossed. So far so good for Mr. Emmett. Elliott was only able to get some of his work done because the rest wouldn't load. The plan is to try again in a couple of hours. The school sent a message saying that due to all the problems, the next 2 weeks will not count against the kids. We're using…

2 Comments
August 19, 2020
Read more about the article Day 2 of Distance Learning Has Been A Nightmare
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

Day 2 of Distance Learning Has Been A Nightmare

We just finished up the 2nd day of distance learning and it's been a disaster. The school appears to be over capacity and struggling to meet the demand. Yesterday was full of connectivity issues and today has been the same. We are getting messages that too many kids are trying to log in to the same live lesson and therefore Emmett was unable to gain access. Elliott tried to do his live session but the audio went out and the video kept freezing. I totally get that things happen and that they may be able to get these issues fixed. I get that. My concern is that autistic kids tend to generalize and their very first experiences with distance learning have been negative and frustrating. I'll be honest and say…

1 Comment
August 18, 2020
Read more about the article I haven’t figured out how to approach all of this
COVID19 / My thoughts / Planning / School

I haven’t figured out how to approach all of this

I'm going to be splitting my focus this week between work and getting the kids ready to begin school next week. I have an interview first thing this morning and then a business meeting in the afternoon. After that, I'm working with the boys to help them get organized and prepped for school to begin next Monday. There are a few phone calls I need to make to the school to figure out some of the logistics that I have questions about. I need to look at a new desk for the boys as well. We have one but I'd like for each of the boys to have their own setup. I haven't figured out how to approach all of this just yet. There are a few things that I'll…

4 Comments
August 11, 2020
Read more about the article Distance learning for the first time is pretty f*cking scary
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

Distance learning for the first time is pretty f*cking scary

School is getting closer and closer and I'm getting nervous. We will be distance learning for the first time because there isn't a snowballs chance in hell that I would put my kids in a classroom right now. I know it's the right thing to do but I'm questioning whether I'm the right person for the job. Unfortunately, I'm the only person for the job, so I don't really have a choice. Everyone is stressed out and lockdown is continuing to take its toll. The house setup is not really conducive to distance learning and I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Using the dining room table is probably the easiest solution but the boys may end up distracting each other if I don't separate them. Ideally, they'd…

0 Comments
August 5, 2020
Read more about the article Navigating The In-Between
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts / Navigating Divorce

Navigating The In-Between

So last night was pretty rough. We're coming up on the one year mark since Lizze moved out and while I feel like the kids are doing better, there's still a tremendous amount of pain. Each of the kids deal with everything in different ways. Gavin simply accepts whatever he's told, never questioning anything. Emmett doesn't want to make waves, so he largely avoids any type of conflict but is angry. Elliott accepts nothing and keeps everything bottled up until he explodes. It was like an emotional nuclear bomb exploded in my living room last night. Elliott unloaded a great deal of what he's been keeping inside and all I could really do was listen. I don't agree with everything he said but I won't take away how he feels.…

0 Comments
August 5, 2020
Read more about the article We basically have 2 weeks before school begins
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning

We basically have 2 weeks before school begins

School supplies have started to arrive for Emmett. Elliott already received a textbook and laptop a few weeks back. Emmett received books, art supplies, a science kit and his laptop. The math workbook is enormous. We have about 2 weeks left before school is supposed to begin and frankly, I'm nervous. Things are already so challenging and that's without having to try and manage distance learning. At this point, I'm not even sure what's going to happen in Ohio. It's not yet been decided as far as I know. I suspect the school year will at the very least, be delayed. We'll have to see what happens and how it impacts us. For right now however, I'm just hoping that I can pull this off. I told Gavin that we…

1 Comment
August 1, 2020