Ten years ago when I began my first curriculum design project, never in a million years could I have imagined the world we are living in now. Secluded at home. Sheltering in place to stay well and healthy amidst the coronavirus. Yet, here we are. My junior in high school is missing her junior prom and her annual mission trip to Mexico. My middle schooler is missing her trip to Washington DC where she planned to spend her 14th birthday apart from us. Disappointment abounds. I am sure you and your family can relate.

However, the larger unexpected gift in this time, is the work that I do. I worked for years as a secondary teacher, primarily high school. Then as my kids started to enter the school, I started teaching the grades they were in. I taught in their adult education preschool where the adults were the students and the kids part of the daily “lab experiment.” 😉 Once they were both in elementary school, I substitute taught on almost a daily basis in their K-8 charter. I provided writing lessons in my daughters’ 1-3 grade class and my other daughters’ 4-6 grade classroom for a time. Eventually, I went back to work full time and eventually I found doing instructional design for an education software company right up my alley. I hope the team of instructional designers I work with and myself will be able to provide teachers with helpful tips and examples to get distance learning going in teachers’ own virtual classrooms. New realities abound.

Follow me at https://www.facebook.com/carveouttime/ for more tips in the coming days and weeks!