Life is getting back to some semblance of “normal” after restrictions and now that school is back and I’m working five days a week in the office things certainly feel that way. Thought it was time for a catch-up.

Back to school

Public schools in the ACT began the transition back to the classroom on May 18th. The week before that, the ACT government was saying schools would continue remote learning for the whole of Term 2. But there’s been no cases of COVID-19 in Canberra since May 1, and consensus is that face-to-face learning is better for kids and parents who need to go to work.

“I don’t like online learning.” George said recently. He explained he finds learning easier being able to see and talk to the teacher, touch things (particularly with science) and interact in person with his classmates. Year 7 and Infants years were the first to go back five days last week and the other years have followed, with all years back by Tuesday 2nd June.

I think it will be OK, here in Canberra anyway, while COVID-19 case numbers are zero (but with interstate travel opening up again we know that could change at anytime). Social distancing practices will be maintained as much as possible , and increased hygiene measures have been put in place. There will be no assemblies, excursions or concerts for the foreseeable future. So we’ll see how it all goes.

School starting again was another change and despite him not really liking online learning, George was a bit nervous about going back to the school after being at home since March 24. He had messaged a few school friends over the time at home and we also went around to our (former) neighbours’ new house (they’ve moved recently) once visiting restrictions were lifted a couple of weeks ago. The kids are friends with George, one of them is in his year at school, so it was great to see them before school went back.

Bye Bye home learning

The couple of weeks before that passed very similarly to previous weeks; me working in my government job in a Canberra office building two or three days per week and working from home the other days. I’ve valued that time with George while he’s been doing his remote learning. Even though I was too busy with my own work to really engage with his… I can see how difficult remote learning would’ve been for working parents with younger children.

The days I wasn’t with George, his dad did his own work from my place, an arrangement that’s worked out well. Learning remotely went OK. It wasn’t six hours a day of constant work and interaction like it is at school. More like 10 minutes a day of Google Meet time where he saw his tutor group teacher and class mates for roll call on video, then maybe a couple of hours of actual school work per day, and the occasional longer Google Meet for another class.

The rest of the day it was Tik Tok, guinea pigs and snacks. Questions of “What are you doing now George?” that I would call out from my home-office (the dining room table) were often met with “I’m just on my break.”

He submitted most of his Year 7 school work successfully, but a couple of subjects seemed to have had a lot of work to do and/or been a bit confusing (Science and Maths). We realised there were a couple of assignments due that weren’t done, and George was overwhelmed and confused about what was required. I rang the maths teacher who said “Don’t worry about the work he hasn’t done, we’ll be covering that again later in the year.” And since he’s returned to face-to-face schooling two weeks ago, he’s got back on track with his Science.

The last week of home learning I enjoyed helping him with an assignment about the phases of the moon, done with Oreo cookies. We learnt all about the waning and waxing gibbous, which somehow I’d escaped at school so it was all new to me.

We finished most days (the days I could work from home) with an invigorating walk on Red Hill. I rug up for afternoon late-autumn walks in Canberra. George wears shorts and a t-shirt…

Mother’s day

“I’m going to buy you your Valentine’s Day present” said George as we got in the car and headed to the shops the day before Mothers’ Day. “Mothers Day you mean”. Anyway, so cute. As well as the flowers that he bought with my money he then bought me a triple pack of Pears Transparent soap and Ferrero Rocher with his own $10.

As well as this lovely Mothers Day treat, I had a video chat with my Mum and sister in Sydney.

After the third attempt at trying to reach mum on a group What’s App video chat, we had contact. I called my sister in between attempts and all she could say was “Manage participants” in a hebrew accent, an in-joke after we’d shared this video of a man’s frustrated attempt to get his mum onto a Zoom meeting.

A social visit

My brother-in-law Leo and his lovely new wife Ann (they were married in February this year at a wedding of 110 people that they just scraped-in before Coronavirus crashed society) invited us around for Mothers’ Day lunch. It was lovely to go to someone else’s house (our first social visit, the day before the visit with our neighbour). I instantly forgot the new protocol and gave my hostess a hug before she knew what hit her.

“Social distancing!” she reminded me good-naturedly. I apologised and then the host came over and gave me a more socially-appropriate elbow bump.

George has now downloaded What’s App on his new phone and enjoyed making me wonder who was ringing me.

Gratuitous Autumn pics…

And that was a few edited highlights from the past few weeks, the end of Autumn. What a strange year it’s been so far. It’s the first day of Winter tomorrow. I wonder what this season will bring?

What have you done since restrictions were eased?

Have you accidentally hugged anyone lately?