Slice of Life: Documenting Opportunities (Pandemic Year)

(This is for the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. We write on Tuesdays about the small moments in the larger perspective … or is that the larger perspective in the smaller moments? You write, too.)

It’s a year or so into the Pandemic, and it seemed like a good time to have my sixth graders reflect in writing on life in the Pandemic. I framed their responses as a Message in a Bottle (digital version) for Future Historians. We used a Padlet wall to write and I asked them to share both the challenges and the positives.

While the Pandemic has been disruptive and terribly destructive, the lock-downs and social distancing have also opened up some unexpected opportunities for many of us. I wanted to make sure my students were not deep in just the negatives (they wrote plenty of these — from missing family to feeling isolated to wearing masks to missing the normalcy of school).

Here is some of what my sixth graders wrote on the positive side of things:

• Acquired new goats (three of them for one student) and a donkey (for another)
• Adopted many new puppies and rescue dogs
• More time outdoors; hiking with family; Exploring spaces in town
• Lots of online gaming with friends as social events
• Dancing via Zoom, connecting with distant friends
• Lots of extra time to work on new art projects
• Time to skate on the frozen ponds and create lawn rinks
• Bike riding and running together, as a family
• Time to read lots and lots of new books
• Horseback riding with family
• Welcome break from constant “always on” sports seasons
• Time enough to get caught up with schoolwork
• Dreaming of the great vacations, once it is all over
• Listening to more diverse music and discovering new artists
• Lots of memes/too many memes/memes everywhere
• Interesting Tik Tok videos and projects (like musicals)
• More time to practice musical instruments
• Exploration time with new technology (VR)

Peace (finding it),
Kevin