Everyone keeps asking for my opinion on schools reopening during the pandemic. I'm in my 31st year of teaching and currently teach 3,4 and 5-year-olds in a pre-k/kindergarten multi-age classroom. OK. Opinion granted.
Here is a list of nonfictional and fictional cartoon thoughts about schools reopening from a seasoned teacher. Go ahead... guess my mood.
Picture this:
1. A child wears her mask as a tube top and says to the teacher, “I still can’t find my mask.”
2. The teacher asks, “Where is your mask?” The student says, “I threw it away because I want Mommy to buy me a pink one.”
3. The teacher asks, “Where is your mask?” The student says, “It was full of boggers so I put it in my lunch box to keep it safe.”
4. The teacher asks, “Where is your mask?” The student says, “It died.”
5. A teacher wearing a 6 foot long robotic arm leans forward to help a young student put on a mask.
6. A teacher stands before her students. She is wearing a mask, a shield and gloves and is 6.1 feet away from her students. One student speaks, “If you don’t give us candy, I’m going to tell my mother that you hugged me.”
7. Children are sitting in desks that are 3 feet apart. The teacher is standing outside in the parking lot and teaching with a bullhorn pointed towards the windows. The print under the cartoon reads, “Safe Classroom.”
8. A child says to the teacher, “Remember last year when we could sing and we could go on the playground and we could go to the cafeteria and to art class?”
9. The teacher spends hours planning a fun activity: setting a leprechaun trap. After considerable planning that includes special permission for the class to walk out into the hall so the teacher assistant can knock over the trap and leave a snarky letter from the leprechaun who broke the trap and stole the gold, one student says, “I hope the leprechaun is wearing a mask or we’ll all get the coronavirus.”
10. The teacher stares at her computer screen where a parent has written, “Thanks for all you do. You do more than all of my other children’s teachers. Please do more. No, more than that, too. Double that and then double it again. And let’s meet on Friday afternoon 3 minutes you head for home.”
11. The day finally comes and the entire class is welcomed back to school. A student in the front row asks, “How come you only gave binoculars to the kids at the back of the room?”
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Holly Winter Huppert is a writer, a photographer and a kindergarten teacher living in upstate NY. Along with teaching and writing, Holly runs two small businesses: a publishing house (Winuply Press) and a Skin Care Company (Worthy Skin Care.)
Check out Holly's Writing Masterclass for Parents of Young Children, a work of heart that Holly did as a service to parents during the pandemic. Holly's area of expertise is in teaching writing to children, and she shares her knowledge in this video. No charge. No signups. Just information. (Want more connecting children and writing? Check out Holly's book of children's writing prompts: Write Now: Ideas for Writers.)
Check out Holly Winter Huppert’s latest book: Cheese for Breakfast: My Turkish Summer. Huppert writes with her signature humor, honesty and insights.
"This book is a joy ride of surprises; a perfect escapist read." Winuply Press
Join Holly as she finds adventure everywhere she goes as climbs castles, eats from communal bowls, joins a 40-minute water fight from the back of a truck, lives with a Turkish family, visits remote areas and marks two lifelong dreams off of her bucket list: visit the ancient city of Ephesus and watch the Whirling Dervishes whirl in prayer
Follow Holly's personal page on Instagram, Her page for Winuply Press on Instagram, and her page for Worthy Skin Care on Instagram. Or e-mail her at mshollywinter at Gmail dot com to book a speaking engagement or ask any questions.
Holly Winter Huppert hollywinter.com
Winuply Press Worthy Skin Care Upstate New York 845-481-3859 www.winuplypress.com
(C) 2021 by hollywinter.com and Holly Winter Huppert