So Much Labeling

My son goes to school tomorrow.   We've been meaning to get everything together for the start of school for a few weeks now.  There was a long list of supplies, just like there is every year for parents all around the world.   I told my husband I'd go through the list first because after all the organization of the craft room in recent weeks, there was no way he was going to know where I'd stored all the things that might be on the list. 

The job of just simply reading the list beforehand was something either or both of us should have done before two days ago.   We didn't expect there to be much we didn't already have or couldn't get at the drug store or Target in a fast errand.   My husband didn't read the list because I said I'd go over it first, but I got delayed with other things that demanded my attention (or that I gave priority) for days.   So when I did sit down to look the list over, I realized we had a bit of work ahead of us. 

We did have. most of the things, the others, I was to send my husband in a text message list while he was out with my son yesterday getting a plant because one of the items on the list to bring was a plant.   It's a Montessori school, for some reason a plant doesn't seem that unexpected in that light.   They were plant shopping and I started sending item after specific item, blowing up my husband's phone, as the saying goes. 

They were able to get it all but it took a few more stops.   The next job was unpackaging things and labeling them—because every single thing has to be labeled.   Historically this was for younger children who would lose their items or not know which items were theirs when something was found by a teacher in the classroom.  My son and his classmates know what things belong to each other these days.   In this case, though, some of the labeling was to keep people's belongings separate due to COVID-19

Or at least that's what I suspect it's for.   There are other labelings that seem ridiculous, but as a substitute teacher at the school before, I know it's for good reason.   They all have number two pencils and a full collection of colored pencils.   Those pencils can get mixed up as children move from place to place during the day.   Perhaps it won't be so bad this year as every student will have a single location they remain in, distanced from their peers, each day they are in school.   In prior years students would move to different locations such as the floor for large map work then to a small table for single person work and then a group table for a project with multiple students.   This year, you're all alone all day.

I still got to label forty-eight colored pencils and twenty-four number two pencils, highlighters, scissors, notebooks, binders, folders, water bottle, lunch box, cloth napkin, rain boots, rain pants.   Let's see...I didn't label the plant though.   

The Big Boy Update:  My son named his plant "Bud".   It is a lovely variety of holly and about two feet tall.  They transplanted it into a pot he named "Granite" with the bottom section he dubbed "Plate".

The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter is doing so well with distanced learning so far this year.  She loves her teacher and the students are having fun with the classes.   They have two Google Meets each day and some very light work in between.  Next week it's going to increase in total workload, but for now she's enjoying it all.