ELY - Washington Elementary School teacher John Meyer, like nearly all educators across the state, had his world turned upside down in March when the coronavirus pandemic forced him to teach from home.
The family’s school-age children - Etta in first grade, and Sova in fourth grade - were also pushed out of their classrooms and told to stay at home. So Meyer was joined by his two student daughters who also brought their classrooms home with them.
“This is certainly unprecedented and has required adaptability and creative approaches to education,” Meyer told the Timberjay last week.
He said he was impressed with ISD 696 administration’s leadership and the flexibility of the staff in transitioning to a teaching from home and distance learning environment.
“In a matter of a few days, plans were made, adjusted, and implemented to serve hundreds of students while taking into account so many variables,” he said. “Some families had solid internet and available devices at home, while others had neither of those. Some families suddenly had economic variables they hadn’t foreseen and many others were forced to work from home or required to plan for childcare needs that weren’t anticipated.”
Understanding that Ely students and families were in many different situations, not as uniform as in the classroom, has been crucial for Meyer.
“We want to provide access and opportunity for standards-based education, but how that plays out can be different from home to home and we have had to be flexible,” he said. “It is important to remember that notion, ‘We are all in this together.’ That includes parents, students, teachers, and schools across the country.” 

Missing out
In the traditional classroom Meyer said he enjoyed seeing how students respond to what they are learning.
“That instant feedback is so valuable,” he said. “Some things go over well and student responses allow for great engagement to explore concepts. Similarly, we can see what isn’t working as well and change our instruction accordingly.”
He added, “I miss seeing student reactions in real time, then being able to target support for students who need help or provide more challenge to others. That becomes tougher in this (distance learning) environment, but I think we are all still thriving for that.”
The Ely fourth-grade teacher said some students have shared some of their rewards in learning with their families.
“I see evidence of learning from students each day and that is really motivating. That spark of discovery or that new confidence realized - those are some of the joys of being in the classroom. It is just experienced differently now,” Meyer said.
“We laugh a lot in class and try to have fun,” he said.
He related the robot and coding work he presented to his students before the shutdown.
“The last week before we left school we were doing distance and angle measurements using robots,” Meyer said. “The students wrote code and programmed the robots to drive certain distances and turn at given angles. It was really fun to see them learning. I really miss those STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) projects and hands-on learning activities. And I miss all the smiles, of course.” 
Sova and Etta Meyer are learning at home as their father teaches from home.
“Both our girls have fantastic teachers. We feel really fortunate for both of them,” he said. “Both teachers have reached out to our kids to encourage and clarify things.” 
The girls miss friends and classmates, according to Meyer.
“But they seem to understand we are all adjusting to a new normal. We are all grateful for good health and this extra time together. While things are different and new challenges present themselves, we try to be mindful of the added joy of more time with family.” 

Into a routine
With three school-age kids in their family, Logan, in Kindergarten, Kayla in third grade and Rylee in seventh grade, Tara and Brad Larsen were thrust into the distance learning way of life.
“We’ve had rough days, like I’m sure everybody else, with getting used to the new procedures, but we’ve had more good days as we balance things out and gett into a routine that works for us,” Tara said.
Brad, continues to work full-time at his auto body repair business, while Tara, a professional photographer, is not taking any clients during the state’s stay-at-home order due to COVID-19, and is overseeing the family’s distance learning.
Tara has experienced many rewarding aspects in watching her children learn.
“They used to come home from school and all of their work was already done and I could see the end result, but now I see the (learning) process and watch them grow, even in the last couple of weeks. It has been an eye-opener to see what goes on in my children’s everyday life at school. It has been rewarding to be the one who is helping them learn.”
Learning at home has not just been study worksheets and book work for the Larsen kids. “Our teachers encourage the kids to get out and play for up to an hour every day,” Tara said. “They encourage lots of movement. Their school physical education teacher (Chelsea Blomberg) sends videos to help them get their little bodies more active. They have recess time.”
The Larsen kids also keep up with the chores on the family’s hobby farm outside of Ely. “We have goats, chickens, cats, a hamster and even a new hedgehog,” Tara said. “And Rylee said she wanted ducks this year, so she’s our little mother duck taking care of our new additions here on the farm.”