1. Begin with biweekly journals (they can be daily if you prefer) about this experience. Start off with a “fact” then respond with: I feel… I believe… I think…   This can be done in a journal, scribbler, loose-leaf, online blog or word processing document.  You will not be asked to share these with me or anyone if you do not wish to since they can be very personal. They are for you. You may want to share these years from now, as Horace Slughorn from Harry Potter exclaimed, “These are mad times we live in.  Mad.”  Here are some of my examples:

Entry #2

March 15

Don’t leave the house unless it is essential.  This should be ok since I like staying home and can usually find things to do to keep me occupied.  But how long will this last?  I am mentally preparing for it to last at least 6 weeks.  How long before I get cabin fever?  I will set up a routine so that I don’t go bonkers, around the bend (I think Alice in Wonderland said this): every day I will eat only at meals/snack time and try to keep eating like usual…no bad choices, go for a walk once a day – even if for a short one – Monday to Friday, limit my tech time (like FB, online games), spend time creating in my sewing room, touch base every few days with family and friends to check on them, daily house chores (uggh) and spend time with the cats and Trevor.

Entry # 15

March 23

Feeding beside my porch on the tree, I saw and heard my first chickadees of spring.*  I felt excited and reminded me to take a moment to enjoy this small pleasure.  Spring must be on its way.  I also need to remember to put out more seeds…

*for my grade 8’s: I started my sentence with a participle phrase (verb+ing phrase, sentence) I could have written it as:

I saw and heard my first chickadees of spring, feeding beside my porch on the tree. 

I saw and heard, feeding beside my porch on the tree, my first chickadees of spring.