Hello. I just thought I would separate my Dreame and creative writing posts from my thoughts on health, teaching, etc.
I just launched my new site: https://sylvaine8dreameauthor.wordpress.com/
Author Archives: donallenthreca
Canva, Photoshop and Adobe Licensed Photos
…and voila!
I made two new covers for my books. I cannot write much here anymore. I spent most of the time writing my updates, doing some freelance writing, editing book covers, and starting (yep, not finishing) lesson plans that I have nothing much to say on this space. Until next time.
Negative COVID Test
I took a break from blogging because I was not well and was also a little bit paranoid. Coughing a lot can do that to you in the time of COVID. But hey, a negative COVID test certainly made me feel a little better. I know it is an antigen test, which is not as accurate as a PCR test. However, combine that with the negative tests of all the people in my family and I feel much better. It helps that I barely leave the home. I protect myself with double masks and shield when I do. I am fully vaccinated. Why was I still worried? Well, I am an asthmatic and my unvaccinated son (waiting on the Pfizer vaccine) is, as well. I support vaccination, but I am aware of the possibility of breakthroughs. But there it is – a negative test. Whoa. My allergies and asthma have not stopped plaguing me, but at least I have more peace of mind.
Asthmatic Cough – How to Scare People in the Time of COVID
I have not left the house for DAYS. When I do leave, I only do so to speed through the supermarket aisles and get what I need. Right away! But if I do go out today, some people will probably avoid me like the plague (yeah, pretty close) because of my asthmatic cough.
The nights are especially terrible. Post nasal drip keeps me up at night. The only thing that helps me is a Piriton tablet to stop the dripping. What I don’t like about antihistamines is that they make me fall asleep almost immediately. I cannot even watch anything after I have gone through my full workload for the day.
Anyway, my asthma and allergies have been acting up. The only comfort I have is that my husband knows his status (negative) and we have both been fully vaccinated. I am gathering the courage to have my twelve-year-old vaccinated, as well. He has asthma and may need extra protection.
Special Education in the Time of COVID
I am not a special education teacher. I used to teach university students for four years. I taught animation, drawing, Photoshop, Macromedia Flash, Autodesk Maya, and even screenplay writing for animation. The best thing about skills-based courses is that students often gravitate towards them because they know what they want and what they are capable of. The only problem you may have would be the usual lazy bunch or the ones who are online shopping during classes. The classes are in computer labs. Everyone has a workstation. I also prepared online modules for about two years and wrote English tests for Korean pilots for about a year.
I have been teaching second-grade for six years now, though. So, it is what I am the most comfortable with at the moment. Again, I am not a special education teacher but my interest in this line of work was piqued last year when I had a boy I suspected to have some sort of special needs. Mind you, he had not been officially diagnosed. However, he had very short attention span, flapped his hands about, and only did what he wanted to do. On the other hand, he was very smart and could read very well. I used to give him my calculator for comfort, and it kind of worked. Unfortunately, he had also labelled himself as “not smart,” which was heartbreaking.
This morning, I had asked our principal to allow me to attend a special education session. I knew that I would have a few slow readers. The greatest instance was last school year’s as the children went back to face-to-face session after more than a term at home. We are back to online classes this term, though, because of the recent surge in COVID cases (with Delta strain, as well). Therefore, I wanted to know how I could involve special needs children through the virtual teaching setting. There is no fixed solution for all children. A teacher must still discover a child’s quirks and needs. However, there were several resources recommended by the speaker that I truly appreciated:
- Read Aloud (Chrome extension)
- Stop Learning Loss
- Seesaw
Other resources given where similar to the ones recommended for children who need some form of audio-visual prompts to learn. Of course, application is going to be a lot rougher as we teachers will find ourselves almost plastered in front of the screen for more than half of the day. I got burned out the last time – as I got obsessive with producing engaging lessons, working from 5 am to 7 pm at times. I would try to do better this school year, especially now that I have so many freelance duties.
The 40th Episode The Royal Witch is Out! (Dreame)
I could not believe I managed to write 40 episodes of mostly 1500+ words each on a web novel. lol I have probably just reached the halfway point. I am not earning anything from it since I am still struggling to get more readers. I am now at 94 followers. However, I am having fun. Today, I wrote after going through a Google Meet, fixing this school year’s Grade 2 timetable, writing an article and revising/proofreading two more.
Packed Day, As Usual
Today was packed but it is no longer surprising.
I did:
- an e-book revision (changed the order of chapters)
- a landing page revision (proofreading, diction, etc.)
- an optimized article (more than 1600 words)
- a three-hour Zoom meeting on Hybrid versus Blended Learning (with co-teachers and a resource speaker)
- 1500 words added to Story 1
- 1000 words added to Story 2
- Skipped exercise because of asthma
I will probably be more coherent with my blog post tomorrow. For now, I leave you a list. At least, I have done all of the above.
Episode 38 is out!
So, hey, I managed to get this one in even though this Monday is particularly busy. I included a button link like the one from yesterday, but you need to be logged into Dreame, I believe, to get to it.
Teacher and Parent Duties
Today is packed with teacher and parent duties. In the morning, after I was done with a couple of articles (a new one and a revision of another), I attended a meeting where our principal updated us as to what The Ministry of Education plans for this school year. My co-second-grade teacher and I had to put together a new timetable that takes in consideration both synchronous and asynchronous classes.
Later on today, I have to attend a Zoom meeting for secondary school parents. There will be a discussion on Pfizer vaccination for students ages 12 to 17. I am looking forward to this, as my son has asthma. I have been waiting for a chance to get him vaccinated. He will have his own Zoom meeting – a karate session with his dojo since their instructor and fellow dojo members would not be allowed to meet face-to-face. Teacher and parent duties have to adjust to new setups that arose due to COVID-19.
The Royal Flower – Episode 5 is out!
I said I was not going to write a second book until I am done with the first. lol! But I still kept on writing. I liked my first book better so far, but this one is also starting to crowd my thoughts.
I might not update this one daily if I want to have a life beyond my teaching job, freelance work, and creative writing projects. Ugh.
Trying to Write Like a Cat...and Failing 