Virtual Virtuoso - Week of Oct. 26th

Zoom, used for videotelephony and online chat, was founded in April 2011.  Many would not have imagined how mainstream or popular it would become in 2020.  It is now the norm for remote learning and connecting friends and families around the world.

Due to the continued rise of cases, Cam's middle school and the high school were both restricted to virtual teaching this week.  The schedule became more regimented, which is definitely Cam's preference.  

After breakfast and morning duties, our studious seventh grader checked in at his desk right before 8am every day to see what his assignments were.  After journal typing, his first daily zoom class was Robotics at 8:45a.  After a 30 minute break, zoom #2 with his Language Arts small group began at 10am.  Next up: lunch at 11am, which seems early to most but in the middle school, Cam's group is assigned for their midday meal at 10:45a.  Zoom with choir at 11:15am, then math zoom at 12pm.  And to end the remote school day, zoom #5 included a science lesson from 1:30-2:15.  Each evening after dinner, a round of continued stretching and magical pillow positioning has improved Cam's sleeping dramatically.

On Wednesday in the late afternoon, we were fortunate to be able to carry on an annual tradition with Oma and Opa.  We met the amazing Gauper couple at Wildwood Farms in Alto, just 15 minutes from our home.  They spent 30 minutes taking our pictures in the glorious sunshine surrounded by corn fields, a silo and a few goats.  We are excited to receive the digital results in a few weeks.

Thursday evening, our family decided to figure out a Halloween costume for Cam.  Jane offered up the idea of Cam becoming a real-life Zoom call based on his recent experience.

Thankfully our son loved the idea and Chris began planning it out.  The entire project was completed in just a few hours.  We felt like quite the accomplished team!

Friday after lunch, Cam's teacher and aides stopped over with a treat bag as they did for each of Cam's classmates.

In the afternoon, Chris took his son over to Brody's be Café to model his costume and visit friends who work there.

Saturday was Halloween day.  With 2020 trick or treating looking very different this year, our cousins wanted to surprise Cam.  In the afternoon, they arrived and secretly hooked up a fog machine with lights in our garage and set up individual candy stations.  Cam couldn't believe how spooky his garage looked and he collected treats as he drove around.

Even though the typical events of the Mary Free Bed parade and trick or treating at Chris' company were sidelined this year, you can't take away Cam's smile or the ability for people to bond together to find  different ways to celebrate.

Camology Quotes: 

Cam makes good use of the accessibility features available on his iPad.  He utilizes Siri to ask questions, create meetings and notations.  Sometimes he is understood perfectly by the artificial intelligence, but other times, it falls short.

Cam was signed in through his school for zoom meetings and wanted to disconnect.

"Siri, how do I use you for Zoom?"

Siri's response: "I'm sorry, I cannot resume."