Simplified COVID-19 Daily Life
Since school closed in March, my life is much fuller and demanding as I help my grandson, Kenji, with his online 
learning each day. I have made the following changes with my family to simplify life and expand my time to support my grandson:
- My new schedule for online learning is now 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. My daughter and I alternate supervision of my grandson’s learning based on the demands of her job.
- Kenji’s mother is the primary tutor for my grandson while I provide added supervision.
- Although my household chores remain the same, I am far more flexible when coordinating our cooking and cleaning needs.
- My work is now scheduled in my office after 2:30 p.m. and can be challenging to complete on busy days.
- Our family still limits outside shopping and outdoor play. I used to take my grandson to the farmer’s market but we no longer enjoy those play dates. Our daily walks are now in neighborhoods instead of downtown. We enjoy looking at people’s gardens instead of participating in the hustle and bustle of our downtown shopping area. With the recent California wildfires, we must now monitor air quality to ensure that we only go outside when the air is relatively healthy.
- Mental health continues to be a focus for our family as we keep our spirits up with lots of play and reading.
May your fall days be filled with healthy daily activities and love.
Joyce
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Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.