March 18, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Wow. I just finally sat down at about 340pm and starting this Hopeful Wednesday post late. I usually have this series ready to go by Tuesday night but it has been busy, to say the least. I only worked this morning and saw mostly virtual patients (which means telephone appointments). Then I got home, ate lunch and took a nap. Mr. Plastic Picker is still toiling away at the hospital.

But now I’m awake, and the kids are doing their various tasks. My blogpost comparing COVID-19 Social Distancing to Bedrest was published on KevinMD and the blogviews shot up to over 500 today https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/covid-19-social-distancing-is-like-bedrest.html ! There were 59 shares, which is amazing. I’m sure it’s mostly other physicians looking for entertainment and distraction from more literature-based COVID-19 news.

I meant every word of that blogpost and I hope it does a little bit to encourage folks to social distance and #flattenthecurve. But that blogpost did take all of Saturday to write and edit, as Kevin Pho asked me to trim it down from 2400 to 1000 words. The finished product was much better. Most of my blogpost are for fun and more stream of consciousness. The number of grammatical errors I know is embarasssing in most of my posts, but I promise that I continually look back at them and frequently edit. I’m proud though of the two that have been published on KevinMD. For my other posts that are not as closely edited (it’s a one woman show here at Dr. Plastic Picker), please leave a post comment or send me an email at drplasticpicker@gmail.com

Usually this post is about Five Reasons to Be Hopeful about the Environment. Given the beginning global recession due to COVID-19, the earth is healing and flourishing without billions of humans moving less around the earth. Planes are grounded, highways are clear, and factories are closed. The Venice canals in Italy are actually clear and there are fish swarming! The air in China and Italy is clearing of pollution. COVID-19 is frightening to me as a physician, but there has been an environmental upside.

But the various environmental Facebook groups that I am on that are celebrating this without being compassionate to what is happening to humans are really tone-deaf and ill-advised. This could be exploited by right-wing conspiracy theorist. The environmental should be a non-partisan issue. We are part of the environment. We are part of earth. I do hope that our society reevaluates our relationship with nature and our economy changes to take into account environmental impacts.

So this Wednesday I wanted to dedicate this post to our educators. These tireless civil servants that are highly educated and underpaid. They are under quarantine as well. While the rest of us are beginning to understand how difficult it is to teach and take care of our own children, these teachers are posting all over Facebook lesson plans and suggestions of how to continue to grow our children’s minds and experiences. They are positive forces in the virtual world and lovingly sharing their wisdom.

Five Dr. Plastic Picker Teacher Friends’ Suggested Activities for Children during COVID-19 Quarantine

1. Science of Sport: At home STEM activity with Dr. Ricardo Valerdi and Daren Heaton. They are offering a free Webinar activity tomorrow, March 18, 2020. I know the founder from highschool and he is a brilliant engineering professor. Check out their Facebook Page and I will also include the link in our blog Facebook page.
2. San Diego Humane Society: The San Diego Humane society wildlife education team is hosting every Wednesday live event called Humane at Home! “Our Community Engagement team is here to introduce this exciting new series, and then we’ll dive into learning about Chuck the western screech owl with Project Wildlife Education Specialist Carly Padilla.” The first episode was great and educational. Check out their Facebook Page @Sandiegohumanesociety . This was recommended by an amazing pediatrician I work with who has all sorts of superhero power.
3. 16 Card Games That Will Turn Your Student Into Math Aces: From an open-hearted highschool friend who is a public school teacher. I know The Plastic Picker children and I have been playing more cards lately so this will be helpful https://www.weareteachers.com/math-card-games/?fbclid=IwAR1TWMvvPHN_GluiyTTaIYMfmL35hl1iqD9mbv9fumfhWjRxHyPuGSjv3XA
4. Coding For Kids Free Classes: Again from the same highschool friend. Our son took coding classes that we paid hundreds of dollars for each session when he was in grade school. Those sessions at UC Extension school served him well. He is now taking AP Computer Science. Imagine, these are free online sources that will give your child the same knowledge that we paid thousands for a decade ago. I love how virtual learning can level the economic playing field! Plus no commuting! https://codewizardshq.com/coding-for-kids-free/?fbclid=IwAR2SLngfZhGFSy5ZpNxVf81p36X4dlxXtuarqITqBqcOwa6W0XdyJBkvg5o
5. Junior Ranger Books: The kids can even earn some of the National Park Junior Ranger badges online for free! Amazing. Dr. Plastic Picker is a great believer in Outside Learning and Nature Learning. Parents always ask me what can help their children be smarter and succeed. Success is relative. But to encourage a child’s development into wonderful, thoughtful and intelligent human beings, they need to play and they need to play outside in nature. https://www.nps.gov/kids/junior-rangers.htm?fbclid=IwAR0iSo2Z0x97rWIZVWhnCUJdfJ2Mg7XqxxW48nl3-xcwJ6Ex0J1yFmRWc3s

These are five free virtual activities you can do with your children, all shared by educators I know in real life. They are the people who make we hopeful this Wednesdays. Also don’t forget Dr. Plastic Picker has an event, our Trash Art Contest for Ages 5-12 years of age. Under the supervision of an adult, Dr. Plastic Picker is interested in your Trash Art!  Our blog is looking for submissions of 2-3 images of your Trash Art that you can make while being quarantined at home.  Sent a picture and our blog will create a collage.  When the quaratining is over, we can try to submit it as a group submission to the Del Mar Fair.  Looking for at least 10 entries! Please submit via Instagram message or drplasticpicker@gmail.com https://drplasticpicker.com/event/5-to-12-year-olds-dr-plastic-picker-is-calling-for-your-trash-art/.

Due to my deep depressive funk and the COVID-19 pandemic, I was not able to write a few Hopeful Wednesday posts – but then I grew Hopeful again! Click here to read 4-8-2020 edition of Five Reasons to Be Hopeful https://drplasticpicker.com/4-8-2020-five-reasons-to-be-hopeful-this-wednesday/