Family activities include putting together a puzzle. Allie and Delaney, along with their mother, Amy Wolf work on the puzzle.

By Kathryn Rice

Maryville Middle School Math Teacher Amy Wolf has started a diary of how she and her family are handling the restrictions placed upon them by COVID-19 and school closures.

She and her husband, Rod Wolf, have daughters Allie, 17, and Delaney, 13. They attend South Nodaway R-IV. She has graciously agreed to share excerpts with Nodaway News Leader readers.

When Maryville closed schools on March 16, she made the decision to keep her two girls home as she felt SN would be closing the next day.

March 17

“As predicted, South Nodaway and all Nodaway County schools are now closed until at least April 6,” Amy wrote. “The amazing teachers at SN sent home packets of work to each of my children and have assigned work electronically for the girls to complete.

“Allie has set up the basement as her office, where she can write her research paper, do her daily assignments and continue her online chemistry class. Delaney has decided her room will be her office and completes her work there.

“So far, they do not seem to need much guidance from me, so it is going well. They like their independence in this distance learning.”

March 18

“Today, I have decided to refer to my children as my coworkers because laughing keeps me sane. My youngest coworker slept through the entire morning meeting and now expects me to make her lunch. My second co-worker took control of the remote and is filling the office with Korean pop music.

March 19

“My youngest daughter chose homemade pizza for supper and helped make it … only hours after telling me my “cooking sucks and I just want El Maguey or Chick-fil-A.”

“My oldest daughter wishes this house had more than three levels because our voices are making her crazy. My husband is now home and I’m pretty sure he’s thrilled he still gets to leave for his other office each day. Aside from the small meltdowns from each child, we were able to accomplish quite a bit around the house and they were able to finish their daily classwork.”

March 20

“Both girls seem to have settled into the idea that we are all in this together. We enjoyed meals together that didn’t have to be scheduled around any practices or school functions.

“They were again given work by their wonderful SN teachers and they were also a big help with daily chores around the house. My husband has still been working normal hours, but his company has gone above and beyond in helping keep all of them safe by following the social distancing rules and having as many work from home as possible.”

Thoughts from Delaney

“It’s boring to do my classes online. My teachers have all sent me work to do and I’m doing it, but I miss my friends. I’m not scared of the virus because we have been staying in our house. It is easier to do the work at home because I can do things on my schedule and I can sleep late.

“I hope we get to go back to school before the end of the school year and I hope my summer softball season does not get canceled.”

Thoughts from Allie

“Homeschooling isn’t as fun as I thought it would be. Staying up late and not having to wake up early is nice but I don’t like being stuck at home all day. It’s nice to be able to do my homework whenever I want without any distractions but there aren’t many things to do at my house.

“On the plus side, I’ve been able to catch up on the TV shows I wanted to watch. I’m not a very social person, but I do miss seeing my friends everyday at school. We have an exchange student, Ellen, and I’m afraid her time here will be cut short.”

CBC halts blood drives through the end of April

The Community Blood Center of Kansas City cancels all blood drives through the end of April.

The seven CBC centers, including the one in St. Joseph, have gone to “appointment only” for donors to give blood. If individuals are interested in donating at the nearest Community Blood Center office, the address is 3122 Frederick Boulevard, St. Joseph.

“Please call 816.232.6791, to schedule your appointment to donate blood,” CBC representative Betty Tinker said. ”Blood donations are needed during this crisis.”

Blood collection sites are disinfected frequently, and the centers are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19 as per CDC recommendations. CBC staff are also practicing health self-assessments prior to presenting at work. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms.

Additional information is available at savealifenow.org/coronavirus.