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Let’s start with two events that aren’t virtual. There are still 28 locations for weekday Grab and Go meals, that now include three days worth of breakfast and lunch on Friday. You can find the locations, addresses and times available HERE. If you are unable to make it to a site, you can make a food delivery request HERE.

Next week, Edmonds School District families with elementary school aged students will have a chance to do a curbside pickup of any of their student’s belongings and any additional learning activities or school supplies. Assistant Superintendent Justin Irish said that their “hope is that the pick-up experience will be similar to that of the curbside pick up process you went through to get your student a Chromebook back in March.” Each elementary school is providing the same dates and times.

If you are unable to drive through at one of these pick up times, the district asks that you contact your teacher or school office so that other arrangements can be made.

It was also announced this week that in-person graduation ceremonies would be canceled and replaced with virtual ceremonies. Assistant Superintendent Greg Schwab said that the plan is to “stream the ceremony for each high school on the date and time that the original in-person ceremony was scheduled.” Schwab said to expect more specific information on the virtual graduations and any additional senior celebrations soon.

Last week I joined a “community forum” via Zoom to watch as a candidate for Program Director, Special Education Teaching Programs was interviewed. Viewers were able to watch as the candidate fielded questions written by the district’s Special Education Advisory Council, which I participate in, and other stakeholders according to interviewer and Executive Director of Student Services, Dana Geaslen. With more positions needing to be filled, this format will be utilized again on Wednesday, May 13 at 6 p.m. for the Assistant Superintendent position and May 18 at 6 p.m. for the Executive Director, Equity and Student Success position. A feedback form will be posted after each event. Zoom meeting info will be posted on the district’s social media, as well as, Edmonds.Wednet.Edu.

If you have ever been interested in a school board meeting, they are now happening via Zoom. On Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m., you can watch the meeting via what they are calling a Zoom “webinar.” I haven’t watched one online yet, but I have been to a few and I’ve learned something each time. I am curious about this format and what it means for the future and accessibility of the meetings to those that cannot attend meetings at the district office. In-person meetings have agenda items for public comments but until further notice the board will only accept written comments. In this virtual format, public comments or questions can be submitted HERE for “examination and later response.” For more information on the meeting and information on how to log on you can visit Edmonds.Wednet.Edu.

Sno-Isle libraries continues to offer Storytime Snippets online, where kids and their families can enjoy Storytime when it works for them or when it is streaming. Now, the “Book-a-librarian is going online. In an effort to meet their customers “where they are,” they are transitioning this service to a digital space. Users can sign up for a Zoom video session or phone call with a “knowledgeable Sno-Isle Librarian.” Whether you need help downloading digital materials, searching their collection or finding the right place to start with a research project they are here to help you. Sno-Isle is offering both a blog explaining the service and a direct link to scheduling your time with a librarian HERE.

Summer reading is coming and Sno-Isle needs your help. They’re asking you to take a picture showing them what “Dig Deeper: Read, Investigate, Discover” means to you and send it to summer-reading@sno-isle.org by Sunday, May 10. Your picture “may just end up in this year’s Sno-Isle Summer Reading video. As summer reading approaches, the library is also offering access to Sync Audiobooks for Teen. This is a free summer audiobook program for teens that use the Sora student reading app via Overdrive — I know my tween uses it at his elementary school. With this program you can download two audiobooks each week all summer. The library says to check out audiobookSYNC.com and then download Sora to your service. For more information and a list of all upcoming online events you can head to Sno-Isle.org/Events.

Last week, I mentioned a friend was playing chess via text. Turns out, he isn’t the only person heading to the game for entertainment during quarantine. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Chess.com hosted almost 204 million games in February alone. By April, that number had surged to more than 279 million for an average of 9.3 million games a day.” While Chess.com offers you the option to play or watch the pros do it, there is also a separate option for kids, ChessKid.com, which offers an option to “Learn & play chess with other kids.”

We also talked about Skyhawks virtual classes last week. While the virtual classes for kids 3 to 12 start next week, they offered a trial class this week. For those that missed it but maybe still wanna give it a go, Skyhawks has made the trial classes available. You can find a recording of the SoccerTots at Home Zoom class HERE, you’ll need to use the password 8A@tQF!5 and you can find the PhysEd Fun with Skyhawks class HERE and that password is 4C^.9y+e. For more information and registration, you can visit Skyhawks.com.

Josh LaRussa, PE teacher at Edmonds’ Holy Rosary School, has an online PE curriculum that includes a daily warm-up routine  — with school mascot Rocky the Ram — for students to do at home. It’s another ways to help keep kids moving. You can watch it here.

Legos — I know from watching the LEGO Masters competition, which is great and I fully recommend, that they are LEGO and not Legos, but man is it awkward to say… and hear. They have been the most consistently entertaining toy here. Today I saw two options for LEGO based kid entertainment, both from the LEGO facebook page. First is a video on how they make their minifigures that has all of the soothing charm of the tv show “How It’s Made,” you can find it HERE. They also offer a video on making a LEGO maze that is more of a ‘here’s an idea’ and less of a ‘here is exactly how to do it’ which can be better for some kids, you can find it HERE. Facebook.com/LEGO has these and other video options including links to their LEGO Live! videos and how to use the bricks to teach math.

— By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx, an Edmonds mom of two boys, is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time.