1 16 2 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/6e5a88eb26abcec54743d8a4fb5e4157.png?Expires=1787788800&Signature=jl%7E95lC-VPeW3LRiZkYrxOK0t6VR9NtX-kEicNNfivPK7GaHtTmFCNwUrf-EWeSmi0N5MbYo4vNrNCW1OgLziiriirNbOEc-vaX%7E%7E22XSZhT1oimrQKPl7QKbryzFyUdCdIniXCjqAHtR3dfH6xAqCj8Y8D928SBbSDepq3be%7EX0OLrxCz7FxYFdCRyaFUT7n3U5w2ZQeJn7fJ8nifx-APB7WjdVIeeFcZzGG-NxYdMCsrxuCPclzIVaAA2F6Ec95jUwYnV-LnGkxnoSJqjKwS70iErnI%7Efj4M8rmjENOzODZcd3Sy4J4mcCLWj1acuopGcmKidRaG60LJVxTNLpOw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 813a3e8265fd19b55f22e91ffb268183 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT – Childcare needs shifted rapidly in March as first, schools, and then many businesses, shut down due to COVID-19. Parents had to help more with children’s school work while also working from home themselves or putting in long hours at essential workplaces each day. Childcare centers faced shifting guidelines, as well as uncertain client numbers and income. As Maine businesses slowly reopen, guidelines, numbers of clients and amount of income remain in flux. “I work as an administrative assistant for a company that runs the medical departments of five different county jails,” said Kelly Chabot, a single mother of four from Dover-Foxcroft. Xander, 10, lives with his father, who has underlying medical conditions, “so I am trying to minimize his exposure to keep his father safe,” she said. “I don’t even get to see my son.” That leaves Xavier, 11; Kaliyah, 6; and Malachai, 1, still in need of childcare on work days, and help with schoolwork for the two oldest. “Life since COVID-19 has been crazy,” Chabot said. “The school shut down first, and then Xavier and Kaliyah’s daycare. I had to scramble to find somewhere for them to go, since I am an essential worker due to the fact that I process payroll and am considered support staff for our healthcare providers. I got lucky and Malachai’s daycare was able to take them on.” The biggest challenge has been fitting distance learning into an already packed day. “By the time we get home, it’s supper and then baths and bed for the younger two,” said Chabot. “If I don’t stick to our normal schedule, mornings are a train wreck, especially with Kaliyah. Xavier, for the most part, can do his work on his own with little to no help from me. But I am finding it harder and harder to make time to help the kids.” The saving grace has been her daycare. “I send school work in with Kaliyah and they help her with a couple of pages a day,” Chabot said. The other way family life has changed is with safety concerns. “I don’t allow the kids into any stores, or honestly, out in public right now,” she said. “We get up, drop off at daycare, I come to work, get off work, pick them up from daycare, and then go back home. If I need anything from the store, I try to make it work before I pick them up, but with all the new rules regarding stores, it’s hard. I have a pickup time that I have to follow [at the daycare] or I am charged a late fee. It’s stressful and exhausting and scary.” Jaime Lovejoy’s Daycare has been providing childcare in Dover-Foxcroft for 15 years, but none of them has been like 2020. Lovejoy typically tends to six to eight children ages 3 months to 10 or 11 years. “When this first started and they closed the schools, I had to think about our daily routine. I knew that was going to change because there would be school work to do and that was going to have to be incorporated,” said Lovejoy, who immediately encouraged parents to send packets of school work into the daycare with their kids. The number of children also shifted. There were more kiddos needing daycare with schools closed and businesses open so that parents had work – and then less in need of childcare when businesses closed and parents could be at home. Lovejoy has had two to four children most days during the shutdown. With businesses slowly starting to reopen, she expects that number will go back up soon. Always a stickler for cleanliness, she said sanitization routines did not change much at the daycare to comply with state safety guidelines. “We always do handwashing, but we had to make sure the younger ones were taking the full 20 seconds and doing it property, so I found myself helping them more to make sure. And I’ve always made sure, when the kids put something in their mouths, that it gets washed right away.” Most of Lovejoy’s essential worker families are in the healthcare field, so she trusts them to be aware of and practicing virus safety measures. Still, there have been concessions for safety in her household. Lovejoy’s husband has done all the shopping outside the home to minimize her exposure, and thus that of the children in her care. And recently, when an online order of new toys arrived, “I left it on the porch and got disposable wipes and wiped down the box and what was inside before I brought it into the house,” she said. Adding school work to the daily routine hasn’t been “too bad,” said Lovejoy. “They do get distracted. You’re not going to sit there for three or four hours with them doing it, because you’ve got littler ones you’ve got to keep occupied while you help the older ones. I carve it out, two or three hours a day. We do some first thing in the morning. Then, if it’s a nice day we go outside for a little while, or if it’s rainy, I let them have free play for a little while. When I’m cooking lunch, I have them go back to the school work, and during naptime while the younger ones are sleeping. So we are not doing it all at once.” With ages ranging from 1 to 8 these days, keeping everyone entertained can be a challenge, too – thus the online order of toys and games. Lovejoy went over options with the children and let them help pick which items to order. As more parents return to work and more children arrive at the daycare, “I can definitely tell the kids missed each other,” said Lovejoy. “Watching them come through the door and interact with each other, you can tell they are all happy to see each other and play again. I think that’s been the hardest thing on most of the kids. When you have your routine and it gets changed and you don’t understand why it’s changed, that’s hard.” Recently, out on a walk with her husband, Lovejoy saw a former daycare kiddo riding her bike. “We were on one sidewalk and she was on the other side and we talked. You could tell it was hard on her, too.” And Lovejoy, who has stayed home throughout the bulk of the shutdown, has enjoyed starting to go out a bit more, as well. “I’ve been out here and there, for my own sanity,” she said, laughing. For information about Jaime Lovejoy’s Daycare, call 564-2831. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID Increases Childcare Challenges Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-22 Subject The topic of the resource Child care Day care centers Families Chabot, Kelly Lovejoy, Jaime Jaime Lovejoy's Daycare (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Distance education COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 21, Pg. 4 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Childcare needs shifted rapidly in March as first, schools, and then many businesses, shut down due to COVID-19. Parents had to help more with children’s school work while also working from home themselves or putting in long hours at essential workplaces each day. Childcare centers faced shifting guidelines, as well as uncertain client numbers and income. As Maine businesses slowly reopen, guidelines, numbers of clients and amount of income remain in flux. 2020 Childcare Essential Workers Families Remote Learning Students https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/efa39b130e27c7b0e47bcf6679575e52.PNG?Expires=1787788800&Signature=TBGMpQ1nfY50TSPAfUusqY8XkhUBkNbZazXqnYEBWVuzmpq3woFpRhwN2PUcS4DqFQxG7Cz%7ERDL4yD3ktRqZlqbpRXDhjRjObpWLUVeF%7EsEq9eGUCM%7ESkaOKM7iuv2LfsE6vAU%7Ec9VQudqwQUQfAdgUhRqrSeusSS1cQbexXZFar1qQOCLhKcnAjLNM0IefKyio6fuoFS9dMc1xpeBgV2ZFqTPJHo-KM4Gl1AjsO5LkEhfxLh8kqDSaSLShhw9BA27UF2K0elmuW-2LP81u2IKb%7Ea2915B9Ri-lCfflJf%7EkSVcMZRgv1TZBaFYEh9KMsZAwjhOT0LtLa%7E5AaQrUs7g__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM da0e37f7106a89a0dcabe1351b15309f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT -- Life has changed dramatically for families in the Piscataquis region, and around the globe. “I get to get out of the house by myself, and that’s about as much celebrating as I’m doing today,” said Christi Pingree on April 2, her birthday, while picking up pre-ordered groceries. The couple, who will be married two years in June, have two children, Jarad Pingree’s son, Kieran, 9, and Christi’s daughter, Jelena, 9. Pingree, a behavioral health professional, took a leave of absence when the school closed, even though she worries about her clients while she’s away. “My workplace is pretty understanding, and in my opinion, family comes first. I don’t want my kids shuffled around, especially at a scary time, an uncertain time. I want them to have stability, a strong routine. We do a whole school day and try to keep it as normal as possible,” she said. Jelena enjoys being home schooled, but Kieran doesn’t like it as much and misses his friends, Pingree said. Finding materials hasn’t been an issue, as the school sends homework, coloring sheets, links to word searches and other educational games. Art projects are also available online. School begins right after breakfast. “We do things in the same order every day,” said Pingree. “We knock out the hard stuff first, then go on to the easier things. If we can’t do recess, we do what I call movement – we put ‘Just Dance’ on the Wii to get all their wiggles out.” Pingree said she “never aspired to be a homeschool or stay-at-home mom, and I was right! This is not for me. I only work when they are at school. I take them to the library once a week, and I’m at every sports thing, but I like to get out and work, and I like having my free days here and there, too.” Financial concerns and COVID fears Pingree was a little apprehensive when she took her leave of absence. Then they found out Jared would also not be working. Jarad just finished work as a background investigator. His new job, forensic analyst at the Maine State Police crime lab, is on hold. “This is a little scarier because we don’t know how long this is going to go on for,” she said. “I don’t know if this will be a month or three months. I had heard with mortgage companies, if you needed to miss a payment or three, they would put it on the back end of the loan.” But when she called, she was told that they could take months off, but would owe back payments in addition to regular payments once they resumed. Fortunately, the couple’s income tax refund arrived recently. “That was a load off,” Pingree said. “I felt like the timing was pretty darn good. I think we’ll be okay. We’ll be fine.” Typically, Pingree shops at Sam’s Club and Walmart, supplementing with trips to Shaw’s and Will’s Shop n Save. Now, “I don’t want to go in anywhere. I pull in [at Walmart] and call and tell them I’m there, and they bring it out to the car. I don’t touch anything or talk to anyone. I wash my hands when I get home and I scrub everything down with antiseptic wipes, then I wash my hands again,” she said. Postage stamps are ordered online, as are photographs. Arrivals from Amazon get wiped down, too. Pingree is also uncertain how safe takeout food might be. “Everyone decides how much risk they want to take. Everyone has their ideas, but to me, it’s just not worth it. I am perfectly capable of preparing our food. To me, better safe than sorry. That’s just my personality.” Mental health matters Talking to the kids about what’s going on can be tricky, Pingree said. “I don’t want to lie to them that it’s all sunshine and rainbows, but I don’t want to scare them, either. We tell them that everything is going to be okay, that we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves, and just following [recommendations] to keep ourselves healthy.” Pingree, who works part time, misses having a few hours to herself while the kids are in school. “I really, really miss having time to myself one or twice a week,” she said. Fortunately, her husband helps her carve out a couple of hours to watch TV by herself, and she helps him find time for a nap once in a while. Jarad Pingree, a veteran, is missing pain management treatments normally received through a VA hospital in Boston. Pingree said she misses attending church in person rather than via Facebook Live. And she misses dinners with her in-laws, who live nearby. “It’s been kind of weird and hard not to be able to do that. Yesterday, my mother-in-law put some masks in the mailbox, and waved through the window,” she said. “I try to keep things as normal as possible,” Pingree said. “Other than that, we are just kind of winging it and doing our best like everyone else and hoping this thing will pass.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Striving for Normalcy in the Time of COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-10 Subject The topic of the resource Pingree, Christi Families Education--Parent participation Home schooling COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 15 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Life has changed dramatically for families in the Piscataquis region, and around the globe. Writer Sheila Grant profiles Christi Pingree, a behavioral health professional who took a leave of absence when her children's school closed. 2020 Change Childcare Families Remote Learning Students Work