Newspaper Page Text
SUDOKU Edited by Margie E. Burke
Difficulty: Medium
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Copyright 2020 by The Puzzle Syndicate
HOW TO SOLVE:
Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9;
each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9;
and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain
the numbers 1 to 9.
The Weekly Crosswor<
i
by Margie E
:. Burke
1
2
3
4
1
•
7
8
•
”
11
12
13
14
”
„
17
18
„
20
"
22
23
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26
27
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■
58
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„
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62
63
64
65
Copyright 2020 by The Puzzle Syndicate
1
Kind of wave
53 Just for men
24
Horror movie
6
Atomizer output
57 Rant and
staple
10
Celestial body
58 In single file
26
Peel, as an apple
14
Come up
60 Hand-fist
27
Scored 100 on
15
Reedy instrument
connector
28
Gulf war missile
16
Legal prefix
61 Tumbled
29
Sleep soundly?
17
It may be
62 Dissolve, as ties
30
Bread for a gyro
spontaneous
63 Top of the line
32
Countless years
19
Pop the cork
64 Dimwit
33
Boarding place
20
Dummy's perch
65 Sniper position
34
Comparable (to)
21
Hyphenated
35
Split-off group
word in TV
DOWN
39
Shoddy goods
credits
1 Bulletin board
seller
23
Capone trade
item
42
Barn area
mark
2 Caddie's offering
43
Emulate van Eyck
25
Double-cross
3 Kind of store
44
Like many CIA
26
Artist's medium
4 Old home danger
ops
29
Spread out, as
5 Romanian money
46
Beat rapidly
fingers
6 Lawnmower
47
Throw with
31
Escorts
part
effort
33
Tank filler
7 Long-legged
48
Roof overhang
36
Reduce, ,
wader
49
Passed out in
recycle
8 Chimney residue
Vegas?
37
Figured out
9 Easily defended
51
From the top
38
Fountain order
10 Like many two-
52
Supermarket
40
Teaching degree
doors
section
41
What meditation
11 Rhino relative
54
Pioneering DVR
can be
12 Field of play
brand
44
Desist's partner
13 Long-limbed
55
Congregation's
45
Upward slope
18 Hawk over
cry
46
Hypothesis
priced tickets
56
"American
49
Data holder
22 Take another
Gigolo" star
50
Burdened
look at
59
Nile biter
Puzzle answers are available at www.flagpole.com/puzzles
arts & culture
► kiddie dope
The Plague of Child Care
HOW DO I WATCH MY KID AND STILL GET ANY WORK DONE?
By Kristen Morales news@flagpole.com
My 3-year-old sat in on a work meeting the other day.
I’ll admit, I was a little bored. But he found it fascinat
ing—there were little people in squares, including one with
the same name as his favorite superhero. So, of course it
was awesome.
But will he still feel that way in a week? In, heaven for
bid, a month?
As of this writing, we’ve only practiced this new norm
of “social distancing” for a few days, but it’s opened up a
new dimension of child-care issues. How do you keep kids
entertained and engaged all day without resorting to TV? Is
it even possible for them to learn something when they’re
I’ve spent the last few days scouring the internet for
ideas. Lesson plans are nice in theory, but they really don’t
help me when I’m trying to juggle a phone call. Working
from home is not homeschooling. It doesn’t help that—as
interested as my 3-year-old is in my online meetings—my
12-year-old is moping around the house, complaining about
the sheer possibility of online school. So now I’m not only
juggling different academic levels, but also motivation
levels.
I’m not a teacher, and I’m not going to pretend to be
one. But desperate times call for desperate measures, which
is why I have a few ideas about where to start.
Three-year-old Alex plays in his “boat”—the now-empty parking lot across the street from his house.
not in a school environment? And, if you have to work from
home, how are you supposed to teach them anything while
you line up your Zoom meetings?
For starters, let’s talk about child care. Lots of daycares
have closed, but not all—in fact, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have guidelines for child-care cen
ters that include the caveat that they are not mandated
to close. Now, granted, the guidelines also state that kids
should be limited to six in a room and that they should stay
apart from each other (good luck with that), but still, it’s up
to individual operators to close.
So, that said, lots of centers in the Athens area have
opted to close—there may be even more, if not all, by the
time this column runs. Those that are staying open have
seen a dramatic decrease in the number of children coming
in—at centers I spoke with, about half the regular num
ber of children were coming. All centers are increasing the
hand washing of kids and staff; they are also increasing
the amount of times the rooms are disinfected. As of this
writing, the Piedmont Athens Regional Child Development
Center is only open to the children of hospital employees.
Of course, if you lose child care, the next option is to
turn to a relative or family friend for help. But inviting a
grandparent into the fray—especially if you’re a parent who
still has to head to work—isn’t the best option. As someone
with no family in town, I can empathize with this dilemma.
From what I’ve heard, it has led many people to rely on
friends and to widen the core group that they’re coming
into contact with. This is not ideal, but our options are lim
ited—we just find what works and try to stick with it.
But then there’s also a vast group of parents who are
working from home, faced with the tricky balancing act of
providing an income while also providing their kids with
stuff to do all day. Not easy.
Have a schedule: While my 12-year-old is currently freak
ing out about this concept, my 3-year-old is excited by it. If
nothing else, it will give you a list of ideas that you can do
in a day, even if you don’t do them in that order. (You can
find a great template from Scribd at bit.ly/ScribdForm; for a
less intense plan, visit bit.ly/ToddlerForm.)
Set up stations: I’ve been gathering all our art supplies
and putting them in one place for easy access. That way,
when it’s time to do art, my youngest won’t resort to the
one marker he’s been hoarding (I have no idea why). Even
putting a blanket down in the middle of a room can go
a long way in delineating different activities, like board
games, art and music.
Go old school: If you’re lucky enough to have two kids,
maybe they can get competitive with a board game (unless
your kids are 3 and 12—then forget it). Drop a blanket else
where and make it a picnic. Heck, pull the cushions off the
couch and make a fort!
Go easy on yourself: I know I’m most likely to scream
when I’m trying to compose an email as my 3-year-old taps
my arm saying, “Mommymommymommy.” Just take a
breath, slow down, and recognize that everything is going
to take longer. You’ll get some work done, but it won’t be as
much work as you wanted. And that’s fine.
Have other resources? Comment on this story online;
maybe we can get some good lists going. If my Facebook
feed of ads proves anything, it’s that we’re all freaking out
about how to keep our kids entertained, engaged and learn
ing while also staying a good distance away from other peo
ple. Surely, this is one gigantic teachable moment. ©
MARCH 25, 2020 | FLAGPOLE.COM 13
KRISTEN MORALES