Sending my kids back to school has typically been a time of chaos and relief and adapting to new routines. This year looks to be a little more chaotic than usual. I'm using this space to write it all out so I can get a better grip in my mind. You may find this terribly boring.
All three boys will be attending the same elementary school (K, 2nd, and 5th grade). That's the easy part. They will attend school in person for 5 hours on Mondays and Thursdays of each week, and receive 4 hours of online instruction and 1 hour of "homework" the other 3 days of the week. In other words:
Monday--at school 8am-1pm
Tuesday--on computer at home 8am-12pm + 1 hour homework
Wednesday--on computer at home 8am-12pm + 1 hour homework
Thursday--at school 8am-1pm
Friday--on computer at home 8am-12pm + 1 hour homework
Their experience at school will be unlike anything they've seen before:
Temperature checks to enter the building
12 kids per classroom
Desks 6 feet apart
Kids and adults wearing masks at all timesMeals eaten in the classroom at their desks
Windows open to allow fresh/more air circulation
Limited bathroom access
No recess
At any moment, for any number of reasons, this plan could change to at-home-school full time.
We will also take steps to protect my sister from our newfound wellspring of germs :) Here's the plan: we will stop close contact with her for 2-3 weeks after school begins. If none of us have developed Covid symptoms, then we'll all get tested for the virus. If we're in the clear, we can start spending time with Erin again...using masks, sanitizing surfaces, limiting visits to a few hours (no sleepovers). And that will be the holding pattern until...until...when? A vaccine? Until we've all recovered from infection? Both?
Alice and Robert are eager to get back to school, even with all of the changes. James wishes he could have school at home all the time (he's remembering school-at-home last spring a heck of a lot different from how Bobby and I are remembering it!!), but he's satisfied with 3 days a week. Matthew misses preschool. School at home and school at school will both be worlds apart from his preschool experience. He may be missing preschool for the next few years.
Alice's middle school schedule is a hybrid model, too, with all the same changes in the classroom, but she'll have a lot more time at school. Three full days at school, two at home:
Monday--at school 8am-3pm
Tuesday--work from from
Wednesday--at school 8am-3pm
Thursday--at school 8am-3pm
Friday--work from home
Alice proved herself capable, efficient, and responsible enough to
manage her own online schoolwork last spring. I'm not worried about her academically. She's thrilled to get back
together with peers!
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oh, I am so jealous. We were originally given a choice between 100% distance and a hybrid plan not too different from yours, but as cases elsewhere began to spike and there was some push back from teachers (rightly so I think) they decided everyone goes 100% distance. So we decided to home school. Not real home school, but a virtual public school. So its the same thing we'd be doing through the district, just these guys have been doing it for a long time and so they know what they are doing, which I am not convinced our district does. I am so mourning the loss of even a few hours of freedom and the kids are starting to ask about friends from our old house. sigh. But we're applying for jobs for next summer out of the area, so this might be better, maybe, I think...sigh.
ReplyDeleteSounds like everyone is taking all the precautions they can to make it safe as possible for all. So hard to decide what to do exactly. Glad you are all being careful.
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