Right now, school districts across the country (and world) are faced with an almost impossible task- to accommodate staff and students amid the COVID-19 pandemic so that their safety is respected and their emotional and social needs are met. It is a daunting task with no win answers. There aren't any concrete solutions that would appease the needs and fears of parents, educators and students. The options that I have seen presented have been continuing 100% online learning, a hybrid schedule or full time in person school.
In my view, each of these presents a variety of challenges. As a parent, how do you decide whether or not to send your kids? Although my district has yet to announce it's plans, I feel that if I decide to send my kids, that I may be viewed as "selfish". I can hear the passive aggressive comments now. "I'd never send my kids to school right now" or "I wouldn't want my child to wear a mask all day". I get it and I understand. It's really not the academics that I'm concerned about, but the socialization. Quarantine hit us HARD when my son couldn't see his friends. I just wonder would even a little socializing be better than nothing if the schools feel it is safe for everyone to be there? On the other hand if I keep my kids home, will I be viewed as "living in fear"? If our district gives us the option to be there, even part time, is it worth it to send my kids? I've gotten so used to being home with everyone, it really wouldn't change our lives at this point if we continued this for another year. Since I've been a full time SAHM anyway, I can teach my kids. But what about my friends and family who have been trying to work from home with kids too. I have NO idea how people have been doing it. They don't have the time to teach their kids if they want to keep them home. What then? So how do you decide what to do with your kids? There is NO good answer here. I think the important factors to consider are where you live and how people are behaving. Are you living in a state where numbers have been increasing/decreasing? Do people follow mask orders where you live? Do they social distance? These are factors to consider. Other factors to consider are your working situations. Does your family have full time working parents? Part time? Do you have help if your children don't go to school? The ages of your children could affect whether being at home allows them to be able to learn well online or not. Do they have special needs? In the end, everyone is going to make the best decision for their own family. I think it is most important not to judge others. Go easy on your district and teachers. No one asked for this and everyone is trying their best. As I tell my own kids, respect others' space, wear your mask and keep washing your hands. Good luck everyone!
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As a stay at home mom during stay at home orders, you'd think I'd have this in my bag. But I didn't. And I don't. Well, not really. Before March, I never thought I'd be able to survive full time parenthood without the library, the Y, pre-school, playgrounds, etc. But here I stand in July and we made it. Some days I don't know how, but we have. Highs: 5 year old learned to ride a bike and 2 year old was potty trained Lows: Sibling fighting, power struggles, lack of socialization for EVERYONE Now that the weather is warm, we try to get outside as much as possible. Still, I have to be creative a lot of the time in order to keep the little ones occupied. As a teacher, I learned that sharing lesson ideas with other teachers helped to make you a better one. The same thing applies to parenting. So in order to keep us busy, I tailored some of my teaching ideas to my kids' ages and also *borrowed* ideas from other parents, teachers, websites, etc. to help us get through the quarantine days. Any activities that I post that I have borrowed I will always cite the source. Here are some of my favorite activities that we've done: Match up lower case and upper case letters!
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