School in the Fall.

[PrincessFiona]

Our school is planning on coming back full-time. I was told that the school and classes are big enough to move around desks and that with extra safety measures, we’re pushing forward. Frankly, I’m happy for my kids.


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[MrsK]

Ugh, I go to pieces every time I think about school in the Fall. Our district is undecided. My kids' school is undergoing a massive renovation that I think are ridiculous. The learning environment will be totally different. There has been brainstorming about a hybrid program including some element of distance learning together with going to school in shifts for a shorter day, prohibiting parents and guests from entering the school (including volunteer teachers aids like me), spacing desks 6' apart facing the front of the room and prohibiting kids from leaving their spots, no group projects, no contact sports, no cafeteria, no field trips, no assemblies, no library. I have no idea what a shortened day would mean for K1 who has gifted, speech, and social skills in addition to the usual school work. It all sounds so miserable.

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[SoonerTexan]

Waiting to see what it will look like in TN. I think I would be more concerned with kids in a secondary school, but there are easy things you can do in an elementary to reduce contact if needed. Honestly, I hope they open up. It's going to be really rough on my kids if they aren't able to make some connections in our new home. The two youngest are signed up for preschool as well.

I know there is some talk of a year round option here in DFW, but I don't know how they would make that work with working parents.

[Momo]

I was wondering what our district might have meant, when they mentioned a Hybrid of “in person & distance learning,” was mentioned as one of the possible options, for this fall! I don’t see how HS could do anything like that?! My older 3 will be in 10th, 11th & 12th, my youngest will be in 8th grade.

[MrsK]

I was wondering what our district might have meant, when they mentioned a Hybrid of “in person & distance learning,” was mentioned as one of the possible options, for this fall! I don’t see how HS could do anything like that?! My older 3 will be in 10th, 11th & 12th, my youngest will be in 8th grade.

Here it appears to mean the kids go for a partial day for the things that absolutely have to be done in class and then do the rest on-line.

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[MrsK]

Waiting to see what it will look like in TN. I think I would be more concerned with kids in a secondary school, but there are easy things you can do in an elementary to reduce contact if needed. Honestly, I hope they open up. It's going to be really rough on my kids if they aren't able to make some connections in our new home. The two youngest are signed up for preschool as well.

I know there is some talk of a year round option here in DFW, but I don't know how they would make that work with working parents.

We are also talking about year round school. Our district introduced an optional summer curriculum for elementary school students starting on June 8. Knowing my district, most parents will make their kids do it. We will probably do it just to avoid boredom. I think it's been offered in part so the district can work out the kinks in distance learning. It's been really awful so far.

What easy measures can they use to distance kids in an elementary school? As you said, most small children won't wear their masks all day, they don't wash their hands throughly, they have runny noses and whatnot. And the little ones have to move around a lot.

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[SoonerTexan]

What easy measures can they use to distance kids in an elementary school? As you said, most small children won't wear their masks all day, they don't wash their hands throughly, they have runny noses and whatnot. And the little ones have to move around a lot.

Not within a classroom. That just is never going to happen at the elementary level. But you could eliminate shared specials/lunchroom and keep a specific set of kids together with minimal interaction with the school at large without making it feel completely crazy. Interaction between 20 kids is a heck of a lot better than 100 within a grade or 5-600 in a school.

That's basically what daycares have been and are going to be doing anyway.

[OrionGrad]

The more I think about it, the more I think a hybrid approach would work really well for our family. They’d get the benefits of school (socialization, etc) plus the focused attention from working directly with me at home. I’d be able to work in the mornings while they’re gone, and be with them in the afternoons. I have no idea if this is something our district is actually considering, though, and I don’t know how a family with both parents working outside the home full-time would swing it.

[MrsC]

All of the school decisions have been made on a state wide level here, so far anyway. Ours is a Catholic school but they go with whatever is happening in that district. However, they are under more pressure to go back in the fall or risk a lot of families pulling their kids out.
Right now it looks like they will go back but I have no idea what it will look like. They may be able to pull off a half day with the first grader but PreK? Not a hope.

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[spotty_dog]

Our district is passing the buck to the state, waiting to be told what their options are. But so far it sounds like all the options include hybrid school. Alternating days, or shortened days, or who knows what. It's really starting to stress me out, not knowing. It doesn't help that we also have a massive budget crunch in our district. I have no idea what to think or what to do, I feel like there are plans I need to be making and I just don't have anywhere near the information. Sigh.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I realize I have very little experience in this area but if kids are only going to be there a few hours and get no specials, no PE, no group lunch... it seems like homeschooling would be a better option for anyone who could do it. I would also be interested in hybrid school options, I don’t have to be the only teacher my kids have.

I’m also very interested in the number of parents that have personally said to me, “I’m surprised by how much better my child is doing in school now that I’m 1:1 with them....can’t wait for them to go back to school!” These are parents that COULD homeschool but I guess it’s just not an option for them because they don’t want to. 🤷🏼*♀️ It’s just odd to me that you know it’s better for your kids but you won’t do it. One of the major reasons I homeschool is because it’s way better for my kids particularly D who has ADHD.


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[PrincessFiona]

I realize I have very little experience in this area but if kids are only going to be there a few hours and get no specials, no PE, no group lunch... it seems like homeschooling would be a better option for anyone who could do it. I would also be interested in hybrid school options, I don’t have to be the only teacher my kids have.

I’m also very interested in the number of parents that have personally said to me, “I’m surprised by how much better my child is doing in school now that I’m 1:1 with them....can’t wait for them to go back to school!” These are parents that COULD homeschool but I guess it’s just not an option for them because they don’t want to. 🤷🏼*♀️ It’s just odd to me that you know it’s better for your kids but you won’t do it. One of the major reasons I homeschool is because it’s way better for my kids particularly D who has ADHD.


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It has definitely not been better for us. I also know people who must work. This is also not traditional homeschooling with social groups and activities. It is not healthy from an attachment/brain development perspective. I am thrilled that our school is planning on opening up and I will absolutely send them. Because that is what I think is best for my kids.


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[spotty_dog]

I’m also very interested in the number of parents that have personally said to me, “I’m surprised by how much better my child is doing in school now that I’m 1:1 with them....can’t wait for them to go back to school!” These are parents that COULD homeschool but I guess it’s just not an option for them because they don’t want to. ����*♀️ It’s just odd to me that you know it’s better for your kids but you won’t do it. One of the major reasons I homeschool is because it’s way better for my kids particularly D who has ADHD.

I've been a SAHM for 13 years. I have an interest in, and am well versed in, understanding and teaching every single school subject from grammar to physics. I have a firm belief that the one on one attention (or one on several) of learning at home is the absolute best way for any child to learn. In particular, I think that there are exemplary approaches to education that aren't feasible in the group setting that are available to parents teaching at home. And yet I send my kids to mediocre public schools. And although I'm more torn than ever now that I've seen the CDC guidance for reopening schools, keeping them home is still not a slam dunk decision.

For one, the kids have a say. We've offered them homeschool on several occasions and they prefer the school routine and they like seeing their friends daily. For another, a rising tide lifts all boats. I work to improve the public school system for my children, and other children benefit. My work as a volunteer and an advocate has helped most of the 1000 students in the district. If I keep my kids home, my kids learn slightly more, but the district loses all the strides I've made for gifted education, science education, safety, and strategic planning. Plus it intensifies the already crisis-level budget crunch the district is experiencing.

Anyway, this time at home has been terrible for my kids' education. It's the worst of all worlds: the kids have to do the school's work, which is inane and boring and lightweight and disorganized, and have no motivation to do anything enriched that I might offer. It's in no way a preview of homeschooling.

[SoonerTexan]

I realize I have very little experience in this area but if kids are only going to be there a few hours and get no specials, no PE, no group lunch... it seems like homeschooling would be a better option for anyone who could do it. I would also be interested in hybrid school options, I don’t have to be the only teacher my kids have.

I have a friend with 4 kids six and under (and another on the way) who had decided to homeschool after all this. Godspeed.

For us? Nope, nope, nope. I could see #2 thriving in a well thought out homeschool setting. He enjoys the attention and is a homebody. #1 and #3 absolutely need to be at school. They miss the interaction with their friends and teachers. I'm not surprised because I had the option to homeschool as a child and definitely did not want to. I loved school and staying at home and learning from a parent (even if they were exceptional) would have chafed me.

But the bottom line is *I* do not enjoy teaching my children. I do not enjoy teaching any young children. I like being with my children. I like taking them places and cooking with them and indulging their interests without any expectations of it having to have some sort of educational value. I am still so glad to be a stay at home mom. But I absolutely need a break from them and they need a break from me. I've always known this about myself and this time period had made it EXCEPTIONALLY clear and I don't feel bad about it at all. To be fair, trying to do this with a 4 year and old and a baby and the craziness of moving has been extra hard. But yeah, if school is open, their little butts will be there and they will come home to a mom much more able to meet their needs.

[MrsC]

But the bottom line is *I* do not enjoy teaching my children. I do not enjoy teaching any young children. I like being with my children. I like taking them places and cooking with them and indulging their interests without any expectations of it having to have some sort of educational value. I am still so glad to be a stay at home mom. But I absolutely need a break from them and they need a break from me. I've always known this about myself and this time period had made it EXCEPTIONALLY clear and I don't feel bad about it at all.

All of this! DH has suggested homeschooling several times and this experience has confirmed what I guessed, that it wouldn't be good for us. I do not have the discipline required to provide the routine or structure needed for homeschooling. I wouldn't say that I hate doing it but I know their teachers do it better. I think my middle child would do ok but I really feel like my oldest would never forgive me. He is such a social butterfly and we clash too often.
I'm sure there are scenarios in which homeschooling would be better though, if schooling options near us were limited.

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