Virtual Lunches with School Friends

Today was Day 3 of virtual school. I'm happy to say that it seems to be going well so far. Whew! 

My kids are both in middle school now, so they have similar schedules, which are generally like this: 

• Mondays - Live virtual classes for periods 1 - 4
• Tuesdays - Live virtual classes for periods 5 - 8
• Wednesdays - Independent study all day, with optional check-ins for every period
• Thursdays - Live virtual classes for periods 1 - 4
• Fridays - Live virtual classes for periods 5 - 8

As it is the first week of school, everyone is still adjusting. And the truth is, the mental adjustment is probably the hardest part at this point. My kids have been grumpy and moody. No more hanging out all morning, playing video games for lengthy amounts of time, watching TV, not getting dresses... No more summer break!

We all know the best part about going back to school is seeing your friends. This year, they don't even get to really do that, at least in person. So they have to give up the freedoms they get during summer break, adjust to this new way of "going" to school virtually, start doing school work, and they don't even get to chat with friends in hallways, classes, and the cafeteria! 

Yesterday, the Pookie's best friend's mom messaged me and two other moms about letting this group of friends together for a virtual lunch today. Since Wednesday is for independent study and they weren't on video meetings/classes all day, it was the perfect day to let them get online together to eat lunch and play around. What a great idea! We all agreed and finalized the plan this morning. 

The boys had a great time! At one point, one of the other moms messaged the rest of us saying she just heard the best laugh from her son! We all agreed that it went well, and we plan to let them do it every Wednesday. They may not be in a cafeteria together, but they can at least get on a video call and have lunch and a good time playing around together.   

When the Pumpkin heard that her brother was doing a lunch with friends, she asked if she could, also. She has been communicating with her friends pretty regularly--probably even daily, either through messaging or video calls. But this was different, because it is really about finding a way to replace the cafeteria school lunchtimes. Of course I said she could, and her friends were able to also. And of course they had a great time. I told her she should do it every Wednesday. 

So what if they are technically getting more screen time by being on laptops/phones with video calls. So what if they are eating their sandwiches while sitting on the floors of their rooms and not in chairs at a table. So what if one of our dogs ate the sandwich crusts when one of the kids left the bedroom door open after lunch. They are getting a workable substitution for an important part of the school experience. 

Side benefit: They make their own lunches, so I don't have to pack lunchboxes and make sure they remember them, nor do do I need to clean them out after spending hours in backpacks and lockers!

Ready for Virtual School

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year. My school district originally developed plans for both a hybrid approach of in-person and virtual learning, but mid- to late-summer the numbers were still not looking good and there were too many concerns and unknowns, so they decided to plan for everyone to be virtual at least for the first semester. In either case, we were going to keep the kids home to go to school virtually. 

In order to set up the kids for this, Londo and I talked with them to figure out where they feel most comfortable "going to school" virtually and have set them up with the technology, materials, and space we think they will need. We are planning to support them and the teachers, try to help them stay organized and on task, and guide them with technology and work.    

The Pumpkin is starting 8th grade. She worked with me to come up with a compromise so she could work at the dining room table in way that doesn't completely take over the household space. She is staying at one end of the table, using a mat to protect the table, keeping her supplies in an organizer box, and putting papers in clear filing trays. I even set her up a white board/bulletin board propped next to her. 

The Pookie is starting 6th grade--starting middle school! He likes working at the desk in his room, and we've cleared off space and put what he needs handy on the desk and in the drawers. He also have an organizer to write down assignments, a binder and folders for papers, and his desk has a bulletin board with his schedule pinned to it.

I'm really proud of my county for making the decision and creating plans to provide virtual learning for all kids. They developed a plan they shared not only with the school board but also with the public. Many parents weighed in, and they listened. The school board approved the plans only last week, which is cutting it pretty close, but everyone was prepared to move forward with the plan. 

Londo and I were relieved when we heard the virtual option would be offered if they went with a hybrid approach (we are even happier that they are going fully virtually). With the hybrid model, we would keep the kids home anyway by selecting fully virtual so those who really need to be in person could have more space there. We are fortunate that we are working from home, have good internet, and are able to support the kids. In addition, we want to keep the kids home unless/until there is some drastic change for the better. And I don't mean improved numbers or smaller classes so there can be more social distancing. I mean a vaccine or accurate and quick tests or, I don't even know what else.

My problem with the assumptions people are making about kids and this virus is that there are STILL too many unknowns AND that the virus keeps mutating. So it's not like we know that kids won't get it, won't be that affected, or won't carry it to others. It's that we simply DO NOT KNOW what will happen if we put a bunch of kids together in a school, in classes that change every 45 minutes, in narrow hallways, in places to eat lunch, in the doorways and corridors that everyone uses at the same times all day long. 

Except we do, don't we? Don't we at least have an idea of what will happen? Haven't we seen some examples from other countries and in colleges in the US that have already brought kids onto campus? We know that kids can get and transmit the virus, we are learning that they may quite effective at spreading the virus, and we know that some children can get severely sick from the virus. Personally, I do not expect kids to be able to maintain social distancing in school hallways, I just assume that kids (especially the youngest ones) won't want to wear masks, and I am not at all surprised when college kids go to parties and social gatherings. 

Therefore, it's up to us parents, administrators, government, and other adults to be the adults. It is up to us to keep the kids safe, to make decisions based on the well-being of all of those in our community, and to admit that we don't know how this virus will affect kids, mutate, or cause long-term problems. 

I do not want my kids to be guinea pigs in a potentially devastating experiment. I do not want to chance them in unknown situations with potentially lasting and/or lethal repercussions. I do not want anyone to! 

I feel like we have the technology and capabilities for our kids to learn safely, even if it is not an ideal situation. And even if we don't have the best year of education, even if our kids fall behind a little due to the current crisis situation, I believe kids are resilient and will bounce back from this. But only if they are healthy enough to do so. Only if they don't have to live with feelings of guilt for spreading a virus that kids family and friends, even if they don't get sick. 

We all want things to be back to "normal" and the kids to go back into schools. But wanting something to be doesn't make it so. We should all be planning for the worst, even while we hope for the best. We should all be coming up with inventive plans to deal with the NEW normal. We all need to adjust, adapt, innovate, and maybe even evolve--it's what humans do, in every generation, to survive in new circumstances. 

So tomorrow, we try school in a new way, with innovation and hopefully a lot of patience.