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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Aug 23, 2020 11:30:36 GMT
The school year start is right around the corner, and I'm just not ready.
It doesn't even feel like we had a summer break. Sure, the kids are home, but we couldn't / didn't do the fun day trips to museums, restaurants, play centers, & exhibits that we normally would have.
We've pretty much done everything in the house & backyard that a person can do. But it's just not the same.
Even the playgrounds are still closed here, gates chained & padlocked. Basketball nets taken down and hoops covered in plastic.
How are you feeling about the passage of summer break?
ETA: Our school year will start virtual until at least January, so the kids will still be home. All instruction, no field trips, class parties, anything that ever made school even a little fun.
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paigepea
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Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Aug 23, 2020 11:48:45 GMT
My girls go back to school in 2.5 weeks. At first my girls said they felt like they couldn’t go back to school without going to their fav sleep away camp for the summer (4-6 weeks away) but now they feel like school is around the corner. But my girls have been in day camp much of the summer plus we spent two weeks at a resort on the lake. My sister’s family has been with us for the last month and they are getting ready to return home, our heat wave has broken, and we went through school uniforms / bought school shoes last week, so it’s starting to feel right here. Their excitement is growing. The only issue with return to school is now the in person nerves. I hope it goes well.
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Post by SockMonkey on Aug 23, 2020 11:50:44 GMT
It began two weeks ago, and no I'm not ready. LOL
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used2scrap
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Jan 29, 2016 3:02:55 GMT
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Post by used2scrap on Aug 23, 2020 12:22:21 GMT
No and it started a week ago. Not in a good place emotionally at all for our hybrid/in person experience that I doubt will last long...
Dropping oldest at his Univ today, Sophomore with his first apartment and 2 new roommates (friends). He’s thrilled and I’m extra aware how far away he is. 😢
Doesn’t help it’s his birthday today.
It was the longest shortest summer ever. 2020 can suck it.
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Post by huskermom98 on Aug 23, 2020 12:41:01 GMT
Yes & no. School work can be as struggle for my 12yo so I'm definitely not ready for that to start up again. At least they are starting in person like normal because it would be worse if it was more online learning. This is also the first summer I've worked as much as I have, with little control on my schedule so part of me feels head that we didn't do a lot this summer (here in IA there is quite a bit open) but that also means he got to do exactly what he wanted to do--nothing but Xbox & play on his tablet.
As for my 15yo, it feels like a normal year & like I should have my normal emotions because he played baseball this summer & has been going to football practices...But his district is in a pissing match with the state about their return to learn plan and all we know is the start date got pushed back to 9/8...and that's it. No idea if it will be online, hybrid or fully in person. So with the uncertainty of that and the threat of no activities if they do go 100%online (against the majority of parents' wishes) my emotions are all over the place.
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Post by epeanymous on Aug 23, 2020 12:41:19 GMT
I feel like we have a good routine here now, and I am nervous about interrupting it.
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
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Jul 1, 2014 20:20:18 GMT
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Post by rickmer on Aug 23, 2020 12:51:51 GMT
our back-to-school date has been pushed back from sept 8 to sept 15. i am doubtful they will be ready by then either.
my high school guy goes to school half days, every second day, with online learning on the afternoon of his school days.
my middle school guy will go every day but i think they are bickering about shortening the school day?
they need to go back. but i am nervous. and our cases have been rising slightly so there is that.
their dad lives in a bsmt apartment (by choice, not by finances) so every second week they have been stuck in a bsmt all day since march while he works. i have only been working part time so have been around more on my weeks with them (and we are above ground).
but i just started a full time job last tuesday so i am trying to focus on the positives of a set schedule for them, get them out of the house, social interaction with peers and ideally, some education as well.
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johnnysmom
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Aug 23, 2020 13:34:09 GMT
Yes. I’m cautiously optimistic and ready for it to begin. The spring sucked and summer didn’t even feel like summer since we were limited on what we could do. Ds enjoys being at home too much (he’s the kid that we have to force kicking and screaming to go get ice cream, and he likes ice cream!) so being stuck at home is not good for his long term mental health. We’re heading out today to pick up a few new school supplies, shoes and a few clothing items. He goes back in 2 weeks, it’s time.
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Post by *sprout* on Aug 23, 2020 13:44:00 GMT
Nope. DD has decided to go back for hybrid learning after initially deciding on virtual. I'm not ready for her to be in school!
I'm going back to work as a para. So happy to be going back after getting laid off. However, this position is not my ideal choice, and I'm a little bit worried about this school year.
For the first time ever, I won't be there to pick up dd on the first day of school. My hours have me getting out an hour after her. I'm more than a little sad about this.
Also, on the days she virtual and DH is working, she'll be home, with our next door neighbor and grandma checking in. I am emotionally not okay with this.
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Post by mom2rjcr on Aug 23, 2020 13:44:55 GMT
We just finished our first week of school. The first two days the kids were excited to be back at school, but now that they have realized that they can't socialize with their friends the way they use to. You are with your homeroom ALL day...lunch, recess, specials. So they are really missing their friends in other classes. Dismissal is hell...it takes us almost 30-45 minutes to get kids on buses and loaded in cars.
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Post by Merge on Aug 23, 2020 13:47:44 GMT
I start back with two weeks of virtual professional development tomorrow, and then virtual school starts on September 8th. I was doing OK with it until this weekend.
My college student is sad to be doing her coursework online from home. My high school senior is depressed and anxious about how much of her senior year she will miss.
I am so angry at the "lazy teachers just don't want to work" crowd that I could spit, because they're mostly the same crowd that pushed for early re-opening and against mask requirements, and now here we all are. My job has gone from fun and joy in the classroom to basically becoming a YouTuber who has to produce six twenty-minute uploads each week and also be available for an hour every afternoon for live Q&A. And then grade up to 800 students responses each week, while also keeping careful track of who did and did not respond for grading purposes.
I hate all of this and I particularly hate the people who put us in this position with their willful stupidity and refusal to acknowledge science.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 23, 2020 13:52:51 GMT
Already started in person.
I have to say it has helped my emotional state to be there. I know when someone gets sick it won't be good, but right now my students are awesome and it feels like home.
My son being in the idiot district that is refusing to follow health department orders is a different story
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Post by busy on Aug 23, 2020 14:12:53 GMT
No.
We start in 3 weeks and I'm dreading it. Distance learning was terrible for DS last year and while the plan looks better this year, I've got a lot of reservations. And I'm so so sad for him missing out on being with his friends. I miss him having the activity and discipline and social fun of sports. I just miss life.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Aug 23, 2020 14:21:19 GMT
It's been good to get back. I appreciate my small and easy class, and that really helps with not having more stress and exhaustion. We opted to have my son go virtual and I'm not ready for that stress.
The kids are getting long masks breaks outside. I'll be teaching next to nothing if that keeps. I guess I'm helping friends play together and allowing parents to return to work.
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Post by Linda on Aug 23, 2020 15:45:34 GMT
mine start tomorrow - both virtual
I'm not sure. My kids do okay online but they do better in-person. DD20 is irritated that because people are stupid, she'll probably be finishing college online (she's a Junior) and DD13 understands why we choose to keep her virtual but isn't happy about it.
Probably doesn't help that we're in an area where people mostly don't take the pandemic seriously and the majority opted for in-person over online. I'm not sure how many kids are in DD13's classes (typically about 25) but only 5 are on the virtual emails so maybe 20% virtual/80% inperson?
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Post by tenacious on Aug 23, 2020 15:56:58 GMT
No. We started in person school last week, and all the busyness that goes along with it. Life has returned pretty much to normal here, only that my DH is still working from home most days and not traveling like he normally would.
It is stressing me out. We could have opted for virtual only, but, my two kids at home really wanted to go back, so that’s what we chose.
I feel overwhelmed by all the activity. I am nervous about exposure, and from what I have observed this week with people being so lax in mask wearing and close contact, I am pretty sure we will get shut down in the next month. I just don’t like uncertainty. Also, now we have all the busyness of life, but, still aren’t engaging in the social/fun/travel part that made the rest bearable.
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Post by fredfreddy44 on Aug 23, 2020 16:07:36 GMT
School started two weeks ago here. Ds, a senior, is doing fine. He is only taking 4 classes, which is fine. College aged son starts tomorrow and I presume he is ready, it is all up to him.
It felt like a summer. The weather was great until last week. Our HOA pool was open all summer, we took a small vacation, out sons had friends in the backyard for smore nights and went on lots of hikes. Dh went fishing and I hung out with friends in our front yard with wine. The veg garden is spectacular. Both sons had summer jobs, just with some less hours and some online. Except for older son being sick for 5 weeks and in the hospital for 4, it has been a good summer.
ETA: It is easy because I am on the tail end of kids in school, but then we have had kids in school non stop since 1997.
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inkedup
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Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Aug 23, 2020 16:09:11 GMT
We started 2 weeks ago and it has been awful. My son is in 2nd grade and his teacher is not into her job at all.
There have been a lot of tears and busy work but no actual learning.
We are going to pull him out of public school and I will home school. My family has the privilege to do this. My heart hurts for the kids and families that don't.
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Post by mammajamma on Aug 23, 2020 16:13:14 GMT
We chose to homeschool my kids this year, due to the split local community approach to COVID. I’m feeling really alone right now. Homeschoolers seem to be in the non-masking/no social distancing/free approach to Covid. So, I’m having a hard time finding my tribe. Finding a way for my kids to interact in person, but outside and distanced. Friends that are concerned about covid, are doing online learning, so they have committed schedules to logging in.
I enjoyed summer and less responsibilities and feeling like some people had the same schedule. Getting outside has been so great for our family.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 23, 2020 16:13:42 GMT
We started 2 weeks ago and it has been awful. My son is in 2nd grade and his teacher is not into her job at all. There have been a lot of tears and busy work but no actual learning. We are going to pull him out of public school and I will home school. My family has the privilege to do this. My heart hurts for the kids and families that don't. isn't your son on an iep? Can you speak to an advocate/lawyer before pulling to homeschool?
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 20:24:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2020 16:13:44 GMT
We started 2 weeks ago and we were all ready.
My kids thrive on schedules and were missing their friends.
Fun things are still happening even though we are doing remote learning:
Art (curb side pick up of specific supplies)
Themed weeks
Spirit Day/Week
Experiments (curb side puck up for items)
Peace builder/student of the week
Fun Fridays with a fun game or task
Student councils are making videos to share at schools on line.
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inkedup
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Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Aug 23, 2020 17:17:21 GMT
We started 2 weeks ago and it has been awful. My son is in 2nd grade and his teacher is not into her job at all. There have been a lot of tears and busy work but no actual learning. We are going to pull him out of public school and I will home school. My family has the privilege to do this. My heart hurts for the kids and families that don't. isn't your son on an iep? Can you speak to an advocate/lawyer before pulling to homeschool? No IEP. I am fine with homeschooling and am confident that he will learn as much, though likely more, from the curriculum we will be using at home. I'm lucky because two of my closest friends teach 2nd grade and have committed to help us through. As one of my friends said, "I need my nephew to continue to love learning!" The entire experience of distance learning is frustrating for my son. We are all about perseverance and doing uncomfortable things, but this is just. Not. Working. for him. It is killing his love of school and learning.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Aug 23, 2020 18:00:02 GMT
isn't your son on an iep? Can you speak to an advocate/lawyer before pulling to homeschool? No IEP. I am fine with homeschooling and am confident that he will learn as much, though likely more, from the curriculum we will be using at home. I'm lucky because two of my closest friends teach 2nd grade and have committed to help us through. As one of my friends said, "I need my nephew to continue to love learning!" The entire experience of distance learning is frustrating for my son. We are all about perseverance and doing uncomfortable things, but this is just. Not. Working. for him. It is killing his love of school and learning. Best of luck to you. This is really why I think things are going to get much worse. Tons and I do mean tons of people I know pulled their kids for private, virtual, home, pod learning. I'm in an area that adores their public schools, but have families who highly value education and are frankly not willing to sacrifice their children waiting for things to get better. The next shoe to drop will absolutely be funding. And the gap between different socioeconomic groups is going to be massive.
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julie5
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Post by julie5 on Aug 23, 2020 18:04:25 GMT
No. But I think mine was different. My youngest homeschools and he was more than ready to go back. And I’m very proud of him for that.
But my middle went to college and I realized I put off the preparations as a form of avoidance after what I went through with my oldest. It’s been a very rough week. She had a nut allergy reaction (anaphylaxis) last night and was crying out in fear because she didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t get much sleep. :*(
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julie5
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Post by julie5 on Aug 23, 2020 18:11:32 GMT
isn't your son on an iep? Can you speak to an advocate/lawyer before pulling to homeschool? No IEP. I am fine with homeschooling and am confident that he will learn as much, though likely more, from the curriculum we will be using at home. I'm lucky because two of my closest friends teach 2nd grade and have committed to help us through. As one of my friends said, "I need my nephew to continue to love learning!" The entire experience of distance learning is frustrating for my son. We are all about perseverance and doing uncomfortable things, but this is just. Not. Working. for him. It is killing his love of school and learning. Kudos to you for realizing your child can get a better education at home. My son is dyslexic and was two grades behind his peers. He’s transgender so he had periods too. In 4th grade. . By 6th grade it was apparent he still wasn’t up to grade-and he was supposed to be in high school. The sped team poo pooed me for two years. I finally pulled him home in 7th grade. He’s THRIVING at home. He’s 16.5 years and we’re not in a “grade” but he’s doing sign language, a history of science class, ancient and medieval history, pre algebra, sign language, an online writing course I purchased and an enrichment program for phonics. He’s learned so much just by removing the fears he faced daily in public school. My best advice is if it isn’t fun and exciting for you, then it isn’t for your child either.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by inkedup on Aug 23, 2020 18:24:56 GMT
No IEP. I am fine with homeschooling and am confident that he will learn as much, though likely more, from the curriculum we will be using at home. I'm lucky because two of my closest friends teach 2nd grade and have committed to help us through. As one of my friends said, "I need my nephew to continue to love learning!" The entire experience of distance learning is frustrating for my son. We are all about perseverance and doing uncomfortable things, but this is just. Not. Working. for him. It is killing his love of school and learning. Best of luck to you. This is really why I think things are going to get much worse. Tons and I do mean tons of people I know pulled their kids for private, virtual, home, pod learning. I'm in an area that adores their public schools, but have families who highly value education and are frankly not willing to sacrifice their children waiting for things to get better. The next shoe to drop will absolutely be funding. And the gap between different socioeconomic groups is going to be massive. I agree that this may be the death knell for public school as we know it. I recognize the privilege of my choices. I wish everyone had the privilege of real choice. The pandemic has split the cracks in our social net so wide open that now almost everyone is feeling the effects.
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julie5
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Jul 11, 2018 15:20:45 GMT
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Post by julie5 on Aug 23, 2020 18:46:05 GMT
Best of luck to you. This is really why I think things are going to get much worse. Tons and I do mean tons of people I know pulled their kids for private, virtual, home, pod learning. I'm in an area that adores their public schools, but have families who highly value education and are frankly not willing to sacrifice their children waiting for things to get better. The next shoe to drop will absolutely be funding. And the gap between different socioeconomic groups is going to be massive. I agree that this may be the death knell for public school as we know it. I recognize the privilege of my choices. I wish everyone had the privilege of real choice. The pandemic has split the cracks in our social net so wide open that now almost everyone is feeling the effects. 💯 this. I, too, know my privilege of choice. I’ve said these exact words to my husband, that this could very well bring down our very flawed educational system.
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Post by FLA SummerBaby on Aug 23, 2020 18:55:32 GMT
Not ready. My DD is grown (24) but lives at home and she is a kindergarten teacher starting her 2nd year. She will be teaching virtually from her classroom at school and they WILL have face to face classrooms also. So she will still be "exposed" to kids, staff, etc. (They have already learned of a staff member who is positive and they have not even fully returned to school yet!) Also, I work at a major university and have been working from home since mid March -- we are due to return to campus in 1 week (8/31) on same day that all university students begin classes in person. Our community is being inundated with thousands of college students as they move back and prepare to get started. Seems like many of the students who will still be taking online classes are still moving back to town to be around friends, etc. I am SO worried about the exposure that both DD and I will now be around after being able to work from home for all these months. Also I am caregiver to my 85 year old mom -- she does not live with us but I still have to help her with things and I do not want to be a carrier of anything. So I am feeling very stressed and anxious.
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Post by maryland on Aug 23, 2020 18:58:26 GMT
I agree! We go back Sept. 8th, which is 2 weeks later than we were supposed to. We were supposed to start so early, Aug. 26th, so it's nice to go back after Labor Day. I does seem like March - Aug. is a blur.
We didn't do much this summer, but we did have amazing weather! Sunny, hot and very little rain, which is odd for Pittsburgh. We have been able to enjoy being outside.
I am also sad because my daughter will be a hs senior. Sad that it's her last year in high school and sad that she will miss out on all the fun of senior year. She is the pom pom captain, and they get no season (although football gets their season).
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scrappinmama
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Post by scrappinmama on Aug 23, 2020 19:06:58 GMT
We have opted to keep my 18 year old in virtual school. He goes to an adult learning program (special needs program that teaches living and job skills until they are 21 years old). Because my son has a heart condition, I just feel that he is safer doing virtual school until COVID-19 is more under control.
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