and yet here we are still

Last spring when things started to shut down, people would talk about the crisis extending into fall, and it just seemed inconceivable to me. And, yet, here we are still.  Our daily life is drastically different from normal with only glimmers of hope that a vaccine may be in sight. The initial torrent of panic-driven purchasing and shortages has given way to the mundane of isolation and safety guidelines.

The governor set guidelines for school districts on the last day of July.  It included a formula which calculates the number of new cases per 10,000 county residents in the last 14 days.  Based on that number, districts were advised to do in-person, distance, hybrid or a combination of those (giving priority to special ed, English Language Learners, and younger students for in-person learning).  In addition, all districts in the state were required to provide a distance learning option for any families who prefer it.

We turned the page on the calendar (swiped left on our calendar apps) and it's fall.  Our district happens to land in two counties.  We have one elementary kid, one secondary kid, and one kid who attends an out-of-district charter school while also homeschooling some coursework.  That's a lot of variables, but here's where we landed.  

Brett is attending a hybrid model.  He goes to school two shortened days per week (Mondays and Wednesdays for 3 hours with 7 other 7th graders.) The other 3 days are distance learning days, and I am his math teacher.  He was SO excited to go to school!  He had not seen any of his classmates since the first week in March.  He didn't complain one bit about wearing a mask or social distancing.

Lydia is starting her 6th grade year distance learning.  I love her schedule.  She "attends" classes 7:45-11:45 every day except Wednesdays.  In the afternoons and Wednesdays, she works on assignments independently.  She got to take band this year.  I let her choose whatever instrument she wanted, but I was lobbying for a trumpet or something like it.  She chose the mallets!  Her bedroom door doesn't drowned out the sound at all!

Reggie started 5th grade in distance learning as well.  He has a brand new teacher that got hired the week before school started.  We went to meet him in person.  He seems nice enough.  I'm withholding judgement.  His schedule is 8:50-2:30 every day besides Wednesday (independent work day) with lots of breaks.  That makes it hard for me to get my errands done during the week, but I'll adjust.  He is excited about math.  He made his way through the 4th and 5th grade curriculum last year, so he is doing a self-paced program. We have also been having a neighborhood friend over for "gym" a couple times a week.

I just noticed Brett's mask is on upside down.  I wonder if he wore it that way all day?  Overall, despite the frustration that Covid-19 is still not behind us, the first couple weeks have gone smoothly.  The kids are staying healthy, positive, and being flexible. 

Well, I wanted to get my back-to-school post done before we got too far into fall, but I still have a couple posts in the works left over from summer, so I'm working backward!