COVID Fall 2020

Being a parent of school aged kids is incredibly challenging this year. After much thought and talks we opted out of public school this year. Many many tears have been shed. we have a decent backup plan but I'm anxious.

Let me just say that life is just hard right now. We are experiencing events that we couldn't have planned for. I have a variety of opinions on this which I will not share here. This is what I know: we are doing the very best we can for our individual circumstances. Many of you know we have 4 kids. Ally and Max are at HSE and they have delayed the start of school currently until after Labor Day. The school system as a whole decided to start virtual or distance learning. Oliver and Hudson are at CCS; or rather they were. CCS made the decision to offer 3 options depending on the age of the child; High school and middle school were offered wither 100% virtual or a hybrid. Elementary aged children were offered either 100% virtual OR 100% in school. We were given a few days to decide and opted in school. The virtual day would look very different than the it did during quarantine with check-in at 7:50 and continued check-ins throughout the day until 2:35. This option offered very little flexibility especially for working parents. We felt given the circumstances in person was better between the two choices. THEN we attended the Kindergarten orientation. 21 families were there with there 5 year olds. 21 kids who are entering a long relationship with school. 21 kids who will be wearing a mask most of the day, who will be placed in a pod of 3, who will sit with those same three kids at lunch, in specials and during recess. I had an uneasy feeling immediately.
I also want to say that I honor every single persons choice. i make absolutely no judgment. You make the choice for your families and we do ours.

Making that phone call to withdraw was one of the hardest things I've done. I questioned what would happen next year, will Hudson have to do 2nd grade, will Oliver start with kindergarten or 1st. Are the boys going to be the oldest when they graduate. Will they resent this later? And you know what? I HAVE NO IDEA. I cannot read the future. This is an instance where I am trusting my instinct. Our decision was made for many reasons some of which include money. My business may not survive multiple closures due to quarantines. Is it stable to have routines consistently upended? We all thrive on routine. Many of you that know me know this to b e VERY TRUE. So onto our "plan" for anyone who cares to keep reading. We have a nanny who has been consistent in our family since Oliver started at The Goddard School. She has watched our kiddos overnight and on many many date nights. She is coming aboard full time. We will work together to find a learning plan that works well for all of us. We are going to spend some time un-schooling to learn how the boys learn best. We are meeting up with a few homeschooling families. I've been taken in by this group even though I hadn't ever considered homeschooling, because of Hudsons food allergies. Many homeschooling families have food allergies and CHOOSE to stay out of public for this reason alone. I am leaning in on many of them as they have so much experience. We are looking for ways that each boy can have some peer time. We've enrolled Hudson at the White Pines Wilderness Academy. We are taking it one day at a time and know we can always change what doesn't work.