What it's like with school aged children during a global pandemic..
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First, let me start this with.. it does not matter to me what race, religion, or political background you come from.. if you have children.. we are in the same parenting boat. Our children are our first concern.
I’m not sure where you fall in terms of: have you been affected by COVID-19, do you not really “believe” in it.. do you think its a conspiracy, do you wear a mask with a grudge or do you wear one to protect your loved ones or do you flat out say no thanks to it..
I’ll tell you where I stand with this.. I have two children who have severe asthma, and a basic cold can set them back with a cough for months. I’m not sure what to believe half of the time but I do know.. I’m not willing to risk my babies and their health whether or not this is “real”. Do I think that number can be skewed from time to time.. does the news try to instill some fear? sure.. but ultimately I’m not living (or schooling) out of fear. I have decided to take control of what I can and we will be homeschooling for this upcoming year. Here is why, although our school system is offering virtual learning (in Alabama) they just pushed back the in school learning until sept 10. It is not an option and is 100% virtual to start.
So why didn’t we just do that?
Here is why.. a stable internet connection is required and they will have internet hot spots to give out until they run out, and if you still can’t connect, you can drive up to a wifi enabled school bus in the parking lot. ummm.. not feasible with 4 young kids in the back of my soccer mom van!
Then.. when it’s time to head back to the classroom, it will not be the traditional school setting that they are used to. PE in the classroom, no library, grab lunch and head to either the class or alternate setting..masks all day, and limited interaction with their friends. I DO understand the necessity for parents who have zero options. I DO understand parents who need them to go to school for their mental stability. And I DO understand that there are parents who honestly don’t believe the fuss. We all need to make the best judgement for our own families. No choice is a wrong choice.. I just want to talk about our choice and what we are planning to do.
So what steps did i take?
- My husband and I prayed hard and had many conversations
- I made a pros and cons list and came to our decision to homeschool
- I researched the AL homeschool laws, here is a great resource to make sure you are covered if you are making the same choice -> HSLDA
- I withdrew my babes from the public school district per our AL laws.
- I purchased our homeschool curriculum. *I discussed our decision to homeschool in the past in this post -> (Why we chose to homeschool) but somehow never covered the actual curriculum we went with! When we moved from TX to AL, we did let them go back to public school to give it a shot but here we are..
Why and HOW we chose our curriculum..
The beautiful thing about homeschooling is that there are literally endless options. It really is about what is important to YOU as the parent, how your child learns and the time/budget you have.
Things that were important to us:
- An in person (not online) learning resource
- A “boxed” curriculum that laid out what to teach when
- A Christian based program
- A program that was gentle and not just a lot of busy work or drills
and that led us to finding Master Books..
Here are some pictures of the kids with their school books to start in a few weeks!
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- Andrew
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- Genevieve
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- Charlie & Daryl
I will share soon about our possible “schedule” aka checklist for the day, how I’m organizing everything with 4 kids and how it will all work.. but for now, I want to leave you with this:
YOU ARE AN AMAZING PARENT FOR WHATEVER CHOICE YOU MAKE!
Also know, if you are feeling called to teach your children but don’t even know if you “could do it” trust in the Lord and know that you are capable and you have already taught them so much in their short lives. You are brave, you are strong in His word and you are more than enough! Leave a comment with what your family is doing! I love these conversations <3
You’re an awesome teacher and they are lucky to have you!!
Thank you for writing so eloquently and with sincere honesty.
I can not even begin to imagine the difficult choices parents of school age children are facing during this unsettling time.
I admire your strength and dedication to your children. I have seen too many young children that do not even have an ounce of what you do. It’s sad. Children are our future and this world can use more of people like you.