It's been a hard road doing the COVID school and we were unable to finish the year doing virtual school at home. One nine-week period of at home school was closer to a nine-week prison sentence than it was a joyous time at home together as a family learning things together and growing as a family like you might imagine on some perfect family in a movie from the early 50's. It was difficult and close to the definition of "cruel and unusual punishment" so we decided to send them back to brick and mortar school.
During the end of last school year when the COVID began, there was a hybrid type of school where they gave us some of the homework and there were some classes that the kids would have to attend for twenty or thirty minutes throughout the day, but for the most part is was free learning as long as they turned their work in. When we started this school year, we thought that it was going to be similar where it was some classroom time and mostly at home teaching. We had grand ideas of even leaving town to go on vacation and doing two hours of school work in the morning and then vacationing in the afternoon. Little did we know that those thoughts would be so far from the truth.
The school has worked hard to make it so that the kids will be engaged and active in school like the teacher is there with the students throughout the day. I applaud them for their thought, but the reality of it is that with a second grader and a kindergartener, they can not stay on a computer and sit still for long periods of time. Ryland would not pay attention to his teacher at all. There were times when there were timed test and he was not paying attention and the teacher said "time" while he was still staring into space. Weston would just lie on the floor, glasses off, his tongue hanging out and crying loudly as if his dog was just murdered.
One of us had to sit at the table with the two at all times or they would either not be paying attention to the teacher, or would not remain on the task. They would spend more time trying to distract themselves from what they are supposed to be doing than actually working on their school work. All of this is frustrating enough when we want our kids to do their best in school, but we have to be on them the entire 6-30 hours that a normal school day lasts every single day. This not only shackles the kids to their schoolwork, but us too. We no longer have freedom to go to the park, grocery shop, do chores around the house, or do pretty much anything while school is going on. This also leaves Juliana to waste her time away playing on the tablet or YouTube while her brothers are at school. It seems like with online schooling everyone suffers so we have had enough and sent them back to school.
Now that they have been in brick and mortar school for three weeks they are doing much better. The first week we acted like it was a vacation, going to the park, out to lunch, and pretty much goofing around. There is a freedom for us that we have not had in the past three months. It is also better for Ryland and Weston. They are enjoying school and they seem to be better at their work now that we don't have to hover over them to make sure that they are paying attention. Of course, they could still be not doing their work, we just don't know about it.
COVID is a serious concern and we don't want out kids to get sick, but with the much added stress of the online schooling, it was too much mentally for everyone to have them sit at the table all day and focus on work. School is still not the same, like wearing of masks all day and no singing in music class, but it is more back to normal for all of us. The kids are much happier, we have more freedom, and Juliana can now go out and enjoy her preschool year before she stars VPK and begins her 13-17 or more year trek into formal education.
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