School has started once again in the seemingly never ending season of COVID. Usually hurricanes have been the season to put a wrinkle in the beginning of school seeing as how both Ryland and Weston started preschool late due to a hurricane.
COVID has obviously turned into a way of life for all of us and the kids know no different, just like when we experienced 3 hurricanes in the past 6 years. We hardly ever had a hurricane interrupt school when I was a kid in school. I had to go every single day for 12 or 14 hour school days walking through storms and hail and uphill both ways. This maybe worse however, at least for us parents.
The first day of school was delayed this year due to COVID, starting on August 20th instead of the second week in August. We decided to do virtual schooling instead of sending our kids to a place where even normal germs spread like wildfire. The first day was a disaster. James was at work and I had to work with both kids at the same time. Since Weston is in kindergarten and Ryland is in second grade, they have different schedules, which makes everything even more difficult. Weston has recess 10:00 am to 10:30 and is supposed to eat lunch at 10:30 to 11:00am and Ryland has recess/ lunch from 11:20 to 12:20. Seeing has how we have been lazily eating breakfast around 9:30 every day in the summer, going from early breakfast and really early lunch has been hard. The schedules are so different in fact that I completely forgot to feed Juliana, who spent her time goofing around on the computer and tablet while the boys did their work.
The boys have different meetings throughout the day on the computer that they
have to attend to and watch. It is not like last year where there is a meeting or two throughout the day and we are left alone to freely learn and augment the lesson or slow down and explain if we needed to. Now they have class time at least once every hour that they must attend and interact with the teacher. Weston spent some of the first day lying on the floor crying how boring it is and how he hates school. I can only imagine how his teacher feels as she watches kids yawn, complain, or disappear completely from the screen throughout the day.
Day number two was better though. James was home to help out, but it is still difficult to help two kids with their schooling and entertain Juliana who has nothing to do but play. Weston sees Juliana playing and wants to join, but doesn't understand why he too can't watch YouTube all day long or play Legos or whatever it is that Juliana is doing. Hopefully once a routine starts, the kids will get adjusted and better at going to class and separating school from play in the house that they have completely overrun with their toys, pictures, snacks, and other kid related materials.
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