Distanced. Episode I - The Decision

Two weeks ago, I made the decision to educate my children at home this year. No matter what our public school district decided to do, my kids were not going to be there.*

Since the "birus" hit and our state shut down, we have been coping in various ways. Most of us are doing ok and if you are following our Facebook (@BetweenKidsAndCats) or Instagram (@BetweenKidsAndCats), you've seen our projects and fun photos.

What you haven't seen is me. I'm one of the "lucky" ones whose previously barely-noticeable regular-grade anxiety kicked into high gear during the first month of this pandemic.  And then it affected a pre-existing, but undiagnosed stomach issue that we're still working to figure out.

So, here I am, with a new case of anxiety and a pain in my belly that makes each day an adventure. We are about 4 months into this crisis and I'm still nervous to leave the house and Ron does all of our errands, usually after I've ordered everything online for him to pick up at the store.  Except Aldi, he still does that trip as usual, plus mask.

When I realized that I would be sending three kids to three different schools, that was it for me. I made up my mind, withdrew Batgirl from preschool, and started researching online public schools and home school options for Batman and Robin. And boy, was that enlightening. And scary. There are so many options out there and it got a bit overwhelming. I reached out to our school district for some guidance and got some good information there.

Today, I'm kind of in a holding pattern as we wait to see what, if any, online option the district will provide. Because that would be ideal. Then there isn't the worry of whether or not I can teach and no issues transferring back to school once this virus is under control.

But honestly, I am getting excited about homeschooling (and I never thought I would ever in a million years say that). I've found some great resources and programs that align with what our school district does so the kids have some continuity. I've got guest teachers (aka Grandma and Aunt) to help with some subjects. And the flexibility that it offers would be great. The biggest plus is the ability to align everyone's schedule to match Ron's workweek of Tuesday - Saturday. Or taking a day off in the middle of the week to go on a field trip once we feel safe in doing so.

I know it's not going to be all smiles and rainbows. Whether we home school or online school, it's going to be a challenge. I'm going to have bad days. The kids are going to have bad days. If we're lucky they won't be the same days.

But we are going to do our part to slow the spread of this virus as much as we can.

* Note: Let me take a moment to say, I fully support the public school system. I always have. I had a great public school education and I want the same for my children. We love our school. We love the teachers, the staff, the fact that we can walk to it. . . Everything has been great for the two years we have been there. And the district has been great about communicating with families through this whole ordeal. This decision was not made because we were looking for a way out of public school. Our circumstances are such that we are able to educate our children at home this year, hopefully helping to lessen the burden of too many students for social distancing in the classroom while doing what we believe is best to keep our family safe.

 

Next Post: Episode 2