School for my child is very different from anything I experienced when growing up! While many people thought COVID would be short term, I was never one to subscribe to that belief. I’ve always felt this was the “new flu”, like the Spanish Flu of 100 years ago. Today we still get our flu shots each fall to combat it. COVID was a shock at first, but when the variants started it felt like there was no end in sight.
I have no doubt COVID will continue to change and adapt. I can only hope I am wrong, but that is what my gut tells me. I was slightly terrified to send my child back to in-person school at first. She begged, pleaded and negotiated so I knew how badly she wanted to be back with her friends, and I wanted it for her too. We had heard how horrible quarantine and lack of socialization had impacted our kids. We struggled having her in virtual school for a year. I had to try to be a non-certified teacher…and work…and be mom. There were MANY fights and struggles so in honesty I was a little excited too. If I were to be honest, returning to in-person had its challenges too.
- School meant getting to Socialize and be together. Re-Learning how to interact with friends and what proper behavior meant; Waiting turns, sharing – it was HARD! It was almost like taking a step back in time to pre-school lessons.
- School Rules: Communicating the Rules to the kids
- Following the new rules of interaction. New rules were everywhere: Grocery stores, classrooms, even on the bus. Not everyone subscribed to the same beliefs which brought a separate set of challenges. Thankfully these kids (well many of them) took it in stride (most of the time). Grocery stores had separate shopping hours for the elderly or high-risk. Food was wiped down and sanitized (personally I have continued this one). New classroom rules meant socially distanced in their rooms. That one I thought would have been harder but at the beginning not everyone returned to school right away. That gave the teachers more space to make it work thankfully. Bus riders had to wear masks even when it was hot. The bus drivers had to monitor this, and kids had to fight the urge to take them off.
- School protocols
- Thankfully, our Schools provided weekly testing. That was the only way I was going to let mine return to the classroom setting. It was free, and it provided peace of mind. Every week was a sigh of relief that we were doing the right things and keeping everyone healthy. That is until the very end of the year when she tested positive for the first time! Naturally it had to be the end of year “FUN” days. The call from the school brought panic but seeing her tears knowing she was missing out broke my heart. The biggest challenge – my child is pretty much asymptomatic. If I am honest that is why I wanted the weekly testing. We all know that just because you don’t present symptoms doesn’t mean you aren’t sick. My biggest fear was getting someone in a high-risk factor sick, so I was grateful for the testing. A positive test meant being held at the office, and parents had to pick up ASAP. They could not return until they were negative – at least at first. Ultimately how long they had to stay out of school reduced as time went on.
- School transportation options/requirements
- Masks on the buses or do we carpool instead? How do you make sure that these little kids keep their masks on? How do keep them from trading masks because their friends are “cooler looking”. Honestly, they were sharing, which was great…but those were scary days!
In the end the reality is no parent has easy decisions to make. This one was a curve ball and not something any of us expected to have to make decisions about. As with all things the best you can do is your best. Trust your gut and keep yourself educated! Learn as much as you can about every perspective, lean on your resources who have more knowledge. You got this!
