Post by redheadbaker on Aug 4, 2020 18:36:14 GMT -5
IF your child is old enough to make a somewhat informed decision, and IF you have the option between in-person and virtual, are you taking your child's preferences into account?
Post by minniemouse on Aug 4, 2020 18:43:16 GMT -5
We can choose between hybrid and 100% virtual. I am considering their preferences but ultimately I will decide. Both my second and sixth graders want to go back in person,
Post by Patsy Baloney on Aug 4, 2020 18:44:09 GMT -5
No. I know she wants to go to school, but we have the flexibility to keep her home. I don’t think she understands the bigger picture of COVID. She’s 7, fwiw.
If she were older, I’d probably be more comfortable with sending. She’d likely be more compliant and understanding of the situation.
We talked with DD (8.5) about it a lot and asked her opinion. She chose virtual because for a variety of reasons (all very mature of her to admit) and that is what we ultimately chose. That is, until our county said J/K, we're all virtual.
I think it helps we've been VERY open and honest about the risks associated with it. She gets it because we're not doing playdates or seeing family, so she knows it serious.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Aug 4, 2020 18:58:54 GMT -5
Hell no. I'm too high risk to allow her in the school building. If she was to bring COVID home and someone in our circle died of it (several high risk), I'd definitely not want her to have to live with the guilt of being the decision maker on that. When I think it's safe to return, it will be her choice.
Post by rootbeerfloat on Aug 4, 2020 19:07:25 GMT -5
Yes. DS (13) wants to do 100% virtual, and H agrees (DS has anxiety, middle school means he'll be exposed to more people). So I was outvoted, even though I'll shoulder most of the burden in making sure he does his schoolwork.
DD (10) wants to go in-person, which is a hybrid model at her school (would've been the same schedule for DS). I'm more comfortable with the bubble at her elementary school, and she's a less independent learner, so she'll go (as long as she can).
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Aug 4, 2020 19:25:53 GMT -5
I did ask my kids' opinions, and when we thought going back 5 days a week, dd's opinion was that she really wanted to go in person but was also really worried and felt like she would be super nervous and would feel safer staying home. Then our district said 5 days a week isn't possible, so 2 days hybrid is the only option other than fully virtual, and dd feels a lot better about that, as do I. I haven't decided yet, but I know their preferences and will at least consider that when deciding.
I realized that when the districts plans were first announced that I made a decision for her without asking what she wanted to do (4th grade). When we presented her with the options she wanted to do the hybrid model. That is what I chose also.
But then the district just changed to all virtual.
I wanted them to go in person, so that was what we chose. I did ask them and at first they said elearning because it was only 2-3 hours in the spring, but they changed their mind when I told them it would be 5 hours a day. They say they want to go in person.
Now cases and positivity rates are on the rise, and I’m very much still torn on the decision I already made. Cases were down to 400 for the state and 3% positivity. Now we are at 1200-1400 cases and inching up to 5-6% positivity rate.
Post by ilikedonuts on Aug 4, 2020 20:04:18 GMT -5
I asked mine that is the same age as yours. She wanted virtual. We had already planned virtual so it worked out but I don’t know if we would have changed our mind if she wanted in person.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Post by somersault72 on Aug 4, 2020 20:21:19 GMT -5
Yes. DS (7th grade) wanted to do virtual. I had/have concerns about it, but our school has no hybrid option and the way things are going all these kids might end up virtual at some point, soooooo....
Post by imojoebunny on Aug 4, 2020 21:01:43 GMT -5
Nope. We have 183,000 positive cases in my state, 3,800 deaths, with a population of 10.6M. That is just the confirmed, we have had shortages of testing at many points, and for some populations that are younger, but have higher infection rates. Oh, and we are open for most everything, including some nearby school districts where people are covidiots. We have no mask mandate. Nope, kids, you don't get to kill your 55 year old father, your grandparents, or anyone else. Not that they want to. Our district canceled all in person school a couple of weeks ago for my age kids, and today cancelled sports, extras, and early childhood education for in person, due to cases at the early childhood school. Sorry folks, you played stupid games, and won stupid prizes. (Though most in my community are playing by the rules, the outlying counties thing this is a joke, until they have no hospital beds left, and come to ours, which is happening.
My 2nd grader wants to back. We are choosing virtual. I will take her opinion into account by trying to broaden our bubble to get her at least some social interaction.
We included them in the conversation and asked their thoughts on it, but made sure we prefaced it with the fact that we would consider their opinions, but we would ultimately make the decision. They shared, we shared which was we were leaning, and they both agreed that our way would be better for our family. I’m thrilled it turned out that way because now they feel like they had an active role in this decision.
They were both initially on the fence and wanted to do a hybrid. Once we told them that we would still allow some play dates with their friends regardless of their school decisions (one or two families for their mental health), they were on board with virtual. Thankfully, I think that both of our pod families are going to do virtual, too.
Post by goldengirlz on Aug 4, 2020 21:29:54 GMT -5
We did for camp. DD was begging to go back and I convinced H that we should let her.
It was a family decision, of course. We’ve said no to other things. But we felt like this was a calculated risk (then again, when we signed her up, case counts looked very different here. They weren’t as bad as they are now.) It’s hard enough for adults to make these decisions, let alone kids. So I think it’s important for everyone to be fully on board if the decision is “send them back.” Like someone said above, the guilt shouldn’t fall on any one person’s shoulders, especially a child.
I’m not asking the 8 year old. He’s a total introvert who would never leave eye house if he could, but he also was completely unable to engage with online learning.
The 13 year old will have a choice. His sleepaway camp (which he is at right now) is offering a 5 week fall session that he can do his remote learning from (if school goes all virtual or he chooses that option - we still don’t have an official plan), so he will be able to make that decision.
Post by arehopsveggies on Aug 4, 2020 22:30:59 GMT -5
My kinder wanted to go back. We are going to homeschool. I keep reminding myself he wants to go back to what he had last year- and even though the teacher is the same for preK and K, the experience just isn’t going to be what he wants.
I asked mine, but mostly to get a feel for if either was anxious about the idea of going back. I, too, am happy to overrule them! They are excited to go back if it happens (both hybrid but in different buildings), but I anticipate DD to worry a lot as we lead up to it.
I was really struggling to decide, but was leaning towards 100% virtual. I asked my kid (who is 5 and going into K), what he’d prefer and he said definitely online. I’m obviously not letting my 5 year old decide anything, but it made me feel a lot more confident in choosing virtual, and less anxious that I was breaking his heart or depriving him of something.
But now our county is on the governor’s naughty list so everyone is starting 100% virtual.
Post by SusanBAnthony on Aug 5, 2020 6:31:31 GMT -5
Both mine want to go back but understand if cases get bad we will make a different decision.
I would let either of mine do full virtual if they wanted to, but neither does, and we feel at least some in person instruction is the right thing for them so we all agree for now.
I think the school will make the decision for us which is just fine by me. Then I won't have to be the bad guy after already telling the kids no to everything since March. I'm happy to let someone else do it, haha.
Kind of. Our county is fully virtual through the end of January. I was debating homeschooling in lieu of virtual due to his personality/learning style and asked my 6 yo his preference (homeschool/not computer), knowing that if he chose homeschool he’d have to pay attention to and not argue with me as his teacher. He still chose homeschool, so we will see how it goes...
Yes we asked her and yes her opinion counts. She's 7, going into 2nd grade. She also has 2 parents who work FT, so the entire family unit needed to be accounted for.
She wants to go back. She knows she will have to wear a mask all day. She cannot hug/touch/be near anyone.
So we chose the flex option. They're starting virtually anyway.
One of the biggest issues I have with our county's virtual is that you are only guaranteed schooling. Your teacher may/may not be from the county. Your "class" will be students from all over the county. They're not even guaranteeing trying to put kids together from the same school or 2 neighboring schools. So the don't seem any more organized about it at this point.
DD and I talked about the pros/cons together and she chose virtual. Now that more information is coming out though she is regretting that decision and so am I. It will be her sitting on a computer at home all day while her friends and teachers are in a class room. It sounds awful and I am considering letting her switch.
We had to make the decision while cases were sky high and virtual seemed like the only option. Now things are getting much better here and I just don't even know what to do.
Ds is 7 and going into 2nd grade. I did discuss the options with him. He said virtual bc the parts of school he likes are the social parts and I couldn’t say with certainty that he would have those. We did decide virtual for the first semester.
We did not ask. We told E that we were opting him in for 100% virtual, b/c we were fortunate to be able to look after him/his schooling at home (H works 100% from home), before our whole county went 100% virtual to start. H has the green light from his CEO for no travel/no site visits for as long as we need. E was 100% on board w/ virtual (he's 9, has some anxiety concerns), and although he said that he would miss his friends, he expressed that he felt most comfortable with distance learning. He does well with it, so I was confident in my choice.
She is onboard with 100% virtual. She is already talking about next next year when she goes to middle school. She is only bugged about not having sleep over with her friends. I am hoping by her birthday I can find a few other people in her friends group that may have stayed at home and do something for her on that.