There was a lot of talk about school opening this summer. I have used the words hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous more than I ever thought I would in my life. There have been memes, serious commentaries, and viral videos. At first we thought, of course we're going to send the kids back to school. They have to go back. Then, we thought, but if they go back, they can't see my parents, which is supposed to be one of the main benefits to being home this year. Finally, Arlington made the decision for us, saying everyone will start the year online, and that they will keep evaluating the safety of going back to buildings as the school year progresses. I think it's the best choice, since so many of the schools that chose to go back ultimately had to go to online once people started getting sick. This way, we start by putting together the best online program we can, and then we have it ready to fall back on if in person doesn't work out. I saw a great meme which captures the way I'm feeling about the start of school this year.
Still, if schools reopen in person, we will need to seriously consider what the best fit will be for us as a family. The girls definitely need some socialization. The highlights of their week before school were a big piece of bubble wrap, and us putting down their favorite carpet.
The highlight of my week was getting to go to the school and see what would be my classroom if we go back to school. It looks really nice.
I've been able to set up a good work area at home in the living room, so that I'm not completely removed from the girls when they're "in" class.
I also have a table in my bedroom for when I need to close the door and teach.
The school system had some technical glitches at the start. They provided every student with a device, but they picked Apple devices, and a crummy VPN, so everything froze up. We are very lucky to be a family with lots of devices, so Vivi got back on her Chromebook, and Elena took my Chromebook, while I used the Macbook the school gave me.
We're still figuring out the best places for the girls to do school work. Vivian has used the living room and her room. The set up she has in her room seems to make her happy, and it's easy to clear out of the way when she wants space for other things.
But we've discovered it's also good to have her start her day in the living room, away from the temptation of her bed, where we can keep an eye on her.
Elena spent most of the week at the dining room table, so that a grown up could easily sit with her when needed. Of course, she managed to have a particularly dramatic start to her school year by losing her second front tooth on camera.
Her favorite class so far is art, but she's been doing a great job participating in all her classes.
Her morning is in Spanish, and her afternoon is in English. She's only had one "I don't wanna" incident, and she bounced back pretty fast. It's a HUGE improvement over how things were going at the end of last year.
Vivian is also doing fine in her classes, although she's not terribly excited about any of them. She is still focused on her look, even though no one seems to be turning the camera on, so Mom and I got her some more clothes to try on. One of the items was a really soft pink and purple sweater. I knew it was a long shot that she would like it, but it was so soft I couldn't resist. Turns out, Elena feels the same way, and she appropriated it for herself. Luckily, there were several other items that Vivi did like.
Elena totally worships her big sister. She insisted that she needed an "office" like Vivi has in her room, so we set her up in the living room. She also insisted on wearing her new sweater most of the day. Her headphones fit under it, and the resulting image just cracks me up.
Her Spanish teacher read them Knuffle Bunny in Spanish, so Elena brough our own Knuffle Bunny to show the class, and then kept it close for the rest of the day.
I'm only working part time this year, which has turned out great. My students were able to get into our online class, and I had a lot of fun working with them, but I still had time to support the girls during their first week of online learning at a new school. While this entire set up is far from ideal, I feel like we had a good week. I don't know how long we can sustain this, but we're okay for now.
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