The Newly Revised School Decision

I suspect that I am really pushing the limits of navel gazing to write not just one, but two, blog posts about our school decision.  However, countless conversations and articles and social media posts tell me that I am not the only one struggling with this.  We thought we had come to a decision 3 weeks ago, when I wrote this last blog post, and now we're making a change.  I'm sharing our evolving process with all of you so that we can all feel less alone as we muddle through these hard choices, and please feel free to share your own thoughts / process / decision (or indecision) in the comments.

So, our change of plans is for Zoey.  We were planning to have her do distance learning mostly because we're trying to keep Josh protected from germs (the life of a special needs sibling) and she did not seem to care much one way or the other.  However, as the first day of school creeps closer, she has expressed a strong preference to go back to school in person.  She is assigned to an awesome teacher, she misses having the in school teaching experience, and she's ready to be around her peers.  She's able to wear a mask well.  She herself is low risk, and both the AAP and the local pediatrician's office recommends that low risk kids should go back to school.  I think the in person educational experience is vastly superior to Zoom, and I can see why she doesn't want to spend 4+ hours a day in front of a screen.  It started to seem like it was the wrong decision to *not* send Zoey back to school.  So we consulted again with our [very patient] pediatrician, and she said that it's basically a judgment call - there is some potential added risk for Josh (though he remains quite protected by being home himself), but likely benefit for Zoey.  Based on all of this, we've decided to send Zoey back to school in person.

The distance learning plan for Josh stays in place.  We need him to stay home, on the advice of his doctors.  We need him to stay linked to the school in order to get all his IEP services.  I think that he may not do well with 4+ hours per day of Zoom time either, and I'm hoping that the distance learning teacher will be flexible and let me do some of the teaching.

Ivy will soon be turning 4, so I'm also going to try to fit some "home schooling" in with her.  I put that in quotations out of respect to those of you who are true homeschoolers -- you're using a curriculum, you've thought this through extensively, etc.  Our home school will be reading and crafts and working our way through the Costco Pre-K workbook, leaving lots of time for her to sharpen her comedy routine.  This is more or less what I did with Zoey, and she was prepared for kindergarten.  

So if people have questions about the pros and cons of any of the 3 school options for the year, we will soon have experiential knowledge of all three!

This is a year where flexibility and adaptability are going to be key for all of us.  I think the schools might cycle through seasons of being opened and closed as outbreaks happen and caseloads fluctuate.  It might quickly become apparent that we chose the wrong path for one child or another, and then we'll pivot.  A vaccine might make spring much safer than fall!  A second wave might make the country shut down again.

I'm not good at this.  I like to have control, a plan, and routine.  Unprecedented times and rapidly evolving situations are not at all my jam.  I don't usually have this much struggle with decisions - I do like to think things through, but once I've done that, I can usually stick to my decision and feel some peace about moving forward.  This time, I'm struggling to find that peace.  I do think this is a chance for spiritual growth - to trust God when you can't see the way forward, to grow those faith muscles.  My prayer for myself and for all of us, as we make our way through the many changes the year might bring, is this verse:  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:7

Love to all of you as you navigate this in your own lives!