Three Kids and a Dog: Back to School

I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since my kids stepped foot back in their schools. Boy, they sure missed that interaction and socialization with their teachers and peers. Hailey said it best when I picked her up on her first day of school, "It was way too short!" We're one of the lucky districts as our kids are allowed to go to school half days (we're PM which means we go to school the second half of the day). It might be a lot more taxing if we were all remote as our high schoolers in the area are already.

I'm thankful for the break especially with Hailey as there has been no reprieve for her remote portion of learning. We have to sit with these 1st graders while they do their 2.5 hours of remote learning andthen turn around and feed our kids and get them off to school. Then we can finally clean up, walk the dog, conquer the laundry, the million forms to be filled out, appointments to be made or things that need to be signed up for. I often don't even check my email until late at night unless I'm looking for something specific. I don't have time. I'm not at a desk anymore all day. And what was supposed to be my first year with no one at home has turned into afternoon kindergarten x 3. Luckily, Austen doesn't need much of my help and Peyton only requires some because Hailey needs most of it.

Peyton had a math activity to complete last week and what should have taken her 20 minutes or so turned into one hour as she picked an online lesson that they hadn't learned yet but she was too far in to go back which resulted in a lot of tears for her and frustration for me as I had to sit with her as she answered every question. If she got it right, her score went up. If she got it wrong, her score went down and prolonged the end of the lesson. But aside from a couple of snafus here and there, the kids are starting to develop some new routines this school year.

Austen chose a new room for his remote learning (his bedroom). He said his Dad was too loud on conference calls downstairs where he had sequestered himself in an adjacent room to him.

Peyton and Hailey go in the same door at school this year so it's been nice having them together. It's their last year in school together forever so I really enjoy when they tell me that they see each other at school and wave or say hi to each other. It's a marked difference from when Austen was in 5th grade and he'd see Peyton and look the other way (until we got wind of it and he never did that again).

Anyway, the kids are excited to be back. Their biggest back to school purchases were various masks to match their outfits! Seriously, I think I spent more on masks than their back to school clothes!

Peyton and Hailey have started rec soccer and Peyton starts swim training this week. Hailey continues with her swim lessons too and is doing really well (she may pass out sooner than Austen and Peyton who were midway through the second grade when they were done with swim lessons). She only has two levels left and it probably won’t be that long before she passes out of her current level.

Austen just started a fall ball baseball league. He's never played in the fall before because he hasn't had the time but this year baseball is one of the only sports the kids in our state can play with minimum to no restrictions. Since cross country was canceled for the middle schoolers, he decided to continue with baseball. And, of course he's been doing a lot of training with his new soccer team, which he is really excited about. He's learning a lot and his game is growing. I can see his development and what he’s learned in just two short months.

So life is just as busy as it was before the pandemic - maybe more so for me now with remote learning. I'm just hoping that they stay in school and that we don't have to continue this far into 2021. But for now all we can do is take it one day at a time.