Well, we made it! A full 9 weeks of district virtual schooling accomplished at home. It went pretty well; the kids learned to follow a schedule, manage the assortment of apps needed, and submit assignments via pictures emailed or uploaded to their Google drive. That's not to say that they didn't forget the occasional zoom, neglect to scroll down for the full instructions, or have to chase down a missing assignment here or there. They had some nice breaks throughout the day, but it was tiring to keep up with two different schedules and to follow up on what was submitted every day. I think the typing lessons paid off though.
They did get to do their GT work together on Fridays, which they enjoyed, but it was definitely their busiest day of the week because of long zoom meetings, lots of online assignments, and hands-on experiments at home. For example, they're studying geological forces, like earthquakes, so they were asked to create 12-inch tall structures out of items from home, make jello for the ground, see if the buildings could withstand some shaking, and submit a video of their test. Good thing these kids have a parent at home with time to supervise all of this!
The kids were actually content to stay home for the next grading period, too, but I felt that they would really benefit from being in person with their teachers (less chance of missing assignments), seeing and talking to other kids (socialization is important!), and just being back in their school routine (we've all been home together for 7 months). So, we stocked up on face masks and the kids returned to in-person school this week! So far, so good!
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