I don’t know about you, but one conversation that keeps swirling around our house right now is: what in the world should we do about going back to school this fall?
All the unknowns, guessing, and endless possible scenarios pile heavy on us and leave us feeling helpless.
- Should we return to our neighborhood school?
- Should we home school?
- If we homeschool are unschooling or joining a co-op?
- Should we do school online?
There are so many options to consider and I don’t know about you, but not one option has yet to “feel right.” There are also so many practicalities to figure out:
- What schedule works best for my family?
- Who is going to watch my kids if they are schooling at home and I have to work?
- What environment will my kids function best in?
- Where do I think my kids be the safest?
- Where will their friends be going to school?
- What if I’m not the type of teacher my kids need
- Can I possibly survive whatever this is going to look like for me family
Let’s face it, no one has done this before, and I am choosing to believe that we are all doing the best we can. I personally know some leaders in our local schools and I know they are working long and hard to figure out the best options given the ever-changing guidelines and unfolding story. At the end of the day there really is no right answer.
I am finding calm in the midst of the chaos by using these thoughts to filter our options for school next year and what is the next right thing for our family.
Does this work logistically for our family?
Plain and simple, given the resources and time that we have, do we have the physical and emotional bandwidth to make this work? In this question, I’m also considering who is in our community that can help with the logistics of the plan.
What’s the impact on our family’s physical, social, and emotional health?
In light of everything right now, it’s easy to become hyper focused on our physical safety and at the same time we need to be considering the impact of our choices on our social and emotional health. Whether it’s through school or other options, we are seeing how important it is to help foster our children’s friendships and connection with peers.
Remind myself that what’s right for my family will be different from others.
And that’s okay. This one has been something I’ve thought about a lot recently. It’s easy to compare myself and my family to another and feel stressed when our decisions or actions are not the same. But at the end of the day, I have to trust that we are all doing the best that we can and have grace for myself and grace for those around me.
And we’re going to keep talking about it as a community. Our goal over the next few weeks is to provide you with tools and resources to help support whatever decision is best for your family. So join us for the conversation both here and in our Facebook Group!