Back to School

Back to school!  Where to start... After the crazy shutdown and five months off and an awesome summer break, it felt quite surreal that we were even considering school again.

This whole coronavirus mess has felt a lot like the first snowfall or freezing cold day of winter- everyone freaks out and shuts everything down- School is cancelled! Church is cancelled!  Everyone shut everything down and stay inside and be safe!

And then when the fifth snowfall or freezing cold day comes around, everyone is tired of cancelling everything and so they don't cancel school and go to church and everyone goes out when they want to  even if it's colder or snowier than it was the first time around and sure, some people get into car accidents and some people catch pneumonia but for the most part, life just chugs on as usual.

That's how I feel about the coronavirus.  Everyone is tired of doing it and so life is returning to normal and no one quite knows what that means but just in case we're not ready to return to life as usual we've been given the option to do school virtually this year.  When given the choices to return to school 100% onsite or online, online felt like the best option for us.  And when we look at the numbers and the facts that haven't changed at all for the better (at least in Iowa), we still feel good about our decision.  Our kids did well with online learning in the spring, and they all voted to do online learning this fall.  So here we go!  We are definitely in the minority amongst friends and family and neighbors, but that doesn't matter.  We're trying a new adventure with the goal of returning to school someday... just not today!

For this semester we are doing online learning, and that means Chromebooks for everyone!

 Emma and Noah were thrilled and played astronauts typing into their space logs the whole way home. 

 We also picked up a few extra at-home school supplies- comfy chair, a pouf, and a fuzzy blanket.  Not at all a normal school supply list!

There was still a LOT of unknown by the time the first day of school arrived, so it seemed only fitting that this year's back to school banner had to go into bananas instead of apples (because we were all out of apples).  It is just going to be a different kind of year all around!

Everyone was up with all of the first day excitement, and Leah was the first to start school at 7:35.  Boy was she glad she didn't actually have to be at school at that early hour!

 Cute outfit, check!  No shoes, check!  Her main desk is upstairs,  

and her classes are all live, meaning she feeds into the classrooms as the teachers are teaching the live class.  She has four classes a day and plenty of time for breaks (so far).  She's most excited about art and orchestra!

 Noah, Emma, and Adam don't start until 9:05, which means plenty of time for playing in the morning!  It was super hot on our east-facing porch that first morning.  Adam thought it was hilarious that he chose to wear an Ashland Ridge shirt, and all of the kids were thrilled to be shoeless!

They all have dedicated online teachers, so while they have close to 30 classmates each, everyone is fully online and learning from home.  So there has been a lot of emails and dedicated online learning material to learn about and navigate through in the first few days, but overall it's gone really well!

Adam's desk is in the front room, which is nice because there are doors that he can shut when needed.  His teacher is Mrs. Bohn and she has been teaching for 30 years!  She definitely knows what she's doing and Adam does too, so he was off and running on the first day!

 We set Emma up in our bedroom the first day, and she did a great job of listening to her teacher Mrs. Fox, who has a great, clear teacher voice that is easy to understand and follow.  Third grade is serious business, and Emma was immediately up to the task.  I offered her a break after a few good hours of learning and she said, "I have like five more assignments that I want to get done first!" Emma loves pleasing her teachers and I hope her enthusiasm for online learning keeps up all year long!

Noah set up camp right by my desk at the kitchen table, and his class definitely requires the most listening in on to make sure that he knows what he's supposed to be doing and where to find it.  His teacher Mrs. France has her hands full with 30 first graders with varying levels of parental support at home, and the first few days have been a combination of fun, learning, and a bit of boredom while listening to her repeat how to find a link over and over again.  But Noah has been a good listener and is getting his work done quickly as a result!

There are plenty of breaks for everyone throughout each day- anywhere from 15 minutes to 90 minutes at a time means there is plenty of time for screen breaks when needed.  Leah made the traditional back-to-school cookies on the first day!

And lunch time looks like this- 

All smiles and so much giggling!

No one is going to complain about a recess that looks like this!

Or P.E. class that looks like this-

Overall Laney is thoroughly unimpressed with the whole thing. 

Where did her playmates go??

The second day looked a lot like the first, except with less scrambling and more learning. 

Emma even remembered her glasses the second day- oops!

And when the day is over, poof!  You're immediately home and on to the next fun thing. 

And there is a whole lot to smile about!

"If Adam wasn't being such a hooligan than we would have gotten a good picture!" -Emma

This year, however unusual it's going to be, is off to a great start!