Back to School or Home School? Advice for Parents

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Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

Are you ready for your child to go back to school?

I’d never thought I would see the day that the entire world would be in a pandemic crisis. 5 months into this pandemic and sometimes it still feels surreal to me. Many parents are now faced with the decision to go back to work which means their child will have to go to school in person or to stay at home and let their child complete school online. No parent should ever have to choose between working to keep a roof over their child’s head and their child’s safety by allowing them to go to school in person. Tough decisions are being made during these times.

My cousin told me that her daughter’s school is giving them an option to either go to school in person or to stay at home and complete the school year online. She personally made the decision to stay home with her daughter. I really appreciate that her school is giving parents an option. My nephew will also be completing his first year of high school online.

Regardless if your child is going back to school in person or completing school online, there is a list of things you will have to prepare for.

What should schools do during an outbreak of the coronavirus?

Gather your teacher’s email address and contact phone number. It is important now more than ever to keep close communication of your child’s school regardless if they are at home or going to school in person. Ask the school if they have a contingency plan or school protocol should the school have an outbreak of the coronavirus. Check the CDC guidelines for reopening schools in 2020 and make sure your child’s school is following them.

How can I help my child continue learning during the COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

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Research suggests that children learning from home performed better on standardized tests. Findings from a 2009 study suggest that a greater proportion of homeschooled kids graduated from college 67% than their public school counterparts 59%. Your child will still be able to gain a great education during the time that they will be learning from home.

Gain access to your child’s school applications to keep track of messages from the school as well as your child’s grades.

Meal Plan and prep for school lunches. If your child is going to school in person, you will have to decide if your child will bring lunch or eat the food from the cafeteria. My nephew’s school is making the students that chose to go to school in person eat lunch in the classroom. Here are a few things to consider if you want your child to eat food from the cafeteria:

If your child brings their lunch they won’t have to leave the classroom unnecessarily to get food from the cafeteria.

Ask about how the school plans to monitor the lunch line and cafeteria to maintain social distancing.

When I was in high school certain foods were left out within our reach to grab for ourselves. Ask the school about their food safety policy and if it has changed due to the pandemic.

Check to see if the school is properly checking their staff including cafeteria monitors for coronavirus symptoms, and are they getting tested. The last thing you want to do is to take all measures to keep your child safe and they still get sick from the cafeteria food.

Like my mother in law always tell me, “I like to make my own food, that way I know what’s in it.” Lol She is always suspicious of everything. I don’t blame her nowadays.

For those whose kids will bring their own lunch or they will be homeschooled. Are you struggling to find a variety of lunch ideas that are quick, easy and affordable so your child won’t get board from eating lunch from home?

If you are looking for school lunch ideas check out the article below from Taste of Home.

30 back to school lunch ideas.

What I like about this article is that you will find many practical lunch ideas that are also tasty. Whenever I search for lunch options outside of the typical sandwich, I always find a bunch of flavorless extra mayonnaise options or something unreasonably healthy that my toddler would refuse like raw snap peas with no seasoning. Either way I normally end up with many unpalatable choices.

Prepare your Child’s Space for Schoolwork

Prepare an organized space for your child to complete homework. I have to quote my mother-in-law again. “Messy room means a messy mind.” Do you ever feel that you can’t think clearly when your space is disorganized? Regardless of if your child is going to be homeschooled or not, they will need a designated space to complete their assignments.

black desk with orange deskpad and white lamp on top and a black mini fridge underneath in a teenagers room with grey curtains and a black and orange chair.
This is my nephew’s desk. He just moved into a new house and just started his first day of high school. I love the mini-fridge under his desk. It’s such a nice touch.
small grey toddler chair with desktop attached and a storage cubby at the bottom for home school
I went for a simple approach for my daughter who just started the first grade.

Moms, we will have to lead by example and keep your username and passwords to your child’s school applications organized. You don’t want to get locked out of your account and miss any important school updates!

It doesn’t matter how old your child is or how small or large their bedroom is. There are ways to keep any space organized.

Get enough school supplies. For the elementary school kids, I imagine students won’t be sharing any school supplies this year!

In regards to the school supplies that are typically shared, if your child is going to school in person, your child will need their own Kleenex, glue, markers, etc.

Masks are now added to the list of necessary back to school supplies. If you are worried about your child not wanting to wear a mask because they are embarrassed, most likely your child will see that their friends will be wearing masks as well, at least I hope.

The Takeaway

Whether your child is going back to school or being homeschooled it is important to stay in contact with the school for updates or any changes. Inspect the school for safety measures or at least ask about their plan and hope that they will implement them. Monitor your child’s grades. Everyone has different learning styles and online may or may not be your child’s style. Not every kid will tell you if they are having problems but you can normally spot something’s wrong if you see a change in their grades.  

Make sure your child keeps their learning space clean and organized. This will cut down on any unnecessary dips in their grades due to missed assignments and lack or organization.

Parents have to decide what the best option is for your family. Only you can decide what is best for your child.

We all are making tough decisions for our kids’ education and we are in this together. If you are thinking about making the switch from public school to homeschool there are 6 important things that you should know first.

Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

3 thoughts on “Back to School or Home School? Advice for Parents”

  1. Ours have gone back to school. Older son is thrilled and loving seeing his friends as well as getting stuck back in with face to face, all day learning. Younger son wasn’t as excited but he’s settled back in will and is making friends, which is so important.
    That said, a throat infection did the rounds of the whole school the first week back and both boys had to stay off and get tested for COVID because older son had a high temperature. If (when?) covid enters the school, it seems impossible that they won’t all get it after seeing this sore throat get everyone. The thing is with young kids that nothing can stop a bug passing between them all.

    Reply
    • I am very happy to hear that your kids have settled back into school nicely. Education is so important and ensuring that our children are happy and healthy learners is our priority. I am also relieved to hear that it was just a sore throat that was circulating the school. It is very difficult to stop the spread of infection once it has already been circulating amongst the young ones.

      Reply
  2. Awwww, this a Great site for parents with school age kids. Very informative, its hard to remember it all. So its nice to have some sort of guide to follow!!!! Great source for active and up to date information!!!!!

    Reply

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