Hybrid Schooling

 So the boys have been fully-remote for school since March 16, 2020.

Today, nearly a year later, hybrid instruction has resumed.  In our school district the return is optional: parents have the choice to keep their students fully-remote, or send them back hybrid.  Hari and I considered this long and hard, and originally were going to keep the boys remote, but they both had hit a mental wall recently (unfocused, not completing homework, etc.) so we decided it was worth the risk and sent the kids back.

When I told Ryan he was so overjoyed he literally threw his arms around my neck, and hugged me furiously saying THANK YOU, THANK YOU MOM!!!  Colin (who has been more cautious than his little brother) had a more subdued response, and simply gave me a stone-faced "Oh" and walked away.

Last night was a flurry of packing lunches, packing backpacks (with hand sanitizer and wipes and and extra masks, as well as notebooks, pencils, and highlighters), and trying to get kids to sleep when their  minds just wouldn't shut down.

This morning everyone was up early, showered, and off to school.  Hari and I did a divide and conquer since the boys have the same starting time, but their schools are on the opposite side of town. (Don't get me started on this.  There's a middle-school ACROSS THE STREET from Ryan's school, but no.  We are somehow distracted for MLK for 4th and 5th grade, but in 6th grade instead of moving to the school across the street Colin is now attending Quibbletown which is a 15-20 minute drive from both our home and the other school.)

I digress...

Hari drove Ryan, and had a nice chat on the way in.  Which included them discussing Ryan's big question: If we have an active shooter drill (yeah, that's an everyday thing) and all the kids are crowded in a closet together, how do I keep 6-feet away from everyone?  We're always crouched up together.  (Teachers didn't have an answer for that, neither did Dad.)

I dropped Colin off to a brand new school, and had to remind him that I'd be 15 minutes late picking him up (today and every day) because I have to get his brother first.

Amazingly, both boys came home happy and relaxed.  They loved school, like their teachers, and said they felt really comfortable with how everything was set up.  What really amazed me was the class size.

Our school district split returning students into Group 1 and Group 2 (and Group 3, which are the all-remote students).  So you either go to school Monday/Tuesday and every-other-Wednesday, or Thursday/Friday and every-other-Wednesday.  Ryan said there were a total of THREE students in his classes - him and two others.  Colin had anywhere from 2-4 kids in each class.  Somehow my kids are now getting semi-private instruction!

More importantly, both the kids were thrilled to get back to school.  They like their teachers, they're happy with their new schools, and they both said they felt safe with the precautions the schools are taking.  They said there were even cones up in the hallways to make sure that everyone stayed apart and walked with proper distancing.

Extra double bonus: Colin (who has been horrifically behind) got all of his work done in school today and appears to be completely caught up on past-due assignments.  AND had one-on-one time with his teacher to get a better understanding of a few concepts that were giving him trouble.  Ryan didn't spend the entire day snacking and going to the bathroom in class, with interludes of trying to watch YouTube.  No one is yelling, or flopping in bed.  I think I may go buy a lottery ticket today... 

It isn't perfect, and I'm sure the glow will wear off soon, but for now I'm going to revel in this brief moment.  School is BACK!