- Aug 6, 2020

Coping with Back to School

It’s a September we won’t soon forget.

Whether your kids are in college or preschool, it’s a fall season that will certainly stick with us. The anxiety of school this year is at an all-time high, and parents everywhere are wondering how long their current schooling choice will even last!

Homeschooling, online, hybrid, in-person: The choices are overwhelming.

Since school structures have been pretty constant for a few hundred years, it’s hard to imagine, let alone navigate, so many new choices. The pandemic has forced us to choose between in-person (if available), remote, hybrid, and homeschool options. We’ve all learned a new language – synchronous, asynchronous, live-streamed, and fully remote. Who could have predicted this new normal, even a short six months ago?

The educational landscape is rapidly shifting – for example, while 3 percent of families chose home school just one year ago, today 15 percent of families are homeschooling their kids, according to one survey. That’s not very surprising given the pandemic, and it will be interesting to see if it signals a broader trend that continues once a vaccine is widely available. Most of us are navigating for our kids between imperfect choices and uncertain outcomes, and it seems the only constant this year will be change.

So how can we cope?

No matter how your kids, grandkids, or other family and friends are attending school this fall, a few things are certain.

· One, we all want them to succeed and stay safe, and

· Two, it’s likely to change before it’s over.

This school year is bound to be one filled with upheaval, unpredictability, and disappointment. And it’s also likely to change fairly often, with schools closing, re-opening, and constantly adjusting for sports, testing, and mental health needs. Even for those fully remote, schools will be upgrading equipment, adding teachers, and changing rules for activities well into the school year.

The more we can keep our kids actively adapting to these changes, the better they’ll learn how to succeed both in and beyond the classroom. One of the silver linings of this pandemic is the valuable traits we’re developing, which we learn exponentially during times of stress. Resilience, adaptability, and keeping a healthy perspective are all behaviors we can model for our kids as we navigate these shifting tides.

Hang in there, and take care of yourself!

It’s true that we need to keep ourselves in good health, so that we can continue to care well for our kids. Stay informed, bond with other parents, and above all make good choices for your own well-being. By doing so, your kids will see that it’s important to self-care, and you’ll be better equipped to help them through this completely unpredictable school year!

Our West Tenth, home-based businesses are here to help! Check out these businesses to help you with: tutoring, getting your home organized for the new school year, still getting in a yearly photo with your children, take a pic for your Holiday card, and treating yourself to something yummy. (We all deserve a treat right about now!)