My heart has been heavy over these past few weeks. I know Covid is real. I know it has taken lives and made others feel miserable for weeks on end. But so has cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity the flu and many more. We have had an alarmingly increase of suicides in the past 5 months. Why? Because people have been laid off for weeks and months. People can't pay their bills, can't care for their families. Those suffering from depression don't have the help they had before Covid. We are being seperated from one another. Social distancing has created very little interaction with others. Who are we protecting now?
Five months ago we were told "don't wear a mask", save them for the medical field. Then we were told to wear a mask, doesn't matter what kind of mask, just wear one. Then many states "mandated" masks whenever you left your house. Lets not forget the never ending keep "social distancing of 6ft" from those around you and plexi glass everywhere you go. Some chose to wear face shields in leu of the mask. Others wear bandanas over their nose, my mom wore an eye mask once to Costco cause that's all she had. Wish I had a picture of that! Some wear the tube mask. It's a tube that sits around your neck but you can pull it up over your nose. Hunter has several he has used for snow boarding. They are just hot and make your neck sweat in this heat wave we are experiencing. We are 110+ almost every day this week. This week I heard tube masks don't do anything and should be avoided. OK, but bandanas and masks are so much better? Whatever!
In May our school board sent out a survey asking parents how they wanted school to begin in August. They received something like 48% of the survey's back. Of that close to 80% stated they wanted school to begin as normal and no masks. Well then our Govenor, Herbert, decided to mandate masks for all school personal and students. I was NOT ok with this. I know it's "just" mask. But it's NOT just the mask that bothers me. It's also that kids have to practice social distancing at school to. Masks will be worn at all times except during recess and lunch. Lunch the kids sit on a sticker dot that is 6ft away from their peers. During one of the school board meetings it was asked, "What happens if a student turns towards his neighbor and try to talk to them. The answer, "you tell them to face forward." While at recess if kids can't remain social distant they will have to wear a mask. In the classroom teachers have been told to remove all personal items (to make more room to separate desks. This also means no book shelves, no rug for group activities, etc. There will be no paper, no pencil. All work will be done on chrome books, easier to clean. Library, Art, Music class, those teachers will go into each classroom now. The kids won't be able to go from class to class. How sad! If more than 15 students in the whole school test positive for Covid the whole school quarantines for 2 weeks. If more than 3 kids in the same class tests positive the whole class quarantines for 2 weeks. If the student who sits next to my child for more than 15min during the day, so during class or lunch, tests positive, my kids has to quarantine for 2 weeks. If my child has the sniffles, cough or even just allergies they have to have a doctors note saying they just have allergies and are not contagious. I just couldn't fathom sending my kids back to school in this kind of a environment. Before school began our local schools did say that you just had to have a face covering. So a face shield would be ok too. But like I said, It was everything together.
And so I began considering homeschooling. I asked around and was blown away with how large our homeschooling community is here in Southern Utah. I attended a nightly meeting once a week where I gathered information on homeschooling and talked to other parents that have homeschooled. I talked to the older mom's who have homeschooled their kids through high school. These kids have all gone onto college. I wanted that. And so Kory and I talked and then we talked to the kiddo's.
Hunter is 3 credits away from graduating. I can't take that from him. He will finish his senior year. Maddie is a junior this year. She was accepted to Dixie Tech where she will earn her CNA. She will only be taking 4 credits at the Highschool. 2 each afternoon because in the mornings she will be at the college. As of now she will finish her Highschool years. But everyone else.....we are homeschooling and I am so excited! My younger kids are totally willing to try it too. I have spend weeks now and I have no idea how many hours talking to other moms, looking into different home schooling groups and scouring the internet for curriculum and ideas. I have been on my knees begging for guidance. I've been so afraid that I would "screw" my kids up with this choice.
We chose to join a Common Wealth. We meet on Thursday's at the Hurricane Rec center. Mom's work together and teach a language arts class or history. Classes have 6-10 kids. No masks, no plexi glass, because we choose to do social distancing instead. That's what we are being told anyways. If you can remain 6ft away you don't have to wear a mask. My kids loved their 1st day last week. Common Wealth also goes on field trips. Before school officially started Emily had the opportunity to go on a field trip, they took her class for 3 days and visited Yellow Stone National Park. How fun! She had to qualify to go. She had to write 4 different essay's all 300-500 words. She had never had to write an essay before. It was a lot of work for her to do. But she did it! I was so proud of her.
Here is our 1st day of school picture! We all started on the same day.
Senior, Junior, 8th, 6th and 3rd
Brayden was wanting a serious look and refused to smile. Silly boy!
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