It’s TUESDAY TALK!
That means Fancy Ashley and I are here chit-chatting about anything and everything under the sun.
Today, I wanna have a little…
BACK TO SCHOOL CHAT!
Our school just announced last week the first three weeks of school will be virtual and then the plan is for the kids to be back at school for in-person learning. Parents can opt out and continue on with the virtual learning, if they’d prefer after those three weeks.
Has your school made an announcement? I’ve heard of the hybrid schedule, delayed start, year-long calendar, and complete virtual learning. What’s happening where you live?
Needless to say, our school year is definitely gonna start off looking a little different, but I’m determined to make the beginning of the year feel extra special in 2020. We’ll be pulling out all the stops with our First Day of School Traditions. I’ve been brainstorming some new ideas that will help make those first three weeks really successful. {And I have a blog post coming with some of those thoughts…be on the lookout!}
One thing that will be a bit different is I won’t be purchasing expensive outfits for the first day of school this year! But don’t worry, that’s where Wal-Mart comes in! Last year I teamed up with Wal-Mart to talk Back to School and lots of you mentioned grabbing items for your kiddos. Ebby Lee and I found items she wore all year long and the prices just can’t be beat! When Wal-Mart reached out to see if I’d like to team up again, I knew it was a no-brainer!
Ebby Lee and I went shopping at our local store to find the cutest they had to offer in the girls’ department! From preschool to middle school, we’ve got you covered.
Smocked Top–Denim Skirt {Similar}–Wedge Sneakers {THESE SNEAKERS ARE UNDER $11!}
Leopard Top (Comes in other fun prints)-White Skirt–Wedge Sneakers {THESE SNEAKERS ARE UNDER $11!}
Booties {Similar}–Wedge Sneakers {THESE SNEAKERS ARE UNDER $11!} Britt’s top and skirt are this brand.
My favorite thing about these items are the fall colors but they’re perfect for warm fall days here in Texas. All of these tops/skirts (with built-in shorts) are this brand.
Please let me know what Back to School is going to look like in your house this year! And thank you to Wal-Mart for sponsoring this post.
You can find our favorites from Wal-Mart here…
As of yesterday our schools still have no plan but I have heard from my middle son's school that they're hoping to do some sort of combination between distance learning and in person (I'm guessing distance learning for traditional school subject and in person learning for the shop like culinary, carpentry, etc). But I have been warned that even when they finally put a plan in place it could change all the way up to the first day of school.
Our district gave us a choice between hybrid learning (2 days in class and 3 days virtual). The actual school structure is physically closed every Wednesday so they can do that spray cleaning you see that kills any covid virus. The entire school and every surface will have this done on Wed and Sat. They still havent figured out the school bus situation as per CDC guidelines they can only have 1 student per seat. My son is in high school and he chose the full on line learning. He and I both believe that this fall and winter will come to that anyway and he said it will be less disruptive to just start that way and stay that way. The also said on the news today that air conditioning running or heat running can spread the virus great distances from anyone down wind from the duct so I dont even know how they will manage that. Definitely some tough decisions
Oh my word! Why does Britt look 7 in these pictures?! Seriously!! That girl is ready for school!!!!
Our school (just north of Houston) & district just announced yesterday that we’ll be online only until at least September 8th. As a teacher it should be interesting, trying to teach virtually while also having my 3rd grader in my room doing her distance learning too. Determined to make this a good year though!
Could the girls be any cuter???? Seriously.
So fun!! Great way to get in the school mindset! I can’t wait to see what you do for the first day of school!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
We are scheduled to go back full-time, in-person on July 30…as my state's numbers are starting to rise again. I'm fully anticipating that changing again before the first day. We were given an option for at-home learning and I chose that for my kids. Not fair for my son who is starting high school, but 2700 kids are in that building and I'm just not comfortable with that yet.
We are in Central Arkansas and ours gave parents a choice on either in-school learning or virtual learning. I have a Sr (boo) and a 7th grader and they are both going to school. Honestly, I'm not sure how long they will be there and my Sr is involved in the band and on the Varsity Dance Team. I will be so sad for her if they don't have a football season. We are praying for the best, but preparing for the worst.
For real, the cutest girls ever and cutest clothes!!
We were able to pick between in person and digital for the first 9 weeks. All was going well until yesterday when they switched the whole county to digital. Our cases are rising (I'm in Georgia) so its warranted and we need to control our numbers before we can send our precious kiddos/teachers back to school. We were supposed to start August 5th but they are giving the teachers more time to prepare so now it's August 12th.
Britt's hands on her hips kill me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 🙂
I am a SPED teacher in San Francisco Unified at a middle school and this was a message we recieved last week from our superintendent:
Dear SFUSD Community:
"I am reaching out to let you know that, after reviewing the best available evidence-based sources of guidance from health officials, and gathering input from staff, students, and families, we have determined that on August 17, 2020, our fall semester will begin with distance learning.
We hope to provide a gradual hybrid approach (a combination of in-person and distance learning) for some students when science and data suggest it is safe to do so.
We know our entire community needs to make plans since we are not opening for in-person instruction, so we wanted to share this news now, even as we are still finalizing more details."
That is where San Francisco is.
No plan yet for us but we wouldn’t start until 8/31 anyway. I am assuming a hybrid model as we are a large district. We do have an option for cyber school, which they were planning to start before the pandemic hit anyway. I am a preschool special ed itinerant teacher and we are year round so I am still remote. No plans for me either!!
Honestly I get frustrated when they talk about kids being less at risk because schools can not function without adults!! It’s so tough as a teacher. If I have to go back into preschool and daycares, I can no longer social distance and won’t be able to see my Mom or in laws anymore. So no Thanksgiving and no Christmas. That piece makes me sad however I do understand in person too.
My kids are doing swim “ camp” because swim team can not happen this year so they are just doing small practices. One of the coaches tested positive this week and it wasn’t handled well. This has given me a glimpse of the school year and it doesn’t sound fun, a roller coaster of frustration! This has in fact made several families decide to do Cyber school.
Southern Indiana here.. just outside of Louisville. We were given the option of doing our new Virtual Academy, my school online, which allows you to go back and forth, or traditional. My 4th and 7th grader are doing traditional. I work at our local high school so they didn’t have much choice. We go back a week from today, which was our original start date since we are on a balanced calendar. Our district is anticipating a surge in the winter so we have several eLearning days planned for 1st semester, like our 2 weeks fall break and the week of and after Thanksgiving. Our last day in the building will be the Friday before Thanksgiving and our last day of eLearning is Dec 4th, then we are done for break. The health department gave its approval for the back to school plan yesterday so it looks like a to. Middle and high schools are doing block scheduling to reduce movements in the school, as of right now we are still doing sports, and masks are required for grades 6-12 when they can’t social distance. I don’t know how long all this will last, I’m just thankful we get the opportunity to be in the building and students can at least meet their teachers and get to know one another.
Bowling Green (NW Ohio) is delaying their start from August 26th to September 8th to allow for the influx of cases expected after our county fair and the college kids moving back to town. Even after the 8th, the first 6 weeks will be totally online and then they will reassess the situation in the county. They will still offer classes online even if kids are allowed to return to classrooms later in the year.
I'm really torn. Adulting isn't always fun, but adulting during a pandemic flat out stinks!
Our school district is scheduled to go back to school, in person, August 24th. Honestly, we don't live in an area where the social economics would allow for 'successful' virtual learning for everyone and our numbers have been relatively low, so I'm glad we are attempting to go back. There are some changes and adjustments, like eating lunch in classrooms, all elementary desks separated and facing forward (as opposed to group seating), etc. We'll see how this goes, but I hope we're able to be in school AND stay healthy and safe.
SC here and there’s a wide variety in the state. Cases are on the rise but we are still going hybrid or virtual. But virtual is district wide so kids likely won’t have a teacher from their actual school or even kids they know on virtual option. Yuck. Such a hard choice for parents. Delayed start opens schools 9/8… as of today. Lol. All subject to change. I love your post and positivity — so appreciate this right now! Would love some back to school tradition posts, end of summer keeping kids busy post, etc. Time to lift each other up, encourage and march forward!