What Brenda said. I’m barely keeping myself together, forget trying to help kids too (either small and needing supervision or teenagers being teenagery)

#TeamBarometer We should get t-shirts, maybe with an image of a stormglass and the text "this is the inside of my head right now AINFG"

ltc is making Christmas cards this afternoon. So far only one tantrum.

Ltc is doing better than I did figuring out my grocery list.

I didn’t say she was the one who threw the tantrum.

Ha.

Ha!

I'm in a quandary and want some advice - apologies in advance for the length. Youngest son (2nd grade) was not doing well with virtual school at all. We pulled him to home school a couple of months ago. We knew that would be hit or miss and were kind of like, whatever. His/my therapist (yes I see a child psych and I LOVE HER SO MUCH) suggested a home schooling pod run by someone she loves. I looked into it and it seems like a really perfect fit for him. They specialize in kids with issues (my kid has extreme anxiety) and they currently have 5 kids (from two families, who have been bubbled as they live near each other and each lost a family member to cancer within the last year). They have 2 teachers and currently one teaches a 7yo (another boy), and the other teaches the kids who are older. So, son would be in a 1 to 2 ratio with a teacher. I feel like he needs this so much and it will give us insight into where he struggles and how we can best support him moving forward. The issue? We are nervous about sending him with the COVID numbers continuing to spike. We've been pretty locked down since March so this feels like a big exposure/risk. They do take temperatures and only kids are allowed inside (no parents) and seem like they are being responsible. Still, I worry. What would you do?

Glam, are the kids masking or distancing or anything like that? Are they testing regularly? Do you know the other parents at all, or would you feel OK asking about how strict/careful they're being outside of school hours? Are you seeing anyone else (like grandparents) that you could potentially infect?

I would probably send him, but I absolutely understand your hesitation and worry. I think a lot would depend on how much you feel you can trust the other parents.

Our school (where I teach and both kids attend) has been in-person for months, with lots of strict safety measures in place, and we haven't yet had a case of in-school transmission, for what that's worth.

They are taking precautions but I'm not sure what all that entails so I'm sending over an email to get that info. I don't know the families, but my/my son's therapist does and she loves them (I respect her opinion and she is taking COVID seriously so that's a good sign). It's so hard balancing between physical safety (not getting COVID) and emotional wellness (school and socializing). I think we'll likely do it, but I'm super nervous about it and my wife would like to push it out. Ugh.