I spent most of the summer refusing to think about the upcoming school year. I told myself there wasn’t enough information to make decisions.

Now we’re a few weeks out from the start of the semester and the phone rings almost daily with information. There are live-streamed meetings with board members and parents, Q&A sessions, and a plethora of online opinions. The information is overwhelming.

So much so I came up with a simple way to move past a state of paralysis. I gave myself one hour to research and come up with a “moving-forward” decision.

Thirty minutes were spent reviewing all of the information on our school district’s website. Fifteen minutes went to reading social media comments (This is a rabbit hole I would not recommend). With a tentative decision, the last minutes were spent perusing social posts of friends I respect. 

Then I chose, with the option to change my mind if things change drastically. It feels good to have a direction.

Our plan is a combination of remote learning, homeschooling resources and mommy life lessons. I don’t know what school will look like in a few months or even years, but I know we need to remain enthusiastic about education. 

With a plan in place, the girls are now involved with planning. We started with a family meeting to gauge their feelings and talk about wants/needs. The girls were pretty clear. They want:

  • A dedicated learning space. They suggested we turn the bonus room into a school room, so that’ll be happening. 
  • Pretty school supplies. 
  • A dedicated space for their supplies.
  • The option to work on a flexible schedule as long as they maintained their grades/attended all video sessions.

There were other things, too, like sleeping in every day, but those suggestions didn’t make the final cut :-).

No matter what you choose, extend grace to yourself, your children, teachers, everyone. Try not to get overwhelmed by information or options.

This school year is different and there will be learning curves for everyone.

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