Anybody's kids prefer remote?

[bisous]

We're starting to talk about schools reopening for hybrid learning. DS1 and DS2 definitely want to stay remote. DS3 REALLY wants to go in person. DD, who I THOUGHT would want to go to school (she's only in 1st grade!) burst into tears yesterday at the thought of not doing remote learning. I thought that was so interesting! She loves interacting with her class from her home! She has some anxieties and I think she feels more comfortable from home.

We haven't decided for sure that the littlest ones WON'T go back in a hybrid capacity. DS3 has some learning disabilities that we're still trying to figure out. It makes me think that we'll try to stay remote. I'm not sure it is the best learning modality for very young kids but because it is obviously safer AND they seem to prefer it, I feel like it wouldn't be a bad choice!

Anyone else have kids that prefer remote?

(BTW, I feel like we've talked about this in various threads, but I don't think we had a thread solely on this topic before--apologies if I'm incorrect!)

[marinkitty]

I have one in 7th who has been in hybrid half-day from the beginning of the year (he's at school three hours in the morning and then home three hours remote in the afternoon with all core curriculum being done during the at school portion and things like orchestra, gym, electives happening in the afternoon remote portion). He had to switch to all remote for 2 weeks due to a Covid quarantine and he preferred it. He's now been back at hybrid for almost two weeks and seems to have settled back in, but I'm keeping in mind how the remote went and waiting to see how things continue to evolve with the hybrid (rough start with some improvement but a long way to go yet IMO). He said the back and forth disrupts his day, he is on Zoom for advisory, English and Spanish anyway even at school because the teachers for those are teaching remotely from home and he finds it easier to concentrate at home without a mask and not sitting inside a plexiglass booth. There are only five other kids in his classroom at school and they don't move between rooms - the teachers teaching in person come to them. At his recent conference, his teachers noted that his participation in class actually increased from home during the two week quarantine period. Since he returned to hybrid after the quarantine, he hasn't asked me to switch to remote, but we are keeping on eye on things and may go remote for the second trimester (we can switch to remote at any time but can only return from electing full remote to hybrid at the trimester ends) based on how his teachers feel he is learning the rest of the trimester.

My two high schoolers have been full remote since the beginning of the year, and their school recently rolled out a hybrid plan that would have had them going to school for two full days every two weeks but that has already been paused due to rising community numbers so they haven't actually been in school yet because they were in the last of the four 25% groups. DD, who is a senior, is chomping to get in there regardless of how different than normal it is. DS, who is a sophomore, is totally fine with remote and isn't that excited for the hybrid wierdness. If they get back to hybrid, I'm going to send both of them at least for one two-day cycle and see how it unfolds but DS might elect to go full remote for the rest of first semester if the hybrid isn't "better." For DS, staying eligible to go for hybrid means he has to curtail his hockey to only practicing and not playing in games which right now are happening out of state in Indiana and Wisconsin both of whom are on the quarantine list for Chicago, so that factors in for him too. At some point the benefits of being able to play hockey all in might outweigh sitting in class on a Zoom with five or six other kids in the room and only 75% of his teachers actually in the building.

My hope is that by next semester, in person school will start to evolve into something better than what it is right now as I don't think this kids out of school thing is sustainable long term. Our high school just signed a contract for saliva testing weekly for all staff and kids who opt in, which should allow them to have a firm handle on metrics and keep school open more. I already signed my two up for it and really hope the roll-out goes smoothly and we can get closer to normal. I firmly believe it is best for them to be in class with live humans teaching them and interacting with peers, so that's my long term goal and anything we decide now is temporary and hopefully headed for that end result. I believe with masking, distancing, signage, entry screening and now testing etc they are safe enough at school, so being safer at home doesn't play into our decision at all. It's just about what is best for them to learn and have their social-emotional needs met.

[chottumommy]

Both my kids (6th and 4th graders) prefer remote and so do I in some ways.

My 6th grader prefers remote because he can be done with his work or research more at his own pace without others disturbing or distracting. He sometimes goes all out on his projects and at home he can keep working on them in his breaks.

My 4th grader would prefer going to school but I feel he's better off at home. He's super chatty but a perfectionist and at home without all the distractions gets his work done on time and to his satisfaction. He also loves his breaks when he can run around in our yard or go for a walk with the neighbors or chase the turkeys.

I get a window into what they're doing and feel I can contribute to their projects and discussions. During normal school, most of the stuff never comes home till end of term so I have no clue what they're doing. I get a newsletter which tells me at a high level but not enough detail on their individual piece of work.

And of course no packing lunches - I absolutely hate it. Both my kids prefer hot lunches and flavorful mommy cooked meals vs school meals.

They both get lots of time with their friends - we live in a county with very low numbers. They bike, play outside, go on hikes and get enough social interactions outdoors.

I work full-time and DH is a professor so school supervision is all on me. But I've found a routine that works and without too many extra curriculars we have been able to maintain have family traditions, dinners, routines. The kids also get an insight into how much and what kind of work DH and I do on a day to day basis. They know when my stressful meetings are and give me space and time to prep.

I truthfully dread going back to school and I know its coming soon.

And I have enough support from my friends and neighbors to make remote learning work. We've been sharing cooked meals between friends and we get to eat a variety of food without stepping out.

[jgenie]

My kids are back in school full time 5 days. It’s going well and they’re having fun even with mask wearing. Given the choice, they would both stay home in a heartbeat!

[basil]

Not exactly what you asked, but maybe this is useful info for your decision! My kids are in hybrid and they prefer their in school days. They are 1st and 3rd.

One thing to consider is that at least in my experience, in school hybrid days are (for my kids) the BEST school days all rolled into one. The classes are really small (~8 kids) and they spend the whole day with those kids including specials and recess. There are only 3-4 other same sex kids in their classes so they both have formed "best friend" type of bonds with other kids in their class.

They have the most popular lunch items (!!), and they do the most fun projects in school. At this point, they enjoy the in school hybrid days better than the "regular" school last year, I think mainly because of the small groups. They don't hate remote days now, but they totally look forward to Mondays because they get to go to school!

[klwa]

DS is in 9th grade and he bounces back and forth between wanting to be home and wanting to be back at school. The wanting to be home hit hard once he figured out that he's not guaranteed to be going back on the same days as his friends.

My girls both seem to want to be back in the classroom.

[bisous]

Not exactly what you asked, but maybe this is useful info for your decision! My kids are in hybrid and they prefer their in school days. They are 1st and 3rd.

One thing to consider is that at least in my experience, in school hybrid days are (for my kids) the BEST school days all rolled into one. The classes are really small (~8 kids) and they spend the whole day with those kids including specials and recess. There are only 3-4 other same sex kids in their classes so they both have formed "best friend" type of bonds with other kids in their class.

They have the most popular lunch items (!!), and they do the most fun projects in school. At this point, they enjoy the in school hybrid days better than the "regular" school last year, I think mainly because of the small groups. They don't hate remote days now, but they totally look forward to Mondays because they get to go to school!

This is an excellent perspective. I do think our situation might be a bit different though. School will only be 2 hours each day (5 days a week). They won't be interacting much. Otherwise I think you make a great point. Both of my two littles struggle socially in different ways. DS3 is so independent and unique (maybe odd?) that he doesn't have a best friend. DD is not very nice (that makes me sad just typing it) and can be a bit of a mean girl. We're working hard on both but it is difficult in our current circumstances. I can see how very small groups might be great for them. However, there is a lot going on in the classrooms and I'm not sure how it will work out!

[sariana]

DS is doing much better with remote learning. DH and I think it might be because he doesn't have the anxiety of having to deal with people all day long. He would probably like to stay with remote learning, but in our district it looks as though students are going to have to change teachers in order to accommodate everyone. He won't like that (but it would happen whether he stays remote, goes back, or goes hybrid--staffing will change no matter what).

I actually plan to ask about the possibility of having him spend his whole day in his Tutorial class learning remotely, but at school. We live only a mile from the school, and the walk to an from is the only thing he misses. Going to the site and then just staying in the room with his support team could be the best of both worlds for him. (This assumes the school opens at all this year, which still is up in the air.)

[PZMommy]

My 6th grader loves being remote. My 4th grader doesn’t, but I most likely won’t send him back if our schools reopen this year, so he’s going to have to deal with it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Mine sees the pros and cons. His school is only remote so he can't compare but he misses being in person and interacting with teachers and students more naturally. If he had the option to go back, I think he would. He is a home body and a night owl so in other ways the remote fits him. But, I would absolutely let him decide if he wanted to go back and it was an option.