Are you ready for the hybrid school system?
Here in south Florida its official, we start the year online at home. This will be revisited at the end of October. My dining room table looks like we opened a call center!
Most of us that picked up computers last year were lucky to be able to keep them over the summer (if you were in public school and stayed in the district). They came equipped with all the required programs such as Powerpoint and Word needed for online projects plus, a lot of sites were pre-blocked to protect our kids. But, full-time online at home with multiple kids left us needing some more gear. We bought webcams from Amazon, small televisions from Walmart along with keyboards and mouse to attach to the laptops from the school. (Internet safety and some product links below.)
Blue light glasses were also a must. These reduce the strain on the children’s’ eyes and helps to avoid damage later on. One of my little ones gets migraines and these were recommended by both the regular and eye doctor to help to reduce them along with vitamin B2. Kids with lighter colored eyes are more prone to light sensitivity and would benefit from these.
Headsets with mics are another must for parents sanity, some privacy and so the kids can be in the same area without interrupting each other. During this time of distance learning all classes are on Microsoft Teams or Zoom, and my little one has speech also so it is very important they can hear him well. We went with gaming headsets as they are more durable. Last school year as we went online, we chose cheaper ones and they broke within 3 weeks. (Below are recommendations and some coupons that can help save money.) Better to spend the money on quality than have to replace over again.
An important key is to be flexible in these trying times. It takes a village to raise a child and a vineyard to home school one (just kidding.) It is a major learning curve as a parent, child and teacher. Be kind and patient, we are all in this together. Now is also a great time to get the kids involved in a group. Most are meeting virtually or using safe social distancing. Boy scouts, girl scouts, and church youth group to name a few suggestions. My girls are in a cheer gym with a very limited number of girls, they require masks and adhere to all CDC guidelines. Please think of joining your kids school PTO or PTA, they help pay for extra programs the kids enjoy. It is a great resource on there Facebook pages as well. Don’t wait to fill out your volunteer application as the background checks take a couple of weeks. (https://www.browardschools.com/volunteerapplication) If we go back earlier than expected you need this to be in the school if its allowed so kindergarten parents or parents that have just moved to the area please plan ahead. Look below for resources from above.
Internet Safety Resources
https://internetsafety101.org/agebasedguidlines
https://www.safety.com/internet-safety
Product Recommendations & Deals
These are three headsets I got coupon codes on two of them.
Discount Code: 3NSP9XY9 Saved me around $17.
Discount Code: 45Z2J38G