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Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

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Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#81

Post by jasonmorton »

jph00 wrote: post #11

I've been surprised at how well our 4 y.o daughter has adjusted to the online world, on the whole. Whilst not all of our friends' children have the same experience, I've noticed it's fairly common for children we know (at least of this age) to quickly adapt to making friends and socializing and learning through Zoom/Skype/etc. Mornings are spent on "Kid's Club" via https://www.modulo.app , which is a fairly new start…

We've been working with Modulo as well; the experience is excellent and is constantly adapting to make it work for our kids, rather than imposing a formula. They enjoy having some autonomy in their education. It's a very nice community as well, and they have the chance to make friends all over the country.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#82

Post by shaftway »

shaftway wrote: post #49

Background: We're in the bay area and our kids are 10 and 8. We were lucky enough to get an au pair right before the lockdowns started in our area (literally picked him up the night before local lockdowns went into effect). We've had really positive experiences with the au pair program in the past, and our current one has been great, so we've treated him really well. Because of that he's agreed to extend until next s…

Oh, one additional thing. We're applying for an IEP for our son. He's diagnosed with ADHD and at the end of last year he did not do well. We're asking for a few things that'll help him (and us) stay aware of what he's required to do for independent assignments. Last year he had four TODO lists scattered across email, Google Classroom, verbal assignments, and some other external system.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#83

Post by jwally »

actfrench wrote: post #78
jwally wrote: post #39

Texas, Dallas: Nothing ground breaking, but I'll provide my anecdote as a possible antidote to survivor-bias: I have 3 kids (5,3,1). The 5 year old was supposed to start public school this year, but her pre-school opened up a private kindergarten and we opted in. When the pandemic first broke, we pulled our kids out for 2 months and it was hard for us and them. My wife worked in the morning when I had the kids and we…

Did you have any luck with digital apps or youtube videos? I've found that some tools are much more effective for personalized, independent learning than others - whereas others require much more parent or teacher involvement. The more they resemble tools used in school, the more work the parent has to do to understand them because they utilize specific methods that have been standardized as teaching methods for grou…

This is awesome info. Literally bookmarking this. Thanks! To your point, my kids fell in love with "Blaze and the monster machines" (a nickelodeon production that I actually like) and the 3 year old would talk about concepts from the shows for weeks after (centripetal force, reciprocating saws, stabilizer legs, metal = hard).

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#84

Post by cc23 »

I tend to start work early and get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. I drink bulletproof coffee right when I wake up, fast until 1, and finish work by 430, when my kid wakes up from their nap. I am lucky to not be pulled into a lot of meetings, so I have large blocks of time dedicated to only coding. I try not to do anything else during work hours except work, and maintain a flow state for most of the time.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#85

Post by tmaly »

Back when everyone went stay at home, my daughters Montessori school started zoom lessons. It was quite hectic to be doing work from home and keeping the kids in the right zoom room.

I spent time teaching my daughter different topics and used workbooks over the summer. She is in good shape for the start of school.

Right now the school is bringing kids back in, but giving them the option to do remote learning. I am going for the in person learning. Each kid is getting their own workspace, and they have to wear masks when they are not at their workspace.

If they were not considering in-person learning, I would probably opt to get some families together to create one of those learning pods.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#86

Post by phjesusthatguy3 »

One of my children is entering high school this year, 100% online, through the district's virtual learning program. The other is finishing the last year of middle school, 100% online, &c. My job was never in danger because of where I work, and my wife was already at home, so she's committed to working with the kids on their work and I'm working with them when I'm at home.

We never would have made it through this year if my paycheck disappeared. I can't imagine how everyone else is doing this.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#87

Post by d33lio »

I do not have children (I cannot immagine what my co-workers with young children are doing to manage the lack of public school infrastructure), however I'm surprised bespoke online private schools aren't popping up like crazy.

It seems so ideal to just hire a bunch of professional tutors or college students to have dedicated one on one time with each student for their perspective subjects each day. What's most critical and missing from remote school now is one on one feedback and help. Heck, you could even wrap comprehensive PSAT, SAT and testing prep in with the package.

Public school systems obviously don't have a good approach - IMO primary school education is more essential to get right than your college education. It's much harder to re-define fundamentals down the road.

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#89

Post by davidkellis »

My wife and I homeschool our children. We are part of a local homeschool co-op, and the kids love it.

I've been working fully remote for a year and a half, and homeschooling doesn't hinder my remote work in any way. I periodically have a "break-in", where one of the kids barges into the office during a meeting, but it's no more interruption than any other common interruption (e.g. someone comes in late, someone pardons themself to the restroom, etc.).

Re: Ask HN: Parents, what are you doing for school this fall?

#90

Post by ifend »

Montana: 5 year old going into Kindergarten. Wife is quitting her job (at a school - non-teacher) to stay home and assist my son with 100% online learning.

If the school/community manages to create a safe in-person learning environment for the next few months my son will transfer to in-person learning. I highly doubt this will happen though given the current trends.

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