My husband brought up a serious conversation last night.
He told me he wouldn’t be against my homeschooling our boys. In the beginning of all of this, I was an advocate for full return to school. Back the way it was. My hope that this may happen has dwindled more and more each day. With each announcement, my heart has sunk further and further. After I saw the recent video of the pilot schools in our school board, I really started questioning it. The hand washing station was the only positive I saw. It made me sad. Stickers on the floor, the teachers will be in masks. How will my autistic 7 yr old handle not seeing his teacher smile at him? Will they hold his hand when he is having a bad day? Or will they be too afraid? What happens if the teacher or someone in their class tests positive? Will they have to self isolate? I refuse to have my children tested, so they’d be stuck at home for 2 weeks. And does that then mean ALL of my family will have to self isolate for 2 weeks? There are 10 of us in my home. Five that continued working full time through Covid and never got sick, never had to isolate. I run a home preschool with other children. Will I have to close and lose my income? What would that mean for my families?
I admit, I am terrified at the thought of homeschooling. My 7 yr old, as I said has autism. He is not an easy child. He is behind in his reading. His teacher was trying to get him help but our school drug their feet and never got it together until this started. I have tried, but he screams and cries and throws things at me. Or will work on the computer for 5 minutes then sneak to games. My 10 yr old has ADHD. He also has anxiety. And that worries me. He has not handled the isolation well. My 13 yr old surprisingly did very well, at first anyway. Then he got bored with the school work. My 17 yr old I thought would be fine to go to school. Unless they mandate masks. He works at Tim Horton’s. He is already forced to wear one for his shifts. One mask for 6-8 hour shifts. If he has to wear a mask on the bus, he’d be in a mask from 8 am until 3:30, then from 4-10 when he gets off work, and on weekends too. It’s too much. But what can I do? What are you doing? Are you choosing to do traditional homeschooling? We are not religious so the programs that are religious aren’t for us. I wonder if I should just do the school distance learning? I hated it in the spring. But then maybe I could get help for my 7 yr old. I am so overwhelmed and break down crying on a regular basis. To be clear, I am not afraid of Covid. I am afraid of what it is doing to our society. The fear it is spreading. The way it has thrown our lives into turmoil. Upside down. I know I am not alone. Hugs to all the parents going through this same struggle.
A Mom of Many 