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I could have been glued to the computer, TV, and Nintendo for months. And we didn't even have internet back then. That was in high school though. Younger kids like school.
I assume classes will be made up during summer school, which I once had to take (for reasons other than failing), and that was no kind of fun.
I believe K-6 could possibly be homeschooled and then tested.
We are in NJ suburbs of NYC and our kids are doing distance learning. There may be some sort of makeup just for hours or exams but we have 10th graders and 8th graders and a 6th grader and 5th grader. They are all doing computer classes with timed tests, check ins with instructors and hours worth of classwork. My kindergartner has a thick packet from his school and everyday the teachers post what todays work is and you have to post pictures of everything for grading. So at least around here there arent any plans to make up if the work is completed. But we wont know for sure until we go back to school.
School is not Life.
Home life and family relationships are far more important than school and school friends.
Until the 20th C. most children were home-schooled or taught in small community schools of twenty or so kids.
Not being in the large institutional setting of modern day schools isn't a tragedy for kids.
If they're bored at home put them to work.
Sweep the floors.
Prepare the garden for spring planting.
Paint the shed.
Wash the cars.
Fold the laundry.
I didn't dare tell my mother I was bored when I was a kid. If I didn't find something to do on my own she'd find something for me right quick.
Pick up your spirits and don't be sad. Be a role model of resilience for your children.
I can tell you that when I was school aged, it would have been a blessing beyond belief and would have gladly have taken as many weeks quarantined as you could give me (and my lifestyle back then wasn't that far off from quarantine).
Of course ... in retrospect, those weeks are going to be made up somewhere.
That's how a lot of kids felt back then. It sounds like the OP's kids actually enjoy some aspects of school, which is great. My school didn't have those little graduation ceremonies in the earlier grades; only at the end of high school. We didn't have yearbooks in grade school or middle school, either. They were a HS thing, and I wouldn't have missed them, if they'd been cancelled for whatever reason. But the OP's kids are getting a lot out of their school experience, and those little traditions have meaning for them. I'm amazed, but I'm happy for them.
Sometimes stuff happens in life that gets in the way. This virus is nothing compared to what generations living through two World Wars had to deal with; wartime, including starvation for some, displacement, revolutions, more displacement, emigration and adjusting to new countries, cultures, and languages, while job-seeking and trying to re-establish a normal life. I don't know how people did it; of course it was stressful, but you never heard of any complaints, of fatigue, PTSD (except for some of the soldiers), and other hardships.
We've been fortunate to have grown up and lived our lives in relative stability. Our turn is coming though; increased incidence of disease of global proportions, forest fires (now a global phenomenon), more damaging storms and erosion of coastlines causing displacement, loss of livelihood for some, homes destroyed, premature death, trauma. This is the time to help kids build resilience, an ability to roll with life's punches. They'll remember the year school ended months early, and everyone had to stay home. Look for ways to help them adjust and turn some of it into a positive experience, perhaps with learning activities and projects at home, if you're a stay-at-home mom, OP. It could be a lesson in making lemonade out of lemons. And don't forget to give yourself some time-outs, to rest, refresh and de-stress.
We are in NJ suburbs of NYC and our kids are doing distance learning. There may be some sort of makeup just for hours or exams but we have 10th graders and 8th graders and a 6th grader and 5th grader. They are all doing computer classes with timed tests, check ins with instructors and hours worth of classwork. My kindergartner has a thick packet from his school and everyday the teachers post what todays work is and you have to post pictures of everything for grading. So at least around here there arent any plans to make up if the work is completed. But we wont know for sure until we go back to school.
That's great. So from their perspective, they still have "school", but it doesn't come with any of the extras that they enjoy. Life has its disappointments. But this is how we all stay safe. I hope they have some fun built into their schedules, too, in whatever form that may take. I'm impressed with the NYC/NJ school system, but what about the kids whose parents can't afford a home computer, and the libraries are closed?
The other side for me personally is i dont get time to refresh or destress. I am at work. I still have to get up at 4 am and go to queens which is am grateful for but also I have more stress than usual because now when i get home Im also teaching kindergarten. My husband is home but he has a very busy job that is just as busy just now at home. Our son is bored and misses his friends because there is literally nothing we can do to help him. The neighborhood children arent out. His siblings live with their mother, hes the only full time kid in our house. Hes lonely and misses all the activity in his daily life.
And a further note, just because "things could be worse" or "earlier generations had it harder" does not diminish the feelings of the people going through this now. This is our famine. Our depression. Our great war. etc. Its a world wide disruption of everything we know. There is no amount of calmness that makes it easier to deal with. It is not easy and children, with their limited understanding of how the world works, are still suffering for it.
Also for most kids, school is life. School is structured in a way that makes it life. The hours a long. The work is hard. The social aspects are stressful, more so than any other generation before it.
That's great. So from their perspective, they still have "school", but it doesn't come with any of the extras that they enjoy. Life has its disappointments. But this is how we all stay safe. I hope they have some fun built into their schedules, too, in whatever form that may take. I'm impressed with the NYC/NJ school system, but what about the kids whose parents can't afford a home computer, and the libraries are closed?
Many schools are providing iPads, but I don’t know if they come with internet or not. I know my friends’ kids all came home with school iPads. For those districts that don’t have the capability to do that or know people do not have computers, they have been providing physical packets of work.
That's great. So from their perspective, they still have "school", but it doesn't come with any of the extras that they enjoy. Life has its disappointments. But this is how we all stay safe. I hope they have some fun built into their schedules, too, in whatever form that may take. I'm impressed with the NYC/NJ school system, but what about the kids whose parents can't afford a home computer, and the libraries are closed?
Im not sure what all the schools are doing, but our sons school districts gave out laptops to the high schoolers. Beyond that Im not sure
you can celebrate the fact that they are still alive. Getting upset over these minor things is wasted energy.
Best thing I've read today.
I am on the board of a drum and bugle corps. if you don't know what that is, think traveling baseball for marching band, where the best of the best tour the country and compete. It's the world's best youth activity bar none.
Right now, there's a distinct possibility that the 2020 season is cancelled outrright. Wait, did I say possibility? I mean probability.
It's a bummer, of course. But it's nowhere close to the bummer that it would be if our 150 performers got sick. Because when you tour the country on bus and live in close quarters for eight weeks, that's exactly what would happen.
You cannot dwell on what might have been. Instead, you need to direct your energy to the things you can do. Teach your kids the important lessons from this. Show them through your own behavior how to deal in the face of challenges. Demonstrate kindness and compassion for others. Take actions that teach how we are all part of a larger community, not just in it for ourselves.
Do those things, and what your kids will take from it will be far more valuable to them in life than a graduation ceremony or an end-of-year party or a field trip. It will serve them for the rest of their lives.
Those children who think school is life have misdirected priorities.
School will end for good at some point in their lives.
Real life should not come as a sudden awakening.
With the help and guidance of their parents they should be be made aware that these things happen in life. Life has its disruptions and our duty to ourselves and others is to be strong, put things in their proper perspective and carry on.
Sounds like your young man needs some chores.
And a good hug from Mom.
The other side for me personally is i dont get time to refresh or destress. I am at work. I still have to get up at 4 am and go to queens which is am grateful for but also I have more stress than usual because now when i get home Im also teaching kindergarten. My husband is home but he has a very busy job that is just as busy just now at home. Our son is bored and misses his friends because there is literally nothing we can do to help him. The neighborhood children arent out. His siblings live with their mother, hes the only full time kid in our house. Hes lonely and misses all the activity in his daily life.
And a further note, just because "things could be worse" or "earlier generations had it harder" does not diminish the feelings of the people going through this now. This is our famine. Our depression. Our great war. etc. Its a world wide disruption of everything we know. There is no amount of calmness that makes it easier to deal with. It is not easy and children, with their limited understanding of how the world works, are still suffering for it.
Also for most kids, school is life. School is structured in a way that makes it life. The hours a long. The work is hard. The social aspects are stressful, more so than any other generation before it.
I'm assuming he has some sort of electronic. Download something like Messenger kids for him and let him video chat or message with his friends. You can control when and how much he uses it. I downloaded it for my daughter on Sunday so she could stay in contact with her friends.
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That was in high school though. Younger kids like school.