Grade School in the Time of COVID-19 

Elementary Education Unmasked 

It’s the end of August and we’re running out of summer.  Dee Dee, Audio, and I have been locked in a small box together for about three months.  In one week, Dee Dee will start second grade.  Then, a couple days later, Audio will start High-5 with the other four-year-olds.  We’re all excited and looking forward to the start of the school year and the end of summer.  But, we’re also all feeling a little anxious about the start of the school year and the end of summer.  

At the beginning of the last school year, my wife ended a three-year run as a stay-at-home mom, and I ended an eleven-year run as a work-from-home dad.  My plan was to work out what sort of work I could do that I could do between dad duties, when I had time to do work.  Unfortunately, my schedule left little time for looking for something I could do, let alone doing it.  

Our daily routine started with mom getting up, getting ready, and getting out the door by 7AM.  Then, Audio would wake up, if she wasn’t already up.  I think that I had to wake her up less than five times during the school year.  And, she was only in her own bed on a couple of those occasions.  She usually ended the night in our bed.  Once mom was out of the house, Audio and I would watch whatever kids’ show was on PBS until about 7:30AM, when we’d go wake up Dee Dee.  Dee Dee sleeps close to the ceiling in the room that the girls share.  So, I’d send Audio up to get her down, if I couldn’t reach.    

Breakfast consisted of something microwaved (pancakes) or toasted (waffles), then covered with butter and buckets of maple syrup.  It seemed that no matter how early we started breakfast, it always ended with me telling the girls to finish eating or they would be late for school.  Both girls needed help in the bathroom, getting their teeth cleaned, and staying on task.  Dee Dee dressed herself while I assisted Audio.  Then, in the winter I helped them both suit up to face the cold and snow.  

Most of the time, we remembered everything we needed before we started our walk to school.  Walking alone, I can get from our house to the school in about six minutes.  With the girls, it takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to a fortnight.  Audio often requested to be carried up the big hill between our house and the school.  Most of the time I was happy to carry her, as it got us to school much faster that having her walk.  At the top of the hill, we would be guaranteed safe passage across the street by the Flag Children who held out orange flags that had the power to stop most cars.    

At the school, we waited together, adjusting Dee Dee’s mask and saying goodbyes until 9:00AM.  At that time, the bell would ring and Dee Dee would be sucked into the school, helpless and floating in the flowing current of excited backpack transporters.  After she had waved for the last time and had disappeared into the hallways of the school, I would take Audio around to the other side of the building for preschool.    

Preschool started at 9:30AM.  Due to COVID-19, parents were not permitted in the building for more than ten minutes at a time.  Audio and I would sit or stand outside and work on mask fitting and talking until I could take her inside.  Luckily, by winter we were allowed to sit in a room that wasn’t being used while waiting for the preschool door to open.  

Once the preschool door was open, Audio would make a break for her favorite toys and I would go for a half-hour walk.  Then, I would try to accomplish something useful in the two hours I had before going back to the school to pick up Audio at noon.  On our walk home, I’d offer her a variety of choices for lunch.  Then, she would sit and eat her usual, peanut butter and jelly while watching her favorite PBS Kids show, Hero Elementary.  A couple hours later, we’d go back to the school to collect Dee Dee and bring her home.  Once we were all in the house, I would dump great piles of candy on the floor for the girls and wait for my wife to get home.  

That was how last year went, more or less.  Much less on Fridays, when Mom was home and able to escort the girls to and from school.  And, throughout the year there were many days that one or both of the girls were home because they or their entire class had been quarantined.  Neither of our girls ever caught COVID-19.  But iPads were sent home every day, in case of a short notice school closing, quarantining, or some other unexpected act of God or principal.  

Speaking with other parents, it was clear that everyone was getting a lot practice at being flexible.  A couple years earlier, Dee Dee had been in the same preschool program that Audio was in last year.  So, we were familiar with and appreciated the instructors.  And, we had the opportunity to see right into the preschool room at the beginning and end of each half-day during drop-off and pick-up. 

Dee Dee’s First Grade activities were more of a mystery and we relied on her reports to keep us informed.  In the end, what we did learn about her experience left us unimpressed with Dee Dee’s teacher.  And, it had nothing to do with COVID-19.  She was just a bad teacher.  But, like all bad things, the year came to an end. 

In June, Dee Dee, Audio, and I handcuffed ourselves together and spent the summer upsetting each other, except for Fridays, when their mom joined our chain gang.  We hung out at home on Mondays.  But we usually got out of the house at least one day every week.  But, between weather and required indoor activities, there were a couple weeks where we spent a lot of time inside our little box. 

Sometimes getting us out of the house was a challenge that I didn’t succeed at, and sometimes I just didn’t have the energy to even try.  And, it took a lot of work to get the girls out of the house to do something, even when it was something they wanted to do!  It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. 

Three years and three months separate Audio from Dee Dee.  This means that there is very little that they both find interesting or like to do together.  On playgrounds, they can find their own thing to do.  They both had some fun wandering around nature centers.  And, fortunately they both think that going grocery shopping is pretty exciting.  One thing that they do agree on, is crying!  Many tears fell over the summer.   And, while screen time was limited, there was more of it than I care to admit. 

It wasn’t easy.  It wasn’t always fun.  But, it wasn’t all bad.  And, now that the summer is ending, it seems like we are finally figuring out how to do it right.  Better late than never, I suppose. 

School starts next week.