https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 08 May 2026 08:06:09 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914375 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 15:40:18 +0000 meganmp 2914375@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were told yesterday that the primary kids (preschool through 3rd) are moving to MORE online stuff- each grade level is going to do one hour, three times a week, of synchronous stuff with their class via Google Meets, in addition to 4 half hour blocks with specialists, in addition to 20 minute daily meetings. I have two kids and we just don't have the screens available for that. Plus... that's a lot of screen time for little guys. Trying to get it all done today (while teaching my own class and simultaneously being in a hiring committee meeting) was bananas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914372 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 14:41:49 +0000 josina 2914372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow, its crazy to me what some of you are required to do for schooling! I only have a preschooler, but the school isn't making any schoolwork mandatory (nor is the state), everything is optional. We just got a few sheets with suggestions (books to read, things to count, etc) and we try and do a couple items a day, but since DH and I WOH yet, that doesn't always happen.</p> <p>I'm not sure how schools can expect this stuff to get done for you guys! What about parents that are essential workers?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914370 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 13:58:16 +0000 gotkimchi 2914370@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just wanted to update: we just got an email that we will only be doing course work mon-Thur from now on and also school will be released a week early on 5/21 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914337 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 07:10:06 +0000 gotkimchi 2914337@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: @threeplusme: that sounds soo hard :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914335 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 06:01:00 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2914335@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@threeplusme: I'm in a large district in Northern VA and our distance learning is now a documented disaster. Schools have been shut since March 13, and we were told that there would be no formal instruction until after spring break (April 14th). My first grader was supposed to have a half hour "morning meeting" 4 days a week (mostly social, some learning), 45 minutes of office hours every week with a small group of kids and her teacher, and assignments through videos and worksheets. The school district majorly bungled the live learning piece - last week it was security issues and capacity outages on Blackboard, so they scrapped everything after the first day to make security upgrades. Everything was supposed to resume this week, and once again, outages and Blackboard down, so once again, they scrapped everything. So between two weeks my kid got one meeting last week and one this week. She's a social learner so videos and worksheets are not cutting it for her and the false starts are so frustrating. I'm definitely pushing her to do the work because she loves to learn and her teacher and the whole first grade team put a lot of work into it and I so appreciate that, but none of it will be graded or counted so sometimes it is hard to push her when she's grumpy and just doesn't want to. She will do things all day long if she has a chance to discuss things with others, but I'm working so I can only do so much with her and you can only make a worksheet so fun, and I'm struggling to explain why she still should do it in a way that will resonate (so would love ideas from folks if you found something that works). The district is also sending standard grade packets to everyone to work on and I've noticed that the work the teachers put together don't even refer to the packets. I was really hopeful about this and it's been a major disappointment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914331 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:18:44 +0000 mrs.kiwi 2914331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: ummm the research paper and how your work is not good enough sounds cuh-razy to me.</p> <p>ETA: I homeschool and I spend around 1.5 hours doing “school.” My kid is only 6 and in k, but from 1st-3rd we will not be exceeding 2 hours. So to hear you guys doing 3-4 hours sounds intense to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914328 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 22:53:58 +0000 Corduroy 2914328@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm dragging my 1st grader through her research paper. The teacher's method was a bust for her so I'm writing all her bullet point on post its so we can reorganize them tomorrow. </p> <p>Honestly I had no idea 1st graders wrote research papers so I guess that's a + for parental involvement but I am so over it. And no, calling it a 'research story' is not better. </p> <p>The teacher has made some videos which are helpful and I'm praising her regularly because she looks and sounds incredibly nervous and uncomfortable. But I even when I watch the video and sit with DD while she struggles I have no idea how focused and well written a 1st grade paper is supposed to be. We had a one on one teacher conference today and apparently 'our' work is nowhere near good enough. DD cried into the camera saying 'Daddy told me to do it this way' and ran to hide behind the couch. So much for not passing on my paper writing anxiety. </p> <p>Other units are going better. We spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on it which is tough to squeeze in during work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914325 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:52:12 +0000 threeplusme 2914325@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gotkimchi We had spring break a week and a half ago and they did send out surveys. I emphasized that the mental health of my family was my priority. We started phase 3 of our virtual learning plan and I was hopeful that it would be easier. On paper it sounded good but in reality it's as much if not more work than before. They're trying to do a combo of synchronous and asynchronous instructions but if they're in a google meet for 30 minutes then that's 30 minutes they're not do assigned work. My kids are 4th, 4th and 1st. My 1st grader's work is manageable but she needs help every 15 minutes to check something or find the program etc. My twins workload is a lot. My own workload is fortunately pretty flexible but my husband's is not as he is on calls all day. I think i just hit a wall this week since there is no end in sight and I'm stressed! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914319 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 19:52:33 +0000 gotkimchi 2914319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@threeplusme: what grade? Our school sent out a survey and many parents responded they were spending 3-4+ per day on the work so the school actively tried to reduce that and additionally a lot of us commented that the format was not great. The work was laid out by subject rather then by day which was much more annoying for parents. After the school made these adjustments things have been smoother. Have you been asked for any feedback or offered any? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2914318 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 19:37:06 +0000 threeplusme 2914318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just checking in to see how it's going for everyone after a few weeks in. I'm in NJ and we've been crisis schooling since march 16th. Our district has a clear plan but the workload seems overwhelming. Wondering if anyone else is overwhelmed? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912683 Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:10:32 +0000 Jess1483 2912683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were on spring break last week. This week, the district has sent out very vague district – wide plans. As a former teacher, I feel I can better direct his learning than that, so we are doing our own stuff for the week (I did look at the plans, and I think they are fine and I’m glad they offered them to parents who don’t really have a sense for where to start. They do, though, look fairly time intensive for the adults working with the kiddo.) The teachers are using this week to prepare activities moving forward, so once his teacher sends things out, we will do those activities. I have a 10-month-old, so getting much into the day is difficult, so I am interested to see what those activities look like. But my son is fairly motivated, So I’m optimistic. DS2’s teacher at his play-based preschool has specifically said she won’t be sending anything home, but will post ideas and things to Facebook. She is just encouraging us to engage as much as possible with our kiddos and play. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912682 Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:01:13 +0000 Corduroy 2912682@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Update: my Sunday night enthusiasm is gone. It was nice while it lasted. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912672 Mon, 23 Mar 2020 10:36:50 +0000 ShootingStar 2912672@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We just got started with distance learning today and luckily it’s not very demanding. For the first assignment today DS (kindergartener) had to listen to a book on YouTube and then draw a picture about his favorite part of the story. </p> <p>I have a very demanding job and so does DH. Right now we are switching off every other morning taking on the kids. But essentially that means I’m still on my computer reading and responding to emails and doing various work things while I’m responsible for my 6 year old and 3 year old not killing each other. So if the school work gets any more demanding it’s just not going to happen and I’m not going to feel bad about that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912637 Sun, 22 Mar 2020 20:38:58 +0000 Corduroy 2912637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I spent some time reviewing this week's assignments and organizing all the sheets (which were given to us rather randomly in a folder due to the extreme rush). Now DD has one packet for each day. She's also logged into Google classroom. I'm feeling a lot more prepared going into this week. At least DH and I know what we're trying to get her to do. Good luck this week everyone! </p> [attach=3529/20/q7mhwz.600x315.IMG_20200322_121209.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912636 Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:55:31 +0000 meganmp 2912636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: We have weekly live faculty meetings too! Last week it was an hour and a half. OMG. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912582 Sat, 21 Mar 2020 15:35:05 +0000 MamaCate 2912582@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: wow that’s a lot! It’s so helpful to think about it from the teacher side and the parent side. And I feel like those teachers without kids who are pushing for “accountability” are just trying to cling onto a shred of control to stay sane...but it would still make me crazy! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them/page/2#post-2912577 Sat, 21 Mar 2020 13:05:33 +0000 Anagram 2912577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaCate: aw, thanks! I am one of the lucky ones, though. It could be so much worse for my family—I have neurotypical children, I am an educator for a living, I have a husband that is super involved (outside of the hours of 8am-6pm-ha).</p> <p>I have a student that lives with a single parent, and I don’t know if the parent is working from<br /> home or having to go into work—but the student is autistic and normally has a 1:1 class aide all day. He is having a really, really hard time. I get 10-15 messages a day from him, just full of anxiety and upset (at the school work, and of course it’s upsetting, he is literally not capable of doing this stuff alone and has an IEP saying so) and meanwhile, we have other parents always asking for MORE, so their kids will be at the computer not bothering them from 9-3 each day. And I understand why that might be the case, first hand. I would also love for my kids to not bother me from 9-3 each day. :bummed: There’s also a big disconnect between the teachers who don’t have young kids at home and those that do—the teachers without are pushing for more “accountability”, more live lessons. We are now having a live faculty meeting next week—like why? Just put that shiz in an email. </p> <p>It’s like.....augh. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912574 Sat, 21 Mar 2020 12:08:35 +0000 MamaCate 2912574@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I just wanted to send hugs and love your way after hearing how you are juggling all this! We are behind in terms of only having school closed a week so we haven’t gotten into the real deal yet. Take good care of yourselves!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912566 Sat, 21 Mar 2020 09:12:12 +0000 Becky 2912566@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I definitely think the level of schoolwork you and some others are describing is really unreasonable and that’s really frustrating that your district is expecting that if you. The vast majority of the districts in my area are only providing review work, so my daughter can do everything on her own with little guidance. Also, I can’t imagine how difficult living in an urban area is right now. We are incredibly fortunate in that we have not really had to alter the way we spend time outdoors. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912561 Sat, 21 Mar 2020 08:38:40 +0000 Anagram 2912561@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: I think one reality is two parents who have very intense jobs, who are now forced to work from home and are supposed to also get their kids (of different ages) to do 2-3 different curriculums simultaneously while doing their own work. </p> <p>I am essentially working part time from home because I’m a school media specialist. I do teach electives but it’s just sheer luck that 3rd trimester, where we are now, I only teach 2 electives and the rest of my day is “open library time”, so right now I’m posting work/grading work for only 2 classes. Now, those two classes happen to be stop-motion animation (HUGE pita to be trying to teach from home and it’s a brand new trimester, so these new kids know nothing about how to do it, basically), and I teach a class for gifted students only called “history on trial”. Both of these classes are requiring me to post assignments and then babysit the inevitable panic messages I get from kids who don’t understand something. I am literally answering 50 messages a day from kids just from those 2 classes. Plus all the faculty and admin emails and messages. My admin can see how much time I spend on Canvas (our online course platform) and I can see how much time each students spends on my particular course page, so I also have to send emails like, “I noticed you didn’t log in today to your stop-motion course. Is everything okay? How are things at home? Are you struggling with work load?) bottom line—it takes time. And somehow I am supposed to homeschool my kids literally simultaneously because then THEIR teachers send check in emails around 2-3pm asking what they completed, asking specific questions about specific lessons, like “Hi A——-! What did you learn from the assigned science experiment today? Which objects floated and which sank to the bottom?” And I’m like....we’re doing that after nap time lady!</p> <p>Anyway, meanwhile, my husband’s job is so demanding he goes to the bedroom where he’s now set up an entire desk, 2 new monitors and his laptop and a New desk chair, and he is in work calls and coding literally all day long. He’s so busy he doesn’t even take a lunch break and he’s working from 8 am to 6pm (sometimes later). </p> <p>So me, working part time from home and being a teacher myself, I am struggling a little. I literally cannot be creating assignments and moderating online discussions about the Salem Witch Trials AND doing a science experiment with my 4 year old AND teaching my 1st grader 2 digit subtraction with regrouping simultaneously. I have to spend 1 hour working, then I have to ignore my students for an hour while I quickly get my kids through 1-2 of their lessons, then I have to ignore my kids for an hour while I go back to my students, all day long. I would be insane right now if I were teaching a full load and my husband had the job he had. </p> <p>And many of my friends here are in that position—2 demanding jobs where they are on conference calls or video meetings most of the day, but they are supposed to now be homeschooling multiple children at different grade levels while working. And many jobs here are not being at all sympathetic. I don’t know what my husband would do if he were married to someone that did what he does! Would the kids be feral and tearing the house apart while both parents were on conference calls all day? Probably. </p> <p>My point is, there are some very valid reasons why some parents are struggling right now to suddenly transform into homeschooling their children. If there’s not a SAH parent on the picture, or at least like me where I’m basically doing a part time load, it would be impossible to School the kids from 9-3 when those are also mandatory working hours. </p> <p>Al the daycares here have been closed all week. People are getting shamed if they still have their nanny come. It’s crazy right now in the NYC area in two-working-Family houses. So I feel for all of the parents saying “calm down, the kids will be alright”. What other choice do they have, realistically?</p> <p>And one thing that’s been really getting under my skin this last week is the nanny shaming. I live in a fairly privileged area and there are a lot of SAH moms who still have nannies (usually part time but sometimes full time) and there’s a lot of self congratulatory patting on the back because they’ve temporarily told their nannies to stay home (paid) for social distancing and they are telling everyone else to do the same. But it is not the same for two parents working intense jobs. Karen needing me-time to go to yoga and getting her nails done is not the same as Susie needing childcare while she is a partner in a law firm and her spouse is a managing director at a hedge fund that is now a-hands-on-deck because of the stock market. And I’m hating that people are preaching to other people when circumstances are very, very different. </p> <p>And my last rant—I live in a very urban area. People live in apartments, many have no outside space (I have never been so happy I have my own balcony and outside stoop), but we have this contingent of women—it’s a moms group I’m talking about here—who have moved to the suburbs and keep chiming in on our group threads and lecturing about social distancing, and I’m tired of that too. They are like “just stay in your own house, don’t even go outside for walks—why risk it”, and I get so mad because I know they’ve moved to the suburbs or to an entirely different state and have backyards and empty sidewalks. Ahhhhhhngjhhh . </p> <p>I just needed to rant a little. I feel better now! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912546 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 20:30:02 +0000 Becky 2912546@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meganmp: I’ve seen plenty of Facebook/Instagram posts/memes about not doing the lesson plans and just letting kids play and have lots of screen time. It makes me wonder 1) What the heck are their kids doing all day? At least lesson plans give some structure, especially for parents who are also working. And 2) Do that many people actually don’t realize this could go on for much longer than a month-ish? Our regular school year ends at the end of June, but especially for districts ending in May, it is very likely that students will not be going back to school. Then you have them for the entire summer. 5 unstructured months in a row is just crazy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912545 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 20:13:29 +0000 ALV91711 2912545@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our spring break is next week. DS is in grade 1. This week the teacher emailed what would have been their spelling list. We’ve been doing that, some reading of his choosing and his math app from school. He maybe is doing 20 min a day. </p> <p>Ed got an email and they are setting up seesaw for after spring break. Grade ones will be getting about an hour a day of work. That seems manageable to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912543 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 19:59:47 +0000 HappyBaker 2912543@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lindseykaye: just wanted to say your last sentence in your reply to me got me through this day, thank you for helping an internet stranger! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912522 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:52:48 +0000 meganmp 2912522@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lindseykaye: OK, just that comment made me feel better. Thank you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912521 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:18:18 +0000 Miss Ariel 2912521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: our governor (Louisiana) waived the attendance requirement for public schools for this year along with a number of other educational requirements (I.e state testing) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912519 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 14:55:08 +0000 lindseykaye 2912519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meganmp: It sounds like you are doing a wonderfully amazing job staying connected to the kids in your class while balancing what is expected and putting real thought and effort into making it fun and engaging. All while parenting and teaching your own. It must be so incredibly hard, so thank you for everything you're doing, and doing it on absolutely no notice. What you've described seems very reasonable for 4th grade, and if my DD was in an online learning setup like your class I think it would be just the right mix of accountability, instruction, and flexibility. </p> <p>I hope I can help support my daughter's teachers as we navigate this new normal in any way I can - both in trying to comply as much as possible to what they're designing and in whatever other way we can think.</p> <p>My daughter has been begging me to come volunteer to teach a science lesson/experiment all year. I was non-stop traveling for work from November to mid-February and now I am so afraid I missed my chance. Makes me feel like crying just thinking about it now and how disappointed she will be if they do not return to school this year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912516 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 14:21:46 +0000 meganmp 2912516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>From the teacher's perspective, hearing that parents are ignoring the lesson plans because they think kids should just be playing makes me sad. I agree- kids should play. I am ensuring that they do- outside at least an hour a day, plus all of the other time when they are not doing school work. I work at a private school, so this is a bit different. I am up until 10pm every night trying to figure out fun and engaging things to send to my students (4th graders). I meet with them via Google Meets five days a week. At least one lesson in each subject during the week is synchronous, and the rest are asynchronous. I make sure that I have face to face contact with every kid every day while also teaching my two first grade children (1-2 hours of work every day, all of which requires constant parent interaction as well as taking a picture and sending it to their teacher every day). It's an epic amount of work to do my job and parent at the same time, but I am doing my best to make it all work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912505 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 13:23:02 +0000 Anagram 2912505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: maybe they are still scrambling to get procedures in place. But it can’t hurt for you to reach out and suggest an attendance procedure.</p> <p>My district is extremely concerned with CYA at this point, and making sure we get credit from the state and aren’t making up days later. And our attendance people (secretaries and school nurse) are still working from home, so they are handling all the attendance. Teachers and counselors are just comparing the checked attendance to which kids have actually turned in assignments each day; then the counselor is responsible for reaching out to students missing work. So everyone is still working, just at home. </p> <p>It’s been cool to see it all come together. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912503 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 13:01:24 +0000 LemonJack 2912503@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: Today is our second official day of distance learning, and as a team we have a shared spreadsheet of all of the students and when we had contact with them. Our district wants us to pass on names of kids we haven’t been able to contact by this afternoon. We have 75 kids in our house and I think there are only 2-3 we haven’t zoomed with/heard from. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-los-school-provided-lesson-plansare-you-doing-them#post-2912500 Fri, 20 Mar 2020 12:50:40 +0000 Becky 2912500@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Your attendance point really got me thinking. We aren’t asked to communicate with our district unless we have a question. If our child was absent from school on a regular day, we would get a phone call so there was a record of the absence and they could be sure the child was accounted for. Any idea how districts are keeping track of children who may fall through the cracks? It is a really scary thought. </p>