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If it seemed like kids didn’t have much to say about their school day before the pandemic hit, it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re not interested in discussing their day now. Before, they used to actually leave the house several days a week! They used to go into a different structure, separate from your home, …Read more...

I wrote a post yesterday about the “COVID slide”—the concern among many parents that our kids will fall behind (or more behind) academically during all these months of virtual learning. The truth is that this year has been hell for parents and their children who have been isolated from their friends and trying to…Read more...

This pandemic has provided parents with a grab-bag of things to worry about on any given day. There’s the obvious concern about our children (or ourselves, or their grandparents) actually contracting the virus. There is the toll that isolation may be taking on their mental health. The lack of in-person connection to…Read more...

I took my son to a doctor’s appointment yesterday. It was an appointment with a new doctor, a specialist we’d never seen before, and the nurse took a moment to pause and look me straight in the eyes. “So,” she said. “How’s school going?”Read more...

“Mask-muffle” is a term I just made up, but it’s a real thing. If the cloth is meant to block a bunch of tiny respiratory droplets, it’s bound to muffle our words a bit, too. It can be hard enough to catch every word when you’re standing close to someone in a mask, and even more so if you’re the recommended six or…Read more...

Lanyards are often used to keep our most precious objects—keys, for example, or a whistle if you’re a coach or referee—safe and easily accessible. And there is nothing our kids need more now to keep safe and easily accessible than their masks. That’s why, especially if they are young or prone to losing things, a mask…Read more...

Back in March, when COVID-19 was almost completely mysterious, I spent an insane amount of time disinfecting everything in my path. I sprayed down mail with Lysol. I scrubbed groceries clean before they crossed the threshold of our house. I sterilized every toy my son could have possibly slobbered on. It was a…Read more...

This is going to be quite the year for unique childcare solutions as our kids spend most (or all) of their time learning outside of the classroom, even as parents continue to try to work and we all attempt to stay isolated to protect each other. Parents need help, but sometimes getting help doesn’t feel safe.Read more...

It is, somehow, already the end of July, which means some of our kids are mere weeks away from returning to the classroom—or not. School districts across the country are announcing back to school plans that are either fully in person, fully online or some hybrid of the two. Our kids want to know what that’s going to…Read more...

Most of us have been home with our kids for at least a month. My kids have been home since March 6 (but who’s counting?), and although we are happy to keep our distance as long as necessary, I desperately long for the days when I could drop my girls off with their patient and qualified professional educators instead…Read more...