Will the schools allow you just to decide they don't need to attend for a week? Serious question, this would have been reported to authorities when my DCs were young in public school.

Send your kids in masks and remind them to wash hands often. I work in an elementary school and we have so many kids out right now - but schoolwork is absolutely continuing and it is hard to find time to make it all up.

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Teaching continues, be it before a break or not. These kids need every opportunity to learn. Everyone in my classes are sick. It’s quite disgusting to be honest with you. I would have the kids mask while around others, on the trip and wash hands constantly.

They aren't learning when they are that sick and not doing them nor anyone any good by being there.

I’d stock up on rapid tests and consider testing daily while you’re around your mom. I think I might consider keeping only the 3rd grader home, to halve the risk (I’d feel more concerned about the 7th grader missing school).

Teacher here. Teaching continues, be it before a break or not. These kids need every opportunity to learn. Everyone in my classes are sick. It’s quite disgusting to be honest with you. I would have the kids mask while around others, on the trip and wash hands constantly.

I’d be more concerned after break.

I am in a similar situation. I debated keeping them at home, but it has to be a total quarantine, as in the adults also have to WFH, no other holiday events, no grocery runs.

I think I am going to take them out 1-2 days early as a compromise, the incubation for flu averages 2 days, and wear masks the first day there. And the adults will WFH all week.

If their classrooms had active covid/flu cases, I would keep them out longer as well. I did send them with masks but they aren't careful and take them off (mine are younger than yours).

Anonymous wrote:Keep them home - there is nothing being taught this week. However, don’t leave your house. There are too many things floating around. No holiday celebrations, no grocery store runs. Hunker down for a week and test daily.

Keep your kid home if that makes you feel safe and comfortable (zero judgment..we should all do what feels best for our families), but this week isn't a wash. It's business as usual so for the PP to say "nothing is being taught" is a lie.

Keep them home - there is nothing being taught this week. However, don’t leave your house. There are too many things floating around. No holiday celebrations, no grocery store runs. Hunker down for a week and test daily.

I would keep them home and test

I don’t think the third grader will miss much, assuming her grades are fine. I’d keep her home.

What sort of mask is your seventh grader wearing? If it’s not a tight fitting kn95 or n95, it’s not helping nearly as much.

I would either keep the seventh grader home, or insist they wear a kn95, pull out for lunch, and drive thru pcr test Weds and right before you leave Friday. I’d also have him rapid test starting Wednesday and going thru the whole vacation.

Even if you keep everyone home I would do some testing before and during the test, including a pcr before you leave.

We wear kn95s around my parents and stay in an Airbnb house when we visit.

OP here.

My kids already wear masks everyday. But they are in the minority - by their account they are one of just a handful of kids who wear masks (in the case of my middle schooler this was confirmed by a teacher). Moreover, lunch periods people take masks off …

Anonymous wrote:I would send my children to school in masks.

+1

I would send my children to school in masks.

So many kids and parents in our school community have Covid and/or the flu and/or RSV (yes, some have two of these at once). We are supposed to leave Friday to visit my mom who is frail and 83 - we are her only family in the US right now and will be her only company during the holidays.

I’m thinking of keeping my kids home this week - on 3rd grader and one 7th grader - to try and protect us from getting anything before Christmas that would keep us from visiting my mom.

I hesitate because I don’t want my kids, particularly the older one, with multiple days absences. Would she be missing that much real content or is this week light in instruction?

WWYD?