My daughter (11) has anxiety and did something similar twice - once, also at soccer and once, at a second co-op we were going to try. The co-op president assured me they wore masks, distanced, followed all the precautions. We got there and it was a joke. Some kids wore masks, but as chinstraps. One teacher took her mask off to talk to us. Another didn’t even have one. Kids were seated three to a table, mostly unmasked. She ran out and hid in the car, panicked. We have another child who is at high-risk, and she didn’t want to get him sick. 😞 It’s now been several months since both of those incidents. We didn’t join the co-op and she’s back at a different soccer program, where everyone wears masks, even the parents watching on the sidelines. Mask compliance in our area is generally high, except in certain demographics. She’s now been to church, youth group, and other situations where masks are strictly required. But yesterday, at our first co-op’s end of the year party, she had a conversation with another kid that was very similar to what your son heard, She didn’t panic or freeze this time but we were able to discuss it rationally afterwards. I know our circumstances aren’t the same, and that you have other extenuating and difficult circumstances, but what helped in our situation was time.

Yes, I have three I’m homeschooling right now. Ages 8, 11 and 14. Our 16 yo was homeschooled from grades 4-7 but is now attends a local private school. Our 14 yo will follow him next year and the 8 yo will return to public school due to his profound special needs. I’ll just have the 11 yo home. It’s likely that next year will be our last, since the 11 yo would like to go to school in 7th grade.

Agree. I have a child who is fed exclusively by feeding tube and several years ago, Blendtec donated a refurb model to us to blend his food. It’s amazing, it changed my son’s life for the better, and I will always be loyal to them for their kindness.

I’m relieved as well, but concerned about appeals. Judge Cahill alluded to this yesterday in court, suggesting that Maxine Waters’ statements at a rally in Brooklyn Center might give the defense grounds for appeal.

I personally love Sonlight. If you do Core F or its Bookshark equivalent, there are lots of hands-on options: a China kit that includes calligraphy, an origami book, and regular choose-your-own adventure activities like cooking ethnic foods. She’s at the right age for that program, too. Go with the 4-Day version. It’s much less overwhelming in terms of reading.

Yes, it’s devastating for our community, especially in light of the Derek Chauvin trial underway. I know the area well.

We are back at church and it’s good to be back, although it’s definitely not the same as it used to be. Everyone is masked, seated in family groups and distanced from other households. The sanctuary was maybe 25% full. There is no singing and the entire service is actually pre-recorded and projected onto a large screen. No Sunday school, but they will be opening the nursery and children’s church next week. No socializing indoors afterwards - everyone is urged to gather outside, with masks required even there.

I have an 8th grader who will attend a private high school next year. He has been homeschooled since 1st grade and is a fairly reluctant writer, although he’s made some great strides in recent years. We’ve done several levels of Writing and Rhetoric followed by a few years of IEW theme books. We’re kind of burned out on IEW anyway and I have six weeks left to homeschool him. I wasn’t sure that IEW was teaching him the specific types of writing he’ll need in school anyway. What resources would you use to teach high school-type academic writing in this short period of time?

We used the IEW theme books.

This is pretty gross, but my son had a similar issue a few years ago. One time, he vomited in bed and it looked like he vomited up entire chicken nuggets. Only, we hadn’t actually had chicken nuggets recently. He had eaten penne pasta, however, and apparently it expanded in his stomach. We never got an explanation and he’s since grown out of it, but I feel your pain!

I really like the levels from Fable up to Chreia or Refutation. After that, the source reading material gets so long that my kids were spending more time reading than actually writing.

Praying for you.

In our area, we do have drop-off tutorials that are sometimes incorrectly called co-ops. Or, parents might have responsibilities only a few times a year. We almost joined one this year like that — I would have to volunteer 2-3x a semester, but could otherwise drop off my kids once a week. It didn’t work out because they advertised following Covid precautions but in reality, did not.

Have you tried chaffles? They’re just waffles made with egg & cheese, with optional add-ins. I just recently discovered them. There are tons of recipes all over the Internet. They’re kind of like an omelet in the form of a waffle.

I now teach at our co-op during two of the three class hours. Last year, when I didn’t teach, I helped out in classrooms the same amount of time. We have a two-deep policy, so parents are required to help out in classrooms. The third hour, parents are free to socialize with each other or work quietly on their own. I spent a lot of time catching up on things on my to-do list that could be accomplished online or over the phone, planning future lessons, etc. It’s usually the moms who are there, but I’ve seen dads and grandparents fill in when needed, too. The church where we meet requires us to have a responsible adult on site for each kid, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a parent. I really think co-ops are going to vary on this, so best to check with the specific one you’re considering.