[jerf]

We ended up doing full-on homeschooling. Our local policies have them physically going in in about 3 weeks, or being "virtual".

We have a legally deaf-blind student that we feel will not be able to cope with everyone wearing a mask and having to be distant. (Under normal circumstances, he tends to get rather close in because he's trying to see you; he's got rather more European personal space sensibilities than American ones.) We also have a sneaking suspicion that "in person school" will last less than a week before someone coughs and everyone is sent home. (So to speak.) We think this is going to be a very unstable and destabilizing option.

The local virtual option was well established here before, but involves children sitting in front of computers for nearly the full 8 hours, as if they were at school. As adults, we're hardly willing to be on 8 hours of video call a day and asking for this from children is absurd. (I'm not too worried about the details of whether it's exactly 8 hours, the point is, they're clearly trying to function as a school day replacement rather than a school replacement; the two are not the same.)

I've also noticed my oldest is falling behind in math, because they're going just a touch faster than he can quite keep up with [1], and I've kind of wanted to fix that anyhow. I can see the memeplex forming where he realizes that there's no reason to put any effort in, because almost no matter what he does, the curriculum goes zooming on and gives him an OK grade. Even if we only do this for half a year or a year I'm hoping to have a chance to break in to this cycle.

At the moment I'm not focusing too hard on the "socialization" problem. Lockdown is precluding a lot of good solutions to that anyhow. We can address it more thoroughly later.

The main thing I'm having to reconsider is music. I still want to offer a music program, but now band isn't an option and/or is not a reliable option. (This is true even if we took the full-physical option anyhow.) We're doing a trial run of the home schooling this week (before our actual start date, so we can decide how we like it), and I'm considering trying to offer the kids some music programs involving instruments that are capable of functioning alone. I took enough piano that I could easily teach it; I'm also considering electric guitar as a versatile option that seems to have some passable electronic teaching options. (I feel like even on an instrument I don't play myself I can still fill in the gaps in such programs.)

[1]: A previous comment of mine on the topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23490872

[spanhandler]

If you want support from an app for piano and especially if you already have a keyboard or digital piano with MIDI out, I would strongly recommend Simply Piano on the iPad. I'm not affiliated, just a very, very happy user with a young kid getting more out of that app than I would have imagined—I started off keeping pace, having played a few instruments but not piano before, but when your kid spends every spare minute on the damn thing it's hard to keep up, after they get the hang of it.

It's not so hot at form—it tries to teach and reinforce it but of course it can't dynamically check that you aren't screwing up—but is great at most other things. Heavy focus on playing recognizable and fun music (they license tons of stuff) to keep up interest, with arrangements adjusted down as necessary. Long, segmented "curriculum" plan with some branches, free play modes on songs you've "unlocked", sheet music available and play modes that scroll the page for you. It's really nice.

[actfrench]

I've been talking to people at SFUSD and NYC DOE and I think you're likely right that schools will last a week to a month tops before they close again (if they open at all)

It's insane that schools are asking kids to sit for 8 hours straight. What's more a lot of them are teaching on zoom the way they do in the classroom, when it's a completely different medium that has different strengths that we could be using to our advantage.

What kind of tools have you tried for math? I recently discovered Prodigy Games and Math Tango (the latter is probably too young. Kids seem to love them and need no egging on at all. Khan Academy is also great and they just launched a free tutoring program as well. Prodigy: https://www.prodigygame.com/ Khan's tutoring prorgram: https://coda.io/@schoolhouse/welcome

I think your instinct with socialization is right on. Your child needs a healthy attachment with you and your family. That will help them form healthy attachments with others later in life. Here's an article I wrote on this topic with the help of a play-based learning specialist from Bank Street. Kids absolutely do not have to be in a huge group to learn to socialize well. https://www.modulo.app/stayingconnected

For music, I'm actually working with a student in NYC who goes to Laguardia, does guitar and is interested in being in a string quartet..if you'd like to connect, maybe we could do something together?

I've heard Hoffman Academy has great classes but haven't tried them myself.

Here are some more math options: https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/the-best-math-programs-...

If you'd like to offer a music class, I'd be interested in collaborating with you. I run an early stage startup that's been offering digital learning pods to students. I think that a bunch of our families would be interested in this class.

Here are some more music resources for you. I haven't tried them all myself but I'm part of a group of thousands of homeschoolers and these seem to be the ones they like the most: https://www.slso.org/en/edu/middle-high-schools/ https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/ https://www.squiltmusic.com/ https://prodigiesmusic.com/

If you need any other help, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I know this can be stressful and there is so much unknown - and even more so when your children have special needs that are already difficult to navigate in the "normal school system". It can be helpful to have someone to talk to and think things through. My email is [e-mail]