I have never been an anxious person, but wow has COVID-19 played a leading role in my lack of a carefree life. I was skimming random articles on the internet when one titled “COVID stole My Motherhood Joy.” That headline stopped me in my random scrolling and I read it. It made me think how much parent guilt, worry and questions have been on my mind these past couple of months. It was good to know that someone else was feeling like it did, but didn’t really make me feel any better.
As the summer comes to an end, the school year is staring at us again.

One of the hardest decisions you will have to make in 2020 is the choice to do e-learning, in person, or home school your child(ren). There is no wrong decision here, but the anxiety and guilt of wanting to do right by your child is ever present. There are several factors that will play a part in what is best for your child(ren) and family, and no it doesn’t get any easier.

I am sure a lot of you have seen the three options parents have regarding the magical question of what to do with their children and their learning for the 2020-2021 school year. The thing is there is no right or wrong answer. Family dynamics, the necessity of work for the parents, and the learning style of the child all play into attempting to figure out what is best for each individual family. There have been three factors that I focused on to help me decide what is the best fit for my family regarding the children returning to care/school. Hopefully this can help you wonder and help guide your decision as well.

1. Social emotional and mental health of my children.
   I have two boys and they are very opposite of one another. One thrives in group play and making friends wherever he goes. Another is very content to have alone time for most of the day but never turns down a good playgroup session. Social emotional health will differ from child to child and their need for those social interactions will vary as well. Home school or e-learning may have an impact on your child if they thrive being around other children.
2. Health of my children and the immediate family surrounding the children.
   My children rarely get sick and our household is healthy overall, so we have a little bit more liberty and wiggle room with the risk to others in our household. Anytime family wants to come visit or anything like that we do let them know our children are in school. That way they can be informed and decide on that information as well. However, this decision may have to take more consideration if there is a family member who is high risk or has a susceptible immune system in the immediate household. Everyone wants their children to be protected from any kind of virus or bacteria. Understand that whatever you decide, it was the right decision for your family.
3. Not letting guilt or others bully me into making me paranoid about my decision.
   Like previously stated this is not a decision that has a wrong answer to it. What works for one family might not work for the next. This is not a one size fits all solution. So we need to give ourselves some grace and know and our heart of hearts that we made the best decision that we could for our child(ren). Do what you can by feeding them an unnecessary amount of chicken nuggets (if it calls for it) and go face mask shopping if you need to. Take a breath and just try your best.

I wish nothing but the best for every parent who had to make this decision this year.

Ms. Michaela
Lead Preschool Teacher
Social Emotional Coordinator

As you have probably heard your preschooler talk about Financial Peace Jr. or Junior himself recently, I wanted to give some suggestions on how to incorporate this program into your home. Over the past few weeks the kiddos have been introduced to new financial vocabulary including bank, store, money, work, spend, save, give, and dept. We have presented new concepts to the kids about the financial world and how to distribute money they earn. Lots of wonderful conversations have taken place and they have shown growth in understanding the concept of working and earning money. Bringing this program into your own home is an easy and beneficial system to have in place.

The first step is to establish what jobs or chores you would like your child to do in order to earn money. Working is the first step of the program that we covered. The students all have one job to do for the day, if they choose to do their job-they get paid. If they choose to NOT do their job, they do not get paid. We tried to make the concept super simple—Working = payment. Just as in the real world, when you show up and do your job, you earn a paycheck. So, at home for this area you need to establish chores you and your child agree upon that they will complete and then get paid for. Some chores may be expectations within your family, so they would not be paid. Establish the frequency of the jobs and the payment amount for completing each job as well. Establishing clear guidelines and walking through the entire process will be very helpful to make sure your child understands the expectations and process.

To help keep track of the jobs completed and payment you will want to set up a job chart in your home. You could simply handmake one or find a template you like online. If you want to be able to reuse the chart every week rather than making/printing a new one, just laminate the chart or easily use a page protector for simple wipe off with dry erase markers. Make sure that you and your child are marking the jobs completed or not completed each time. Follow up with conversations if they do not complete their job-What happens next? Do they still get paid? Encourage your child to try again tomorrow and remind them of the motto Hard Work = Money! Follow up with praise and support when jobs are competed! Make it a big deal so they will be eager to continue to do their jobs.

Next, you will need to set up the envelope system of how your child will divide up their money according to the guidelines in FPJ. For the preschool age group at school, the kids can earn $5 a week for doing their job every day. The program encourages them to split up their money as follows: Give-$1, Save $2, Spend $2. Now, this is a newer part of the program we are just now exploring so your child may still be trying to figure splitting up their earnings. Once each envelope gains larger values, spending that money accordingly will follow. Giving could be donating to a local charity, buying supplies to donate to a cause, or buying supplies in order to make something for others. Savings will go to whatever treat your child has had their eye on and spending will go to the little extras they may want to purchase. For example, have your child bring their spending money to the movies, have them take responsibility in buying the candy they want if you agree to only buy popcorn. Setting up the envelope system helps kids to establish how to prioritize their money now, which will greatly help them in the future.

Having your preschooler practice the Financial Peace Jr. program at home not only reinforces what they are learning at school, it is helping to build a foundation for future smart financial making decisions. Why not provide this wonderful opportunity? Bringing this program into your home will be so beneficial for the entire family! Practicing smart money making decisions now, will only lead to bright futures later!

-Ms. Whitney
Curriculum Coordinator
Lead Prekindergarten Teacher