A Strange Year for Kindergarten

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My five-year-old daughter is ready to start kindergarten, a milestone that I have looked forward to for a while. No more bills for preschool! No more making lunches everyday! No more separate schedules for my daughter and my seven-year-old son!

Then came the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Now I'm worried public school will never look the same again.

Last year, I daydreamed about dropping both kids off at the same elementary school in the 2020-2021 school year. This year, I'm still waiting to hear back from our school district on whether the start of school will be in-person classes or virtual learning.

Last year, I worried whether sending my daughter to preschool three days a week would prepare her for kindergarten five days a week. This year, I'm worried about sending her to any school for five days a week.

Some parents are choosing to delay kindergarten by a year in the hopes that everything gets back to normal next year. But if preschool is canceled, parents are still on the hook for monthly tuition, a fact which I only discovered in April 2020.

I also don't know if next year will be any better. I'm optimistic that we will discover a cure for COVID-19 at some point, but I don't know if it will arrive in time for the 2021-2022 school year.

My children have a few weeks before school starts. At this point, I'm trying to prepare for any scenario.

What have you decided to do for your children's upcoming school year? Share your responses in the comments below.

Nina Snyder is the author of ABCS OF BALLS and the designer of the HOT PINK ORCHARD JOURNAL. Follow her on Twitter @nsnyder_writer.