Kids and COVID-19: How school is going and how Greater Lansing children are coping

Lansing resident Chaz Carrillo is a father to five girls, among them a second grader and a fourth grader who attend Willow Ridge Elementary in Grand Ledge. He said his girls are adapting well to school at home, but that may be due to his wife being a teacher.

“She has the time," he said, "although it is extremely draining just to manage all the windows and Zoom calls and where the kids are supposed to be.”

Carrillo said the teachers and school administrators are doing an amazing job, but his kids also miss seeing their classmates and teachers every day.

“There is something lacking there that the kids aren’t getting,” he said.

While some school districts started in-person classes, others chose virtual learning or tried to blend the two models. Today, a school day in front of the computer screen is the reality for many kids as outbreaks have spread in schools.

How are kids doing with virtual learning?

Audrey Gebbie, a kindergarten teacher at Riddle Elementary in Lansing, has been working hard to create a fulfilling and reassuring classroom environment for her students due to the district's shift to online school.

“The thing that I’ve been trying to do is to not have my kids feel like they’re missing out on anything important,” she said. “There is a lot that we are still able to do.”

Gebbie has a class of 15 kindergartners. She said recording her classes for students to replay, as well as help from parents, has really benefited her students.

For some, though, she said something still feels missing.

Lansing resident Shayla Brown has a daughter in Gebbie's class. Her daughter is doing well in school, Brown said, but thinks her learning style is more hands-on.

“You have to be really close with her when she learns,” she said. “The computer, I can tell she’s kind of antsy, and she can’t really sit still."

And Brown can tell that she misses a more normal school experience.

"She’s engaged, but I don’t think she’s all that excited about the tablet compared to getting on the bus.”

Strategies for families at home

June Castonguay, a counselor at Okemos Spring Forest Counseling, said she is surprised at how well younger children she sees are doing with online learning.

She said there are ways parents can help their kids better adapt to online learning if there are specific things they are having trouble with.

"If kids are struggling with a specific component of online learning — the screen time, navigating, completing, turning in assignments, not effectively learning the content, etc. — contact their teachers and ask for alternative ways to manage this," she said.

It's also very important for children to have a safe space if they're feeling stressed or unwell.

“Kind of like a school would do, for kids who have anxiety, to set up a calming corner in their bedroom or their living room," she said.

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She encourages parents to be flexible and have open dialogue with their kids.

“This is not a time when we can be rigid with our children because they are experiencing so many changes in their lives at different levels."

Do kids understand why?

Brown said she has explained the pandemic to her daughter in a way she can understand, emphasizing that virtual learning is necessary so they can stay safe and healthy.

"The world is sick right now, and they have the cooties,” Brown told her daughter. “They understand that if someone has the cooties and they give you the cooties, you’ll have the cooties and you’ll be sick."

Although her daughter has been seeing her cousins, they aren’t able to do many activities they used to enjoy — like bowling, ice skating or seeing movies.

Carrillo said his younger daughters have some understanding of the pandemic.

"Something is happening that can cause people to get sick, and we need to do a few things to make sure not as many people get sick," he explained. "And at some point we won’t have to do those extra things."

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His daughters know they are not able to do some of their regular activities, but they still miss them, he said.

"A big part of their world is playing, so not going to trampoline parks or birthday parties and being in public spaces with people, they’ve noticed that. But, outside of those things, I don’t know if it was that much different,” he said.

Want to share your family's story?

If you'd like to share your family's experience with learning during a pandemic — whether your children attend school in-person, virtually or a combination — email events@lsj.com with 100 words (or fewer) and include a family photo. Your experience may be included in an upcoming news story or photo gallery.

Contact news assistant Kaylie Connors at 517.377.1100 or kconnors@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @kaylieconnors.