Holidays in Covid: Keep The Spirit Despite Quarantine
*PLEASE NOTE: we will be adding more items all week long! Check for updates!*
Home for the Holidays is not such a jolly thought when it’s because of Quarantine.
That’s where so many of us find ourselves right now. With 569 new cases in Fairfax County just today (Fairfax County Health Dept. Dashboard), there are a ton of families in our community who will not be traveling to see loved ones for Christmas.
So what do you do to help maintain the Christmas Spirit if you are stuck in quarantine? Ms. Victoria and I (Ms. LJ) have been there before, and are in that situation now, and we thought we would help you get some good ideas.
Holiday Stories: You could go totally screen-less for most of our activity suggestions below, or you could have holiday specials playing in the background! But my personal recommendation will always be BOOKS AND STORIES.
Audible books has a ton of kid-friendly holiday audio dramas and read-alouds. It really puts me in a festive mood to share favorite stories with the littles.
Do you have family that you would like to visit, but you are playing it safe? You can read over zoom. Read stories to each other! Do this nightly! You could read a chapter book and parse them out chapter by chapter until the end of the year! During the day you could talk about what might happen next, send theories to each other, or just talk about your favorite part. We did this with my friend and her kids last year and the kids got to pick out picture books for each other. It was just one more gift they could give to their friends, and it made them feel like they were together even when they were apart.
We have a WHOLE SERIES of Read-Alouds! They are available HERE on our website and on our YouTube Channel! We also have a HOLIDAY PLAYLIST where we will be adding more videos!
Caroling: Spread is limited outdoors, and it is easy to socially distance. You can go to your friends’ and family’s houses and sing your favorite Christmas songs to them on your sidewalk! Sidebar: We do not advise singing together with a group that isn’t quarantined with you, even outside. You expectorate far more when singing! We advise singing to a group at least ten feet away.
CARDBOARD CRAFTS:
We know you’ve ordered just a ton of stuff from the internet for the holidays… right? No? Just us? Well if you’re like us, There’s definitely plenty of cardboard to go nuts with. When we were stuck in quarantine, we built a very interesting space ship… It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be jolly!
Do you not have enough to make a whole house? Make a mini gingerbread cardboard village! Everyone cuts and decorates their own house and can cut out little cardboard people, animals, furniture, space ships… this is something that could take up literal hours.
Holiday Recipes and Foodie Crafts:
Holiday Activities and Crafts:
Print-Outs: Sometimes a relaxing activity on a cold day can be as easy as coloring with hot cocoa. I’m serious! Sometimes we as parents think memories have to involve HUGE EVENTS. My daughter’s favorite thing is to color together with no distractions. Put on Christmas music, get out the colored pencils, make some hot cocoa, and just get goofy with it. Click the links we have to get print outs, or just google your own! Holiday Print Outs
Advanced: If your kid is a little older, use a little journal or even some stapled together pieces of paper to make your OWN. HOLIDAY. STORY. Write your family’s next classic! This activity is fun for the whole family, allows your school-ager to practice writing and drawing, and can be a real laugh riot.
CLICK HERE for a little book creation pdf!
Here’s a MINI BOOK creation PDF and instructions!
Holiday Themed Dance Party: I am so not kidding when I say that “dancing it out” helps drive away the darkness. Studies have shown that dancing helps with anxiety and depression. It boosts mood and memory, which is perfect for making new holiday traditions!
Maybe you feel like pretending you’re on stage during The Nutcracker.
Holiday Scavenger Hunts: Do you have local family that’s in the area that you can’t visit because one of you is in quarantine? That really stinks… and it’s hard. BUT there is something you can do to show that you’re around.
Chalk games:
Write loving messages on their walkway! Have them do the same for you
Write HOLIDAY RIDDLES THEY HAVE TO SOLVE BY THE END OF THE EVENING!
Draw a little game they have to play outside like hopscotch or floor is lava or dance party! If they’re little kids it doesn’t have to be too complicated, just have spaces where they HAVE to run like a reindeer or play “don’t see Santa!” freeze dance.
Write each other up a “holiday nature walk” scavenger hunt! Possible things that could go on your list:
A snowman light up structure
A unique/whacky inflatable
A singing house
A bit of frost on the ground
A wreath made of real foliage
A real Deer
A Santa Claus
People singing live music
Birdsong
A Winter Constellation, like Orion’s Belt
A moon in a particular phase
An Evergreen Tree
A squirrel/Chipmunk
Holiday Drive-Thru Lights: Ms. Victoria is a HOLIDAY LIGHT GURU. We are going to provide links for a couple of official set-ups you can buy tickets to, but we will also have QR codes available that will take you on an amazing round trip through some spectacular light shows in your area free of charge!! Make sure you go to the bathroom, pack your favorite snacks, and have some music queued up for the radio (scroll up for links to neat music playlists on spotify).
Kids and Covid: Juliet gets her Covid Shot!
Our Immunized Schoolagers!!!!!
Every time a new vaccine comes out against Covid-19 it feels like the world is a little safer. When we found out our kindergarteners and school agers were eligible for this essential layer of safety against the pandemic, we were ECSTATIC.
We sent out this link so that we could help get as many of our students appointments as soon as possible.
Which is why on November 4th at 10:45AM, a day after the shot was approved, I got my daughter Juliet her first covid shot.
Was I worried? No. There had been more than enough research done on the vaccine so I knew it was safe for her. I am much more worried about the new variants of covid that are spreading.
Was she worried? A little! Juliet and her friends get each other really anxious about the shot itself. She really didn’t want to get stuck! But she was also SUPER excited and made sure to tell everyone she could that she was going to get it.
“Am I the first kid in America to get the shot?” She asked me as we walked toward the Covid-Shot clinic set up inside the mall. It was early morning and there were hardly any people around.
“No sweetie, but you’re probably one of the first thousand in Fairfax County!” I thought about it, smiled, and said “And you’re the first kid to get it at Common Ground, so make sure to let everyone know it’s not so scary, okay?”
Juliet gave me a thumbs up, because she’s cool like that, and we went into what used to be an old department store transformed into a vaccination center. All around the old “Diamonds for Her” and “Men’s Fragrances” counters there were colorful signs that said things like “Kids are Tough,” “Kids are Brave,” and “Kids are Super Heroes.” On the floor there were big stickers with pictures of a nasty looking coronavirus cell with the inviting slogan “Stamp the Virus OUT!”
We did. We stomped on every single one of them on our way. And let me tell you something… it felt really good.
There were kids everywhere. Older kids, younger kids, kids who looked nervous, kids who looked bored. Juliet was excited and scared and ready all at the same time.
All of them are my heroes. Their parents too. They are a part of getting a handle on this virus that has changed our lives forever.
When Juliet sat down she told her nurse she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She told her all about the cardboard doctor’s kit she had made all by herself, and how she was always taking our temperatures and taking care of us. The nurse smiled and told her all about what the shot was going to do, and why it was so important, that it would protect her from the virus, but also take care of us. “It’s what a doctor would do!” She said, high-fiving Juliet.
I still had to hold her down. That girl does NOT like shots. But she perked up pretty quickly when she realized everyone was cheering and clapping. Those medical professionals were ROCKSTARS.
Her symptoms lasted about 24 hours. They were arm pain, a little scratchy throat, and she had a low-grade fever in the night of about 99. We were told that since she’s had covid before her symptoms might be a little more severe, so we let her stay home from school on Friday… even though she didn’t NEED it, getting some extra cuddles from Daddy is never a bad thing.
Since then, so many of our kindergarteners and school-agers have come showing off their bandaid! When one of them leaves to go to their appointment, everyone else cheers and claps and tells them how brave they are. Kids are so ready to be wonderful to each other, it is such a moving display in a time we need Hope more than ever.
If you have any questions or need help getting your child’s covid vaccine scheduled, please contact us!
Fall Supplies to stay Warm and Dry
It’s that time again, the leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, and the temperature is all over the place! It’s FALL in Northern Virginia!
We would like to remind you that our kids spend a good portion of their day outdoors, so layers are a must this season! In addition to the every day things your child needs, we ask that you also send in:
A lightweight jacket each day: Preferably a wind breaker, given how strong the wind can be in autumn!
A raincoat to live here at the center: We have had several days where the weather starts out sunny, but by pick up it is POURING. Per our Covid-19 policy, we try to stay outside as much as possible. Help us keep your kiddo safe and comfortable outside!
A pair of rain boots and extra socks to live at the center: We have had several days where the weather starts out sunny, but by pick up it is POURING. Per our Covid-19 policy, we try to stay outside as much as possible. Help us keep your kiddo safe and comfortable outside!
You can read more about our philosophy on “no bad weather, only bad clothes” here.
You can read more about why, even without the influence of Covid-19, we stand by going outside as much as possible here.
THE PERFECT RAINCOAT: ALLOWS THE CHILD TO WORK IN TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS AND STAY REASONABLE DRY FROM THE KNEES UP.
WATER BARRIER - RAINCOAT MUST BE A RAINCOAT AND NOT A WINDBREAKER. WINDBREAKERS ABSORB WATER; RAINCOATS ACT AS A BARRIER.
ZIPPER - MUST HAVE A WORKING ZIPPER CLOSURE.
UNLINED - THINNER RAINCOATS CAN BE WORN IN ALL TEMPS AND OVER COATS IN COOLER TEMPERATURES.
OVERSIZED - OVERSIZED RAINCOATS ALLOW FOR MULTIPLE LAYERS AND COVERAGE OF LEGS WHEN RAIN PANTS ARE NOT PRESENT. (HINT: BUY AN ADULT SIZE OR LARGER CHILD’S SIZE! - SEE IMAGE FOR GOOD FIT!)
A GOOD FITTING HOOD COMES WELL FORWARD OF FOREHEAD.
SLEEVES COVER FINGERS WHEN ARMS ARE DOWN; HANDS STAY DRY. CAN BE ROLLED, HEMMED, OR CUT IF TOO LONG. IF BOTTOM OF RAINCOAT COMES TO AT LEAST THE KNEES. KNEE TO ANKLE LENGTH BEST. DOES NOT HAVE CINCHED BOTTOM.
Ms. LJ - Our Family Experience with Covid-19
After a year and a half of masks, hand sanitizer, spontaneous quarantines, and vaccinations…
I came home from Summer Camp with the kiddos on a seemingly normal Wednesday August to find my husband masked indoors. He had lost his taste and smell.
A rapid test from the INOVA Urgent Care, of course, came back positive. John was vaccinated and worked from home, but he had a work meeting out in Tyson’s, a small gathering of vaccinated friends, a small outdoor birthday pool party for the kids. They were all activities we thought would be safe before Delta reared its head and dissipated any thoughts of normalcy.
Luckily our townhouse is almost perfectly designed for quarantine. My husband stayed in the basement with little need to come upstairs, and the kids and I spent time on the upper floors with the doors and windows open. We lysoled regularly, never ate in the same space at the same time, and communicated via text so that any travel between floors was telegraphed.
The kids and my first PCR tests were negative. John’s symptoms were really mild, mostly brain fog and the inability to taste. We all felt excellently, if a little stir crazy, and looked forward to the end of quarantine.
On August 10th the kids got their second PCR tests. It had been six days since they had last seen John, and they were totally restless and energized. We went home, played with the sprinkler, baked cookies. Juliet had a fever of 102 about 18 hours later.
Conrad’s 4th birthday was spent apart from his sister, opening gifts in the master bedroom. Juliet’s PCR test hadn’t come back yet, so we could not stick her with John just in case it WASN’T covid, but the pediatrician had told us to keep the kids apart in case it was. Schrodinger’s Covid kept us wearing masks inside, yelling across the hall to make sure everyone had gatorade and snacks. I would never have left Juliet alone, but I wore a mask, rationed my time in between them, and washed my hands. We sent songs and announcements to each other through Alexa and, despite everything, giggled a lot.
Conrad was positive by Friday the 13th, eight days after the last time he had seen John. You would think I would be terrified. Maybe I was. But when the rapid test came back positive, all Conrad did was rush to the bottom of the stairs and scream “JULIET! YOU CAN TOUCH ME NOW! I HAVE COVIC!” She came pelting down the stairs and they laughed and screamed. They both demanded to watch a movie, since it was movie night, and asked if Daddy could come upstairs. I was the last Donnell standing, but I had been cuddling and watching over these little covid kids for days, it was really only a matter of time. So we all went upstairs, put on a movie, and contact sat with each other.
Everyone has to decide for themselves how their family quarantines. For us, with the Delta Variant, I found that quarantine within the house was a total waste of time. I don’t think the kids gave it to each other, and I don’t think they got it through the vents. I think that my mostly asymptomatic husband infected them before we exiled him downstairs, and the rest was history. Would I have gotten a breakthrough infection had I not been breathed on by two sick kids for days? Probably not. Was it worth it to cuddle them and make sure they knew I was there? Absolutely.
We were very fortunate. Despite the Delta Variant being much harsher on kids, my two had mild cases. Fevers, some coughing, a little fatigue. We have been monitoring them for any signs of long covid, and will continue to do so, but we are hoping that really was the worst. Given how some of our symptoms still linger, John and I were especially fortunate to be vaccinated.
I am lucky I had so much support from my work crew, my coworkers, my family members. I had friends drop off things at the door and sing happy birthday to my kids while they stood on the balcony. I got sent pictures from the last few weeks of summer, presents shipped through amazon, and so many messages of love and comfort it chokes me up to think about it. We sang karaoke, ate a lot of icees for our sore throats, and passed the time just being grateful we were together.
What we learned.
YOU ARE CONTAGIOUS EVEN IF YOU AREN’T OBVIOUSLY SICK. We quarantined the second we saw any symptom from John, and the kids had already been infected.
YOU COULD STILL HAVE BEEN INFECTED EVEN IF YOUR FIRST TEST WAS NEGATIVE. My kids were active, happy, and totally separated from their dad. Their first PCR test was negative, but they were sick within the incubation period. TAKE. THE. INCUBATION. PERIOD. SERIOUSLY. Take the quarantine seriously. You don’t know who you’re risking even if you feel fine.
WEAR A MASK AND GET VACCINATED. Breakthrough cases, strong variants, long-term exposure to asymptomatic family members, COVID-19 is not over by a long shot, and you could get sick. Making sure you’re vaccinated so you can stay quarantined at home is best for you and anyone who needs a hospital bed. GET YOUR FLU SHOT TOO. It helps to mitigate flu AND Covid-19 symptoms.
PROTECT YOURSELF. PROTECT YOUR COMMUNITY. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY.
I love you all. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.
LJ and Fam
May is National Foster Care Month
Here at Common Ground Childcare we are dedicated to helping all children grow in a loving, nurturing environment.
Which is why we are using our voice to bring attention to National Foster Care Month. Foster care children are in more need of advocacy than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic has done a lot to shine a light on the inequalities of representation and support, especially for our minority children in the foster care system.
What can you do to help?
Educate Yourself
What is Foster Care? Why is it necessary? How can I get involved? These questions and more are answered Here.
Key Facts and Statistics
Include these key points in your messaging to demonstrate how child welfare and legal professionals can prioritize foster care as a services to families by engaging young people in all aspects of permanency planning and helpingthem maintain meaningful connections with family and other support systems while in out-of-home care.
There are over 423,000 children and youth in foster care. Over half have a case plan goal of reunification with their parents or primary caregiver.
Juvenile and family court systems can influence whether children are reunified with their families or reenter care.
Meaningful and appropriate involvement of youth in their court hearings and case planning greatly benefits all participants and leads to more favorable outcomes for families.
Competent legal representation for parents is associated with the achievement of timely reunification.
A strong support system of professionals and family can help young people address the challenges they face during their transition to adulthood. Virtual engagement tools can be used to establish and maintain that support system by enhancing connectedness for all involved.
In addition to supporting brain development, encouraging young people to be active participants in planning their own lives supports the development of leadership skills, improves self-esteem, and helps form critical social connections.
The Resources that child welfare professionals need to have access to are HERE. This site has a lot of info for adults in every level of involvement, including how to volunteer and be a personal advocate for a child in need.
A Proclamation from the White House - This is an acknowledgment that all foster care children, even ones recently aged out, need extra support. We need to do everything we can to make sure these kids don’t fall through the cracks just because they aren’t little.
Share what you have learned and how essential our impact is to foster children. Share it with friends and family, share it on social media, shed light on the inequities of our system and work to help us change it. Here’s a link to an Outreach Toolkit to show you the basics.
Donate: There are tons of non-profits all over the country that donate to help Foster Care Children in some capacity. We recommend checking Charity Navigator or doing your own research before picking one, but there are so many ways to help! For example, the Blue Ribbon Project aims to make sure foster kids are provided with a backpack full of essentials to make them more comfortable in their new homes.
Help your kids understand Foster Care
Explain to your children that Foster Care kids are just like them. Like all children, they need empathy, care, and patience while they figure out the world around them. This is always easier with books:
The Foster Dragon: A Story about Foster Care — One of the Dragon Series books that helps kids begin to understand what Foster Care is and what Foster Care Kids need!
Kids Need to be Safe: A Story about Kids in Foster Care — A children’s book for children IN the foster care system, and for kids who want to understand why the Foster Care system is so important.
Home for Awhile — A Children’s Book about Calvin, a kid in foster care who wants to feel safe in their “for awhile” home.
Love You from Right Here — Featuring a diverse representation of characters including men, women, boys, and girls, it is written from the perspective of the foster parent to the child in foster care.
No Matter What — A little squirrel’s journey to find love!
Above all, please keep abreast of the situation politically. Keep pushing for equity with your local representatives! Together, we will make a difference.
Love Love Love,
LJ and your Common Ground Family
St. Anne's Episcopal Blood Drive!
As 2021 presses on, there are so many people who are in need! It can be overwhelming to decide where to start, and sometimes it is hard to tell if you’re really making a difference. (Although here at Common Ground, we really believe that all good deeds ripple out, no matter how small).
Donating blood costs no money and very little time, but it is a constant, essential need! Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. 1 donation can potentially save up to 3 lives.
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church is hosting a blood drive on March 5th!
WHEN: Friday, March 5th, from 12PM-6PM
WHERE: St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! There will be an INOVA Bloodmobile
HOW: Register below, show up for your time slot, it’s that simple!
WHY: To save lives. Our hospitals are strained and people need help more than ever. This is something small we can do to really make a difference!
REGISTER HERE: https://www.inovabloodsaves.org/index.cfm?group=op&expand=27318&zc=20190
PLEASE SHARE THE FLYER! THE MORE DONATIONS THEY GET, THE MORE LIVES THEY SAVE.
FLYER
Let’s all get together as a community and let our goodness shine!!
-Your CG Fam
Covid-19 Vaccine: First Two Days
Hurray! It’s Vaccine Day!
What to Expect — Vaccine Reactions
That’s what we (Ms. Liz and Ms. LJ) have been cheering all day!
When we saw that Preschool Teachers would be eligible for the vaccine starting this week, we decided we wanted to be leading the pack and documenting our journey all the way. We talk a lot about this in our live video right after our first vaccination, but here is a quick overview.
We hope that by getting the vaccine as soon as we could, being open and honest about our experiences, providing peer reviewed research, and encouraging everyone to talk to their PERSONAL physician, we can help alleviate any fears and dispel any misinformation relating to the Covid-19 vaccine.
When we arrived at INOVA Fairfax at 8:38 AM there was a long, appropriately spaced line! It wound all the way to the parking-lot. But the weather was good and spirits were high!
One of the things LJ was anxious about was not the vaccine at all, but the fact that we had to go to a hospital. We were concerned about being contacts of all of those people, masks or no. But the line moved at an even clip and, in no time at all, we were waiting with our little registration clip boards for a nurse.
Some quick thoughts before THE BIG MOMENT:
Everyone on the staff was excited we were there. They were encouraging and helpful. We had our IDs, proof that we worked at a school and weren’t “jumping the line,” and our appointment confirmation sheets, but they took us at our word. We honestly think that they are just trying to make sure everyone gets it as easily and painlessly as possible, which was encouraging. This is something that should be available to as many people as possible as quickly as possible, and Fairfax County is a medical powerhouse.
There were at least fifty stations with health professionals standing by. Our nurses were friendly, warm, ready to answer any questions.
WE BOTH GOT THE PFIZER VACCINE. Fact Sheet for Pfizer Vaccine
The stick was surprisingly not painful! Giving blood, the TDAP, Flu shots, PNEUMAVAX, there have been far worse shots in our experience. They gave us a card so that we could schedule our second vaccination in within 21 days. We were moved into an area stationed with health professionals where we could sit between 15-30 minutes to see if we had any immediate reactions, either from the vaccine or, more likely, a Vasovagle Syncope reaction from being stuck with a needle.
(What is Vasovagle Syncope? READ MORE HERE)
In the afternoon, Ms. Victoria, our fantastic OWLS teacher, also got her vaccine! Hurray! We felt empowered, like we could finally, FINALLY do something about this pandemic. This was a concrete step in the right direction, a small action to say “we are here to support our health, our families, and our community!” We finished up the day with a Kindergarten Interest Meeting all about our beliefs in play-based curriculums and what our Common Ground Kindergarten would look like this coming September!
Whether it was the excitement, the long day, or the vaccine, all of us went to bed early, feeling quite tired and a little warm.
Ms. LJ felt a bit itchy around the site, and an immediate tightness in the shoulder that lasted until Saturday. It was never any worse than what you would experience with the TDAP shot. She also went to bed early both Thursday and Friday night.
Ms. Liz was dizzy at first, a regular reaction for her to most vaccines, and her shoulder also felt tight as the day went on.
Ms. Victoria had pain in her shoulder, and for the first three days she had fatigue, flu-like symptoms, and occasional hot flashes.
Mr. Josh had the shoulder pain and flu like symptoms the next day, but two days out already feels better.
We are excited to announce that Ms. Adella, Ms. Mimi, Ms. Simi, Ms. Pinky, Ms. Vanessa, Ms. Petty, Ms. Janette, and Ms. Kisha will all be getting their first doses over the next two weeks as well!
Thanksgiving, Keep it Small
Yesterday, I found myself listening to “The Daily'“ podcast from The New York Times during my lunch break.
I’ve been a daily listener to “The Daily” since the beginning of February. I had just purchased my new car, and with Apple CarPlay on board, I traded in my usual pop music for a Spotify curated playlist called “Your Daily Drive” that included music, a one minute stock market podcast, “The Daily”, “The Journal”, and “NPR News Now.”
Call it luck or coincidence, or maybe ‘the universe’ just had my back, or possibly the fact that its linked to my Facebook account means that they’re privy to my usage data - but it was just at that time that I was becoming more interested in what was happening in the world, reading more news stories and paying more attention to current events that Spotify suggested I trade my running podcasts for current event ones.
Yesterday’s episode was a good one! Michael had on reporter, Carl Zimmer, to talk about the Pfizer Vaccine breakthrough (you can take a listen here). But it wasn’t the vaccine mechanism and preparations, which frankly, “The Journal” - another podcast that I enjoy daily, had filled me in on the day before that struck me as so interesting. It was the conversation between Michael and Carl about Thanksgiving.
It starts with Michael saying “…I have to imagine this is an especially dangerous moment in the pandemic.”
Carl’s response begins with the word “Absolutely.” He goes on to share that he is worried about all the travel that could happen, the mixing of households, and the sinister mechanism of the virus itself - that you can feel well, attend a family event, and then discover that you were the person who infected your entire family.
Michael goes on to ask a very tough question, joking that Carl should channel is inner Donald G. McNeil Jr.:
Should people avoid traveling to see their families for Thanksgiving…all the big holidays that are happening this fall and winter?
Carl side steps giving a ‘McNeil’ answer and just says:
I’m not taking my family to see my parents for Thanksgiving.
Michael and Carl are in agreement on that - neither is going to travel the 2 and 3 hours to see their parents this holiday. They both agreed that neither feel that it is safe, but neither came out and told listeners that they shouldn’t travel this holiday season themselves.
This is what resonated with me - I know, it’s a pretty long background to get to this point. While I know that each family has their own risk tolerance, and I respect that there are differing opinions on what is viewed as ‘safe’ - I’m certain that every health expert would agree that traveling to or hosting a family gathering this holiday with people who you do not interact with regularly, is a bad idea.
Health experts are dancing around the issue because they know it’s a hard pill to swallow. They are offering advice for people who plan on ignoring the advice to stay home this Thanksgiving holiday:practice social distancing, wear masks, and move festivities outdoors.
But let’s face it - when you’re celebrating and enjoying time with people, especially if there is alcohol involved, you forget to be as strict as you’d like to be. Just look at how well we have been able to enforce social distance at Common Ground. Yes, each class is able to distance from one another, but within the classes - it’s almost impossible. In my opinion, if they’re outside and with their own pods, the kids are safe enough. It takes something away from the social value of being at the center if we are too hard on them when they are being so careful.
So, while we don’t have a policy on travel like some private schools/centers (yes, there is a school in Reston that requires a 14 day quarantine if you travel 2 hours away from the Northern Virginia area!), I’d like to point to our Community Pledge. Having your child in any center or school, or wanting them to return to school in person, is strongly in “Medium Risk” category. Everything else you do should fall to the left of that orange dot. This virus is not taking a break for Thanksgiving.
That doesn’t mean that this Holiday season can’t be fun! I think there are a lot of us out there focused on what we are “missing out on” this year. Certainly, things are not the same as they have been in years past, but it doesn’t mean that new traditions can’t be just as special. How many times, after spending the bulk of your holiday season traveling, have you wished for a fun weekend at home? Here’s your year to do it!
Have a ‘Staycation’ and treat the long holiday weekend as a trip! Only this time, you don’t waste any of your vacation hours on travel.
If you still want to get away, book a cabin or airbnb for just your family. Long story long, there are a lot of ways that we can celebrate the holidays and keep our community (and your families!) safe from COVID.
With that, I’ll leave you with a quote from Carl at the end of the podcast episode:
what we do now, will make a big difference in who lives and dies this winter
Stay home. Stay safe.
-Miss Liz
Policy Update: My child has a runny nose, now what?
The changing weather, cold and flu season, and fall allergies can all cause runny noses, but unfortunately, so can COVID.
*symptom free child used for demonstration purposes only
So what do you do when your child has a new, mild symptom, such as a runny nose?
Stay Home
Notify Common Ground
Make an Appointment with your child’s physician
Staying Home:
While this can seem like an inconvenience when you’re sure your child just has a typical cold, the health department has developed the policy that we are following with the goal of keeping schools open. It states that anyone (this includes staff members) who has any of the following symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, headache, congestion, runny nose, muscle aches, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness, or poor appetite, be evaluated by a physician and a covid test is recommended. You can access the full illness policy and health department update here.
Notifying Common Ground:
We need to know when your kids are staying home and if they have any symptoms. By letting us know, it will help us remind you of what you need to do before you can return to Common Ground. We also track data, just in case we do have a case and have to contact trace.
Physician Evaluation:
The health department requires that a physician make an “Alternative Diagnosis” be made before your child can return. In most cases, this will require a COVID test.
We are all in this together.
This is the same policy that we are using for staff members as well as children. We are working to keep COVID out of our center through mitigation techniques outlined in our Community Pledge, and our illness policy is how we will keep a possible case contained.
But what if I don’t want to get my child evaluated by a physician?
You do not have to see a physician if you do not want to. However, if you choose to not seek an alternative diagnosis, you must wait 10 days from onset of symptoms before returning to Common Ground. Again, you can access the full illness policy and health department update here.