@mamaedefamilia no kids are wearing mask here for much. Parents do the shopping where masks are required. Kids hanging out together outside and no one here is having kids wear masks to do that. She wore a very lightweight cute mask to Home Depot to get some stuff with my H and she said she felt anxious and suffocated by it and he gave her the keys to go back to the car. And I agree with @evergreen5 when I have mine on and look down it rides up and I can’t read ( like when I try to look down at my grocery list at the store). I get that she might have t wear one to school. I do not see her sitting for four hours in one for a standardized test. We will see how it goes. School is supposed to start Aug 8 which is three weeks before the SAT. I guess I’m just not going to force her to get used to a mask before that test. I don’t think there’s any way she will perform her best in a stressful, long test in a mask.
homerdog, may I ask, in which state or part of the country do you live?
Sorry I am too lazy to scroll back through all the old posts can someone tell me the names of the two books that were recommended for helping with the college essays.
@homerdog Well, if masks become the new normal at school, she might want to try different models to see what works best. As an experiment, I will try the ones I have while reading to see which are least distracting and will get back to you and @evergreen5 in case it might be helpful. I have a few different designs. I do know that if you wear glasses, a nose wire can make a big difference.
Where I live, mask using is required in public and compliance has been relatively high. It has become fairly routine - a necessary inconvenience in order to return to some semblance of social and economic normalcy.
From what you say, your child has resilience, determination, and intelligence in spades. She would not have succeeded as a preprofessional ballet dancer without those qualities! If she ends up having to wear a mask to test, I bet she will find the inner reserves to adapt.
@homerdog Has your D tried a surgical mask (not an N95 type)? They are available again, maybe those will be comfortable for her? They are lightweight and don’t feel tight.
And the bonus is they are much more effective than non-medical cloth masks.
@Mwfan1921 no. We should get some of those. S19 grabbed one from a friend the other day when they ended up needing one unexpectedly. Anyone know the best place to order surgical masks? Are they all the same?
@2ndthreekids We are in Illinois. Masks required in stores and everyone complies, but our kids aren’t going to stores.
I ordered some from Walmart and Amazon, stock can be iffy, but generally seems better now. They all seem pretty similar, I tend to get ones that have higher average ratings with relatively more reviews.
DS was unable to submit his AP Phys C tests a few weeks ago and today was the retake. He was able to submit both questions and takes the E&M test soon; hopefully it goes well too. He says to his knowledge, he did not change anything in the way he submitted from the first time, no updates, etc, so CB made some changes on their end it seems. Fingers crossed…
Write Your Way In- Rachel Toor
@burghdad , one of the books is -Write Your Way In-.
I have ordered a couple of masks on Etsy for my D but so far she hasn’t had to wear them anywhere. She said they felt fine when she tried them on but that’s different from having to read/write with them. I guess it’s a good idea for her to do a trial run trying to work in them. I did read reviews and ordered ones that have a contoured seam in down the middle. These fit tighter at the top and bottom but allow more air space for breathing and talking than the pleated ones we have, but we haven’t tried to read with them. I have the option of taking glasses off but my daughter’s eyesight is too poor for that. She has contact lenses but wears them infrequently (I.e. band competitions, dressy events) but lately has needed ones that correct for astigmatism and she finds them uncomfortable…not a good option for a high-stakes test. Maybe we parents should protest loud and clear to CB that extra time is called for if mask-wearing is necessary (and I don’t see how it would not be).
At this moment D is on the front porch socially-distancing for the first time with her boyfriend, who she has not seen in person since Mid March! Makes me nervous, but I felt it necessary for her mental health at this point. They are not wearing masks but the porch is completely open (with a roof) and they’re about seven feet apart. Thank goodness it’s a beautiful, sparkling day, and I’m happy for them though it’s a little anxiety provoking for me! I have to remember that I have hardly lived a totally risk-free life myself (having had malaria and numerous other parasites as a Peace Corps volunteer far from medical help). Now I don’t know how my parents stood it ?
I totally agree with you @homerdog. Unfortunately, despite all of the test site cancellations, the June ACT will still be administered in-person. In a couple of weeks there’ll be some kids taking the ACT with social distancing - although the majority of test centers were cancelled and most students have been advised to register again for a future date.
So who knows if the CB will follow suit.
Hope this doesn’t happen to the SAT.
But who knows…
I have a box of surgical masks, and I struggle to breathe after a brief time wearing one. Rumors in my area of sports returning in tiers- our county just ranked fall sports into three groups based on contact. D21 is in tier 1 as a Cross Country runner (also golf), D22 is in tier 2 (field hockey). Football and wrestling are tier 3. FH coach sent an email saying please try to obtain a sports physical early , as they may become hard to get. Nothing official, but word is going around that masks of some sort will be required while standing, listening to coach, on sidelines… but not during actual physical exertion. I’m looking for good options and keep reading about cooling gaiters and how they are thin and easy to push down or up as a headband when not in use as a mask. We are going to try a few things ahead of time to find what works best.
D21 has the July ACT (June is on at her testing site) and we are going to figure out the best option for her too. Read somewhere (reddit maybe) that the ACT link on the email said masks would be required gaining entrance, but not once seated and testing. No proof for that though.
I don’t know. You all might just be accepting of all of this and dealing better.
The ACT directions said that masks could be worn during the test but it’s not mandatory. I have a feeling that’s decided by the state and/or the testing center, not each student so here in Illinois, I’m guessing kids have to wear them. I just do not see kids dealing with that but I am going to order some paper masks and see if they are easier to wear. Can you believe we are all discussing wearing masks to the SAT? I just want to blink and wake up when this is over. There’s no fun to be had. School is going to stink. We’ll be paying a small fortune for S19 to have a sub-par soph year in college. And I won’t get into everything else that’s been happening this last week in this country.
My daughter’s been wearing her mask for 4ish hour shifts at work for the past couple of weeks. I just asked her if it was bad, she said it’s fine. Hers is an etsy one.
We’ve been making masks from shop towels (those blue towels that are sort of like a paper towel but stronger) as this was a material that was recommended for the purpose. I personally don’t find them horrible to breathe through or especially stifling - they work just fine for a trip to the grocery store. I’m not going to say that I’d like to take the SAT in one, though. We’ve ordered some cloth ones as well but are still waiting on those. Since my S21 gets 50% extended time on the test, he’d be in the mask even longer, and I just don’t see it working out well for him if masks are required for testing.
Our current issue is D23 as her karate studio (which has been doing zoom classes for the last 2 months - a sorry replacement for the real classes but the best that they could do) is opening back up for in person classes. They are still doing zoom as well, and they are limiting the number of people who can be in the studio (people have to sign up for specific class timeslots and only so many will be allowed in). D23 hasn’t seen a single friend in person since March, and her good friends have all announced that they are going to the in person classes. But H and I are not in favor. It’s indoors. Kid will be exerting themselves (heck, part of karate involves yelling as loudly as you can - seems like a very bad combination). She’s going to be crushed when we discuss it tonight and she finds out that we aren’t planning on her signing up in June…we looked at data for Georgia and for the counties from which people come to this karate studio, and the metrics aren’t what we’d want to see before allowing indoor exertion/yelling sorts of sports. Am I crazy on this ? I can see some outdoor activities that allow for social distancing…but this seems like a much higher risk type of activity.
I think we all have to make the decisions for our families and have for grace for one another in the process. D21 is an acrobatic gymnast, and her coach is going to start having outdoor conditioning workouts at a park. I’m glad for the team to be able to see one another in person. We’re not sure when they’ll be back in the gym, and I’m fine with that. It’s going to be a while before they can work in their competitive groups since that involves constant physical contact. I just hope she can compete in the spring since her competitive season was canceled this year.
@theirchoices yes. And I love the idea of outdoor conditioning workouts at a park…I definitely want her to see her karate friends…these are her people. It’s her community. So I really want for her to be with them (and see how much it’s going to crush her not to be…it’s palpable). Of course, knowing D23, she wouldn’t love the outdoor workout idea as much as I do, haha. We live in hot, humid Georgia, and she is decidedly not an outdoorsy/hot/humid kid. ? I hope your D21 is able to compete next spring.
I think I would allow it since kids will be back at school all together soon and there won’t be a difference between now and when schools starts in Aug.
S is already practicing and working out with his XC team.
Uploading the proper size picture to register for the SAT was a pain once we finally jumped through all the hoops. There is information on CB on the requirement of the picture, so I am wondering how is the mask going to work?
Didn’t think about the mask/photo issue! Seems ripe for deception.