Back-to-School Tips, Post COVID-19

Last week, you received the official word from your kids’ schools: they will be returning to in-person learning this fall. After a year-plus of online learning, which certainly had its challenges at times, you are pretty pleased with this news. At the same time, you admit you are a bit unsure about the return to the “old normal” in school.

With this in mind, consider the following do’s and don’ts to help prepare your kids — and you — for going back to school in person.

Do: Buy Them New Clothes and Supplies

Last year, you might have skipped over the entire back-to-school shopping trip, and for good reason. With at home-learning, your kids didn’t really need new backpacks, shoes, t-shirts, pants and socks, and you bought them lined paper and pencils as needed. To get them into the back-to-school routine, treat them to new clothes and plenty of school supplies, including roomy and sturdy Nike backpacks that will hold all of those fresh boxes of crayons, pens, pencils, paints, paper and more.

Don’t: Expect a Seamless Transition

Even if your kiddos are chomping at the bit to get back to school in person and see friends and teachers again, they may still have a bit of an adjustment period. As Hun School notes, remember that your kids may feel awkward, and the school day may not be as smooth as it was prior to the pandemic. After months of being at home, getting back to a loud and crowded school building might feel a bit overwhelming — and that’s totally okay. Reassure your kids that you know it may feel strange going back to regular school and it will take a while to get used to it again, but that it will all be okay and you are there for them any time they want to talk.

Do: Get Your Kids Back on a Schedule

As you probably noticed pretty quickly, the online school “schedule” was quite a bit different than the usual routine. Your kids could literally roll out of bed five minutes before class started on their laptops, and they could grab snacks as they wished during the day and often stayed up later than usual.

As Children’s Minnesota suggests, create a schedule for the return to in-person school; routines will help kids to feel calmer and more prepared for their day, so get back to old habits including set wake-up times, good breakfasts, preparing lunches, study hours and regular bedtimes. Your kids may balk at this idea, but consider starting the new wakeup and sleep schedule a week or so before the first day of school; this way, when their alarms go off at 6:30 a.m. they will be more ready to go.

Don’t: Be a Negative Nellie

Maybe you wish online school was going on a bit longer, or perhaps you are really nervous about your kids being away from you during the day. To keep your children as calm and confident as possible, strive to keep any negative feelings to yourself and reassure them that all of the teachers and the principal want them to be healthy and safe, and that the return to in-person school is a good thing. Kids tend to be emotional sponges, so do your best to be positive about their return to the classroom.

Do: Have a Great Year

There were probably times during the height of the pandemic when you wondered if your kids would ever go back to school in person again. Now that you know they will be heading back in the fall, it’s time to get back to the old familiar routines. By treating your kids to new clothes and supplies and getting everyone back on a schedule, adjusting your expectations and staying as positive as you can, the return to school should go as smoothly as can be expected.

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New York’s Charm Calls People Back to the City After Pandemic Exodus

 

Back in the beginning of 2020, when the coronavirus first started to spread worldwide, New York City quickly became one of the most severely affected parts of the country. That alone was a solid incentive for people to move to smaller towns or suburbs. Not only that but with remote work becoming a trend, many people realized the need for a bigger space.

 

But despite the fact that even before the pandemic New York’s population started to considerably decrease, this trend seems to be reversing and the city is getting back to its busy self. This being said, let’s look at some of the reasons why people chose to get away from the city and why the trend seems to be reversing now, all seen through the eyes of an NYC mover!

 

Why people chose to leave New York 

It didn’t come as a surprise that the vacancy rate in New York City in December 2020 rose to 5.1%. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens were at 1.81 percent in December 2019. The problem became so terrible that landlords had to take dramatic steps, such as free rent, to encourage landlords to sign rentals.

 

The outbreak of coronavirus accelerated the outflow trend. In March 2020, more than 89.000 people left New York City due to health concerns. But although many speak of a COVID exodus and with good reason since the circumstances of it sparked even further people’s incentive to move, the truth is that before this global crisis, the population of the city decreased. The lack of cheap housing, access barriers to many industries, and weak employment development in the last 10 years have resulted in a persistent population decrease. According to a Bloomberg article, every week before the outbreak, 2,600 people left the town. New York City felt impenetrable and saturated, which saw the American dream as almost unreachable.

 

Since the cost of living in NYC is three times the national average, for many it became impossible to handle, especially with the pandemic hitting the economic sector so hard. And even if job-loss wasn’t an issue, with the easiness of remote work and everything that made New York attractive closing, for some it just didn’t make sense anymore to sustain the high cost of living in the city.

 

The high costs of the city also left businesses with no option but to leave, especially as the lockdowns and quarantine rules left numerous offices predominantly in Midtown Manhattan closed. Some corporations realized that since their workers function just as well remotely, there is simply no reason to continue supporting the high costs of a New York office and simply chose to move their headquarters to cheaper areas or in some cases, even completely renounce to the idea of having a physical office.

 

But despite the fact that for a while there it seemed that New York lost its vibrancy and its people, things seem to be turning around.

 

The outflow trend has shifted. People are coming back to the city

Statistics show that the next couple of months will be the first in a long time when more individuals will move into the city than leave it behind. And for landlords that is good news regarding their own vacancies.The number of people moving back is predicted to exceed the number of people moving to New York City for the first time ever since January of 2019.

 

Unfortunately for the rental market, landlords may still have to take initiatives to attract tenants such as competitive rent or other perks. But if this trend continues, the vacancy rate in the city might start moving in the correct direction. Statistics done by moving companies point to the fact that people will come back to New York City when circumstances improve in relation to the pandemic. In addition, assuming that more and more businesses will resume normal activity, people that migrated away from the city during the pandemic may be forced to return to the city.

 

Those who left found themselves re-examining their metropolitan lives by their pre-pandemic patterns. Many found themselves asking if they still want to live in the city and many of them obviously chose not to. Many activities such as baking, gardening and padding around a house larger than two rooms sounded a lot more like what they needed. But New York still has a lot of charm and a lot of opportunities to offer. Be it old residents missing the busy life or fresh-out-of-college dreamers looking to make a life in the city, the migration back seems to be happening slowly but surely.

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About the Author

Michaela Smith is the marketing director at EMPIRE MOVERS, a well-established residential and commercial moving company in New York City, with over 15 years of experience in both local and long distance moving.

10 Tips for Hosting Your First Post-COVID Get-Together 

 

If you’re like most people, you’re anxiously awaiting your first post-COVID get-together with friends and family. Needless to say, you want to make this party one to remember.

 

With that in mind, here are ten tips for hosting your first post-COVID get-together.

Consider Your Budget and Location

The pandemic was a feast-or-famine affair — hopefully, you ate well and invested your stimulus wisely. However, you can still party heartily if your wallet contains little but moths due to using yours to cover living expenses.

 

Depending on your budget, you might do anything from a backyard barbecue to a full-fledged reunion. If you’re considering the latter, you may need to clear your property to provide enough space for multiple banquet tables. To that end, a skid steer is usually a good option.

 

Whatever you ultimately choose, the following ideas work for any price-point:

 

● Luau: You can pick up inexpensive leis at the dollar store or go all out and build a firepit big enough for roasting a pig.
● Sports camp: If you have an active clan, throw your bash at the home with the biggest lawn. If you have more cash, rent out a park, including the playing fields, and have a ball.
● Cosplay: If you and your friends spent some of the quarantine perfecting your outfit for the next ComicCon, why not show off your duds a little early? If you have deeper pockets, rent an outdoor screen and recreate the drive-in movie experience.

Start With Respect

Hopefully, every attendee to your first post-COVID get-together chooses vaccination, giving them extra protection against the virus. However, there is still much scientists don’t know, and not everyone has gotten their shots.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you are fully vaccinated two weeks after your second dose or following a one-shot vaccine. Until then, you should continue to take precautions such as wearing masks and staying six feet apart from others when gathering in indoor places.

 

Please note that if you take medications that impact your immune system, you are not considered fully vaccinated, even after having your shots — talk to your doctor.

Break Out the Bubbly

Now that you covered the bases, it’s time to party. Pop the champagne!

 

If you have the means, why not break out an exclusive brand deserving of the occasion. Please ensure that you keep a non-alcoholic bottle or two on hand so that even those who abstain can share in the toast.

Make It a Finger Food Affair

The centerpiece of hosting your first post-COVID get-together is mixing and mingling. You don’t want to weigh people down with overladen paper plates.

 

Get your finger-food game on-point. Treats like tiny cucumber sandwiches and chicken skewers travel well, letting people devote most of their attention to socializing.

Or Go Formal Sit-Down

However, you might have more exclusive tastes — or merely the desire to share the same table with loved ones again. If so, go all out with a formal dinner party.

 

Remember, much of the elegance lies in the presentation. A single scoop of ice cream served in a champagne glass with strawberries makes a 4-star looking dessert in seconds.

Share War Stories

What’s the craziest thing that happened to you during quarantine? Did you embrace those tips to plant a victory garden or learn a second language, or did you spend much of the time catching up on lost sleep?

 

Why not have a contest? You can play charades to guess what you did to fill the lockdown time or collaborate on a master list of disaster survival tips — like how to find toilet paper when store shelves run bare.

Play Games 

It’s finally time to break out the Twister again. However, it could take folks some time to readjust from over a year of restrictions.

 

If you want to be the post-COVID host with the most, make sure your event includes a mix of games, such as the Vertellis conversation starter game, the #1 game for togetherness that sparks meaningful memories and stories. Or play some other socially distancing friendly games, like Frisbee golf, while others can involve contact for those who feel comfortable.

Get Creative 

Even if you got crafty in lockdown, it’s lonely to knit by yourself. Why not get creative with the crew?

 

You can even build your get-together around a craft theme. Have a mix and match earrings party or a spa and wellness day — you can even make things for a fundraiser.

Do Some Good

Volunteering is a heartfelt way to give back as a group. Why not make your post-COVID get-together benefit a cause? You could participate in a neighborhood cleanup or help put together care packages for less fortunate families who didn’t weather the storm as well as you did.

Reduce Cleanup Hassles

Any party worth remembering creates a bit of a mess. However, you can minimize cleanup hassles by placing trash and recycling containers around your pad and establishing a soaking station for dirty dishware.

Follow These 10 Tips for Your First Post-COVID Get-Together

You want your first post-COVID get-together to be memorable and fun. Follow these tips for an unforgettable bash.

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About The Author

Oscar Collins is the managing editor at Modded. He writes about cars, fitness, the outdoors, and more. Follow @TModded on Twitter for more articles from the Modded team.
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