If the sky's clear my DC won't be in School on Friday morning

[Holepunch]

They're year 7 & 9. Both have excellent attendance records, no sickness at all this year (touch wood and all that!) and I have never taken them out of school for a holiday or medical appointment, except orthodontist who won't give after school appointments unless in year 11.

The school haven't made any arrangements to view the eclipse and the children won't be allowed to see it due to safety concerns, even if they take their own equipment - fair enough, it would be impossible to manage.

Anyway, this feels like an important thing to me, especially for DS2 who is astronomy mad and I think they should see it, so I'm going to keep them home.

Would you tell/ask the school in advance?

Would you take them in afterwards, for the start of the next lesson, or keep them home for the whole day?

Would you tell the truth about the reason or make up some illness/medical appointment?

Our school didn't appear to know anything about it. I called on Monday to see if they were planning anything (with a view to keeping DC off). They phoned back on Wed after a staff meeting and said they had decided it was too risky to take DC outside as some kids wouldn't follow instructions and that it would be cloudy anyway. She said they may watch it on the TV in the hall instead.

I haven't decided if I'm going to send DC in or not. We have glasses but head said it wouldn't be fair if only kids who could get glasses were allowed outside. No mention of pin hole cameras etc

DS's junior school are taking all 200 out on to the field after a talk from a science teacher. One pair of the specs per class. Am sending him in with colander.

I like the way our school is dealing with it. No outdoors viewing arranged, but the online coverage will be streamed to all smartboards in the school. Teachers in each class will decide how much time to devote to viewing, but everyone will get to see the moment with maximum coverage.

They have also said that Registration will not close until 11am tomorrow, rather than the usual 8.45am

We are all going outside to watch it. I hope it's a clear day. The kids have all made pinhole viewers today.

DSs school are taking all of the kids out in groups during it and the top set Science kids will be making a topic out of it

keeping kids indoors is STUPID

as part of what is interesting is the way animals react that you CANNOT tell from a TV

Brian Cox just explained and demonstrated how to make a pinhole viewer on TV
even Yr 1 kids will be able to do it

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2pZFdnsPGl1DDwH6pZbJKkh/resources

Just watched it . Excited now!

In 1966 I along with everyone else in the primary school used holes in cardboard to see the eclipse, no one got hurt. I don't think children have changed but I think teacher's these days are just scared.

There are so many learning possibilities, from the science, to the geography - how it was the first proof the earth was round, to history - the dragon eating the sun. How it affected superstitious people through history up till today with the Christian fundamentalists in the US saying it heralds the end to the home grown loon on another part of the forum who wonders if it will change her life.

Keep the kids off teach them science and wonder about how things so far away can make birds stop singing and let them wonder at the celestial dance that brings this to pass.