With more school districts around the country announcing that fall classes will consist either of full-time remote learning or hybrid learning where children will spend up to a week at home at a time, increasing numbers of parents are taking matters into their own hands.

Some are forming “pandemic pods.” These pods are a do-it-yourself approach to restarting children’s academic progress and social lives after the challenging lockdowns of the spring. In these learning pods, families “bubble” together in small, closed groups to provide and share childcare, curriculum, or both.

These fast-growing pods come in a variety of configurations, as families build them out to suit. A similar response is occurring among online education technology providers and platforms, which are adapting in real time to create a dynamic ecosystem to serve parent needs.