Twas the night before the first day of school. Any other (normal) year, brand new backpacks would be filled with all of the required school supplies and lunches would be packed. Outfits would be folded and fresh sneakers laid out perfectly, ready to go. Anxious little minds would be asking many questions about their new teachers and wondering which friends they will see in their classrooms. Bedtime would be by 9, in hopes of a drama free morning and timely bus stop arrival. They wouldn’t fall asleep at 9 though. I would have decorated the chalkboard with the year and kid’s grades. While stressful and chaotic, the eve of the first day back is always filled with excitement and anticipation.
This year will be quite different and so surreal for many of us. My kids will be learning virtually until at least Halloween and the back to school thrill is just not the same. On a recent Target run, I glanced at the kids clothes and kept walking. I looked at school supplies and colorful desk accessories. I didn’t buy anything new (luckily I went on a little shopping spree a few weeks ago…which is ironic because I am always SO last minute). The typical back-to-school buzz at Target was non-existent. It was mostly other moms, like me, wandering around wandering “WTF is really happening?”
How are we supposed to make our children psyched to learn when it is really just a continuation of their quarantined spring semesters? Completely online, our little Zoom zombies craved human interaction then and unfortunately it will be happening again. While I am pro-virtual school during this pandemic, it doesn’t mean that I have to like it. I am upset that my kids will not get that rush of walking into their new classrooms, being greeted by enthusiastic teachers, and seeing new and familiar faces. It kills me that instead of eating lunch with their buddies, they will be eating at home with us, at the same kitchen table we have been sitting at the last almost 6 months. The fact that they will be in front of screens for 6+ hours a day is not ideal, but it is what it is.
I have six days to organize notebooks, pencils, folders and create adequate working spaces for the kids. Luckily, I have a 5th grader who is pretty self sufficient. My 2nd grader is another story and will need a lot of attention and guidance (deep breaths). Other parents will have even more obstacles, especially my best friend from grade school. She is a teacher, and on top of that she has a Kindergartener, 2nd grader, 5th grader and 7th grader. Balancing all of that is just a lot and I hope for patience and stress-free days for all of us.
In less than a week, we will be doing the school year bed-time routine with the kids. Instead of packing backpacks, I will be organizing their desks and making sure we have all of the computer passwords written down. No lunches will need to be packed. Instead of new outfits, they will wear their summer uniforms- t shirts and bike shorts for her, mesh shorts for him. I will do my best to make it as exciting as possible. For now, all we can do as parents is support one another and accept that the 2020-2021 school year will be full of ups and downs and hurdles. We are all in this together and need to be positive, patient and show love to our little learners…they need it the most.
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