I am officially the mom of a first grader. Last week we celebrated V’s kindergarten graduation via Zoom, as one does during quarantine. I realize most people care more about high-school and college graduations, but we love to celebrate these moments in our family. Of course, it’s not what I envisioned the end of her first school would turn out to be. I pictured gathering in her school cafeteria to hear her name called and having an end-of-the-year party in her classroom. I pictured saying goodbye to her kindergarten teacher in person before leaving for the summer. Instead we left one Friday afternoon in March expecting to have a long spring break that would soon become permanent.
So how does one celebrate a kindergarten graduation on Zoom? Her teacher called on each student and asked them to share something they’d like to do in the future. It could be a job, a place they want to visit, a trait they’d like to have or something they’d want to try. Kindergarteners are fun to watch during classroom Zoom meetings. After seeing how her teacher really cares for his students (his first kindergarten class), I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. Sad for all the kids who haven’t been participating in distance learning, whether because they don’t have help from home, because they don’t have Internet, or because they simply didn’t want to. Sad that our kids have to miss out on so much. Sad that some people are taking this more seriously than others. Sad that we don’t know whether they will be going back to school in the fall. Sad that we don’t have the answers to when things will go back to “normal.” But at the same time, I am incredibly proud of my strong, brave, resilient, kind daughter. And I am grateful she had such a good kindergarten teacher.
