Teachers deserve all the praise and much more. I’ve appreciated V’s teachers before the pandemic forced me to facilitate my child’s learning, but now even more so. V’s teachers created lessons for the remaining weeks of school that contain activities for each subject. Each Monday-Thursday we find new lessons on her school iPad, while Fridays are catch-up days.
I struggle with not only balancing work and helping V, but with motivating her to learn. Some days she is enthusiastic and some days she doesn’t want to do it. That’s understandable.
During this time I have also realized how we are lucky to have Internet access and a school district that provides iPads for its students. I realize not all students have Internet access and that many districts around the country don’t have the same amount of resources. I am also grateful that I have worked from home for five years and don’t have to worry about childcare issues at the moment (besides not being able to have a sitter come to our house during work). I am thankful that her kindergarten teacher hosts regular Zoom meetings so that she can see her classmates and learn directly from him. He also checks in with them to ask how they are doing emotionally and offers encouragement. His art, PE and music teachers also join in sometimes. They all regularly leave videos on the learning app for them to watch and learn from. I can see that even though they are not teaching in person that they are working hard to make sure the children have the ability to keep learning.
I am also grateful that we can give them something to show our appreciation. In the past I would have searched for teacher appreciation gifts to send to school with V on May 5 (Teacher Appreciation Day), but obviously this year is different. We chose to send gift cards instead, which I hope the teachers will find useful. We also recorded video messages to share with them. They all seemed appreciative of the gesture. They deserve so much more.
Resources to help kids:
Kids in Need Foundation
Contact local school districts.
Share Our Spare is helping Chicago families in need. You can shop its Amazon wish list.