As a second grade teacher during this pandemic school year, I have had more contact with parents than ever before. My inbox is overflowing with questions, comments, frustrations with technology, concerns for their child, etc. You are not alone, and I just wanted to share some encouragement from a teacher’s perspective with you.
Your kids are resilient.
Your child had to learn an entire new way to do school this year. This has presented challenges and hard days, but they have also taken it in stride. I see them learn our new technology way quicker than I did, appreciate their friends and their time in the classroom, and show growth in all areas: academically and emotionally. Remember, tiny steps of growth are still growth!
Your kids (almost) did it!
We are SO close to the end of this crazy school year. If your kid makes it through healthy, emotionally grounded, and with some sort of academic growth, they succeeded! This school year isn’t about your kids getting all A’s, getting into the gifted/talented program, scoring in the 80th percentile or above, etc. This year is about your child learning how to regulate their emotions in a year that has thrown them off balance, growing in empathy as they understand they aren’t the only ones who are going through this, and doing THEIR best (which is different for every kid) in their current circumstances.
You are not alone.
I have heard many times from parents this year that they feel they are the only ones contacting me, feeling this concern and anxiety, struggling to help their kids at home with learning. You are not alone! Parents, this is the time to be real with each other, ask for help if you need it, and lean into your community (even if that community is small at the moment because of COVID). You are not meant to do this alone.
We are SO close to finishing up the strangest school year of our lives. Let’s celebrate the growth of our kids not only academically but emotionally and spiritually as well!
Share this post to remind parents they are not alone, and go tell your kids how proud you are of them for the things they have grown in this year.
Meet the author!
Becca Walker is a 2nd grade teacher in Edmond, Oklahoma. Her passion for kids mainly comes from the fact that she herself is still just a kid at heart. She and her husband, Brennan, love to serve in the church in many ways. Becca’s main loves are her family, her dogs Wrigley and Rizzo, Old Navy, and of course, the incredible community at Council Road Baptist Church.