Parents, teacher and students alike will be celebrating these next two weeks as the official end to distance learning nears.

We made it through!

At times, it wasn't pretty. There were moments where we fell short, even doing the best we could. There were moments where we impressed even ourselves with our creativity, tenacity and our resilience. There were moments where we were humbled; humbled by our kids and how amazing they have been through all of this, humbled by the teachers and their ability to adapt, innovate and send their intentions of love and support to their students every day, humbled by the uncertainty of what's to come. And there were many moments where we started to appreciate, not take for granted, and accept that things will be different, thought it may feel like we're the same.

When this all started, there was an outpouring of love and appreciation for teachers. And rightly so. Teachers stepped up! They went above and beyond to make sure their students didn't get left behind in all the chaos. They reached out and made sure their students felt connected to something in a time where many kids and adults alike felt isolated.

A big round of applause needs to go to the sanitation crews, the kitchen workers who still made meals to send to kids, the bus drivers who delivered those meals, and to the administrators who got creative and found ways to recognize and celebrate accomplishments, despite everything being cancelled; No sports, no concerts, no proms or graduations.

Parents deserve a big high-five here, too. Most didn't sign up for a full-time teaching position, let alone a work-from-home position, or a front-line worker position. Parents became full time ring-leaders and jugglers in this Circus of Life 2020. We made it work, despite our own fears and insecurities.

But it's the students I want to take a moment to celebrate today. I have four kids at home, ages 4, 6, 9 & 12. I could not be more proud of or inspired by how my kids have survived and even thrived the past 3 months. Despite every change in plan, challenge, moment of confusion and frustrating road block, the kids came through, every time. They adjusted their schedules, figured out how to share one computer for 3 of them, they made due with what supplies we had in the house and did the best they could. And they learned a lot! It may not all have come from a lesson plan, or a book. I bet a lot of what they learned came from watching their families and neighbors support one another. They learned to slow down a bit. They learned the enjoy the journey. Those are important lessons that they will take with them into the world when they grow up. This time right now is shaping who they will be in the future. And we have, in a strange and bizarre way, had an opportunity to be a bigger part of that than we would have if the world had remained normal. So I guess there's kind of a silver lining in all of this, you could say?

So celebrate this week! Don't think about summer school or setting up supplemental learning, etc. You have earned a break. The teachers have earned a break. The kids have earned this break. So take it. Enjoy it. Revel in it--because we made it through!

End of year cookie and card. Here comes Summer of 2020! Cori Skall
End of year cookie and card. Here comes Summer of 2020! Cori Skall
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