Learning

n: modification of a behavioral tendency by experience

We are certainly learning a lot during this difficult time of quarantine amid the coronoavirus pandemic. We're learning how to pass the time as we stay home (thanks Disney+!), we're learning how to connect with others while staying apart, and we're learning to work from home.

For me, as a stay-at-home mom, my life did not change all that drastically. I do, however, have an extra kid at home during the day and we are not able to fill our days by playing at the park, making new discoveries at the library or exploring the zoo.

The biggest change for me, and the most challenging, is serving as my son's at-home teacher. Thankfully, Noah is in kindergarten, so I'm not responsible for economics or Shakespeare, but it is hard to get him to focus at home. At it's doubly hard when his almost-three-year-old sister Natalee distracts him whenever and however she can.

Recently, our Minnesota governor made the difficult, but not unexpected, decision to cancel the remainder of our school year. It's a sad time. For us, as the family of a kindergartener, our first child to go to school, I am sad that this is his first experience with school. He was doing well, making new friends, and engaging with his teacher. Now, it's just over.

As I struggled to find something positive in this situation, I got a big boost from a brief email exchange with my son's wonderful teacher.

I had some questions about how best I could help Noah while he works at home. In the email, I happened to mention that I was impressed by how much he knows, particularly with phonics and math.

His teacher replied, "Hasn’t he made great progress?! I think this is a unique time for you to see his everyday work first hand."

When I read her reply, it stopped me. This really is a unique time, and it's the perfect time for me to appreciate my son and how far he has come during this school year. I won't have this opportunity again (hopefully), so I'm choosing to see our time together as incredibly special.

To be fair, of course, not every day is great. Some days are better than others and we sometimes struggle with getting our tasks done and our work uploaded on the iPad. But each day, I make a point to really look at him, study him, and learn how he learns. And each day, he amazes me.

I'm learning that he's great at sounding out words and has neat handwriting, despite being a lefty. I'm learning that he's good at recognizing sight words. Out of the 100 words they are supposed to know after kindergarten, there's only about 15 to 20 that really stump him.

I'm learning that he's a good reader. If he doesn't know a word, he finds different ways to figure out what it could be. I'm learning that he does better when he reads to his little sister.

I'm learning that he can do simple math problems in his head, and if he doesn't know the answer, he's pretty good at figuring it out.

I'm learning that he's a great artist. He's creative, he stays in the lines, and he uses a lot of color. He follows along with how-to videos on YouTube and has created some pretty good stuff. And he's good at using scissors and glue.

I'm learning that he's developing interests in other things, too, like cooking and baking.

Most importantly, I'm learning not to underestimate him. He's growing into an independent, funny, smart kid, and I couldn't be prouder.

So as I mourn the sudden end to Noah's first year in school, and try to look with hope on the months ahead, I am thankful for these beautiful moments each day when I get to teach my son. He doesn't know it now, but he's teaching me more that I ever thought he could. In this time of distance learning, it's me who's learning the most.