I have been helping my Grands online to assist with their prescribed schoolwork…..it’s been a trip. Seeing their beautiful smiles each time we connect via computer screens is invaluable. Balancing being Gram with being their teacher has been the most difficult. Waiting as they disappear under the table, waiting as they have to take a bathroom or snack break, waiting as they become distracted by something that catches their eye, waiting as life returns to normal. I am reminded over and over again of how young they are, and how strange this all is.

They are 8,7,6 and 4 and I spend a half-hour with some and over an hour with others…..all one on one. As far as I can see they are handling this pandemic with grace, love, honesty and patience but of course there have been days when it is all too much. Days when missing friends, family, routine, teachers and life as they have known it gives way to tears, fatigue and frustration. My Granddaughter put it in a nutshell when she loudly proclaimed, “I am sick of this isolation!” She is six.

When I sense the overwhelm of loss, I am at a loss as to how to reassure and offer support through a cold piece of technology. In times of need, a parent has been standing near and offers a soft lap to sit in and some comforting hugs, as we all disuss the difficulty of life in pandemic times – through the eyes of a child.

I see times of frustration with having to complete assignments that were boring, easy and “dumb”. I get it… however, with encouragement, skimming over the bad and attending to the good stuff that make them have to think and engage, these kids have persevered. And they teach me every time they show up.

In this time of pandemic, I think some children are being given an Education that exceeds anything they could have learned in the classroom because “education” isn’t just about being a passive learner in a classroom. It’s about stamina in difficult times. It’s about resillence. It’s about doing your work while noone is watching. Governor Cuomo of NY talks about “reimagining” education and even though he caught some flack from Unions, I agree with his thinking. We should always be reimagining ways to better educate our children. It should never be a static “finished” product. We can always do better for our kids, especially those children who don’t have the needed support at home through no fault of their own. We need more teachers, smaller classrooms, smarter, cleaner spaces and a much more individualized way of teaching people. After all…..children are our greatest resource. Don’t let them be an afterthought.

I was recently cleaning out a bedroom where the Grands stay when they visit, and came upon the picture below that one of them had left behind….prepandemic. The artist didn’t sign it so I can’t give proper credit and none of them remember making it. But there it was. I hope you find your rainbow too.