This past weekend, my family gathered in the coulee where I grew up to say goodbye to my grandmother. She passed away on December 16th, 2020, at the age of 100. At the time, it didn’t feel safe to gather for a memorial due to the pandemic.
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It’s 3:30 pm on a Monday. My 4th grader should be just wrapping up his school day. My 6th grader wraps up half an hour earlier and the 4-year-old finishes preschool at 4:00 p.m. But today, all three kids are home.
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On the night before the 2021-2022 school year will begin…
Like “social distancing” became part of our vocabulary, “learning loss” are the new words being tossed around to describe the concept that children are “behind” after a year of remote/hybrid/pandemic learning and will need to “catch up” in the coming year.
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Researcher Brené Brown posted on her social media recently: “Hit me with some situations that left you feeling bittersweet.”
The days leading up to Autumn’s birthday are always bittersweet for me.
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When I was young, if someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always responded, “a writer.”
It’s a natural question that adults ask children. They fill out “getting to now you” questionnaires on the first day of school or write essays on the topic.
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