Preschool Parents: Is Everything OK?
I wrote a post yesterday about the COVID slide – the concern of many parents that our kids will be lagging (or even more ) academically during all these months of virtual learning. The truth is that this year has been hell for parents and their children, who were isolated from their friends and tried to study at home. But in the comments section on this material, a clear voice sounded – it was the voice of the scorched parents of kindergartens.
Kinja user Fritz O’Ham explains:
Do you know who is disproportionately affected by this mess?
Kindergartens …
They do not have a system of views on what a “normal school” is. We are as fortunate as we can get as we have a parent with SAH who can be available all day to meet the needs of the kids and this is a real struggle. I literally can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who work from home or are forced to come up with alternative solutions.
My youngest Ham is in category K this year, and it is very difficult for him. Kids learn at different rates, but my biggest concern is social shit. They literally tell the kids not to interact in Google Classroom meetings before or after class. This is to encourage a “screen break,” but honestly, I would prefer my child to spend more time in front of the screen if that means he is learning to make friends and build relationships.
I know that none of us are okay , and that now every family and every child has their own problems, but I really think that in kindergartens it is especially difficult. Remember how interesting it was to go to kindergarten for the first time? All the while spinning on a colorful rug, snacks, breaks, built-in friends and Big-Kid Energy. Getting on that yellow bus, or getting into real class for the first time, is a rite of passage that they were denied due to the pandemic.
But beyond that, they are overlooking the development of critical social skills right now. I suppose learning to mute Zoom is a life skill we all need, but it is not the same as the practice of queuing, taking turns and sharing information, which are vital components of kindergarten. Sure, they learn some academic things, but in kindergarten it really comes down to learning to be in class. As user Kinja BoredEsq explains :
One of ours went to kindergarten last year and was in a wonderful class with teachers who were perfect for him – we literally couldn’t be more happy with how his year went and then he was smashed, uploaded to Zoom, etc. E. This year, all of the new first graders are mostly still kindergarteners who have not developed what they were supposed to learn and develop last year, and the new kindergarteners this year will lag even further. That’s just terrible.
In addition – and the importance of this cannot be overemphasized – most of them do not yet know how to read . Oh, how I often take it for granted that my fourth grader can read instructions for all of his assignments and can easily navigate the online programs he needs to attend, complete, and submit his work. But if (when) preschoolers cannot sit still in front of the computer long enough to catch every word of the teacher’s instructions, their parents should read the assignments and explain the directions. Which actually, as I’ve heard from many of these parents, means that they sit next to them for hours, acting as a kind of full-time tutor.
I see you parents of kindergartens (and I know that you parents of preschoolers and first graders are probably not much better). How are you? How are you doing this school year? What worked; what was the disaster?