How Virtual Learning is Helping me Reconnect with my Kiddo

Alright...I'm not going to BS anyone about this whole virtual learning mess. It feels a little like complete anarchy. I personally have no idea what I'm doing half of the time. I have no idea if I'm doing things correctly or if I'm doing them in the right order. I don't even really know if my kiddo is actually learning anything at this point.

The sad part about all that is the fact that my kid is only in preschool. Yes, I know, preschool is pretty basic... But how can I live with myself if we blow it right out of the educational gate? We have SO much further to go... if I drop the ball this early in the game, is there even a reason to continue on?!?! Will the janky "I work 40 hours a week, I'll teach my child preschool on my day off" education that I am capable of providing even be beneficial in some capacity? I debated this scenario in my head over and over again while I considered the option to just skip this year and try again next year. It's totally legit to give a preschooler a gap year, right?

But....Going against my strong fear of failure, and with the vote of confidence and support from my Mom and my preschool teacher friend, Mrs. Elaine, I decided to give it my best shot. It's more of a team effort anyways, right?

We are a few weeks in now, and surprisingly, it's not as bad as I anticipated... Thoughts and prayers to the parents of older children who have to teach things like world history, chemistry, or help with math homework. I am thankful every day that I only have to teach colors, shapes, letters, and numbers... Those topics are the few that I am actually confident and equipped to teach. If I'm being honest, Google gets me through most other areas of life 🤷‍♀️.

I won't pretend that I deserve some trophy or a round of applause for teaching my preschooler basic things, and I know that many parents are struggling out there with online learning, but I actually kind of enjoy this new and different version of quality time that I'm spending with my kiddo.

Yes, I know what I said. I am actually starting to enjoy virtual learning...

As a working Mom, I'll admit that I tend to rush through life. I follow strict routines. I schedule things down to the minute. I am up and to work before my kiddo wakes up, and I'm home after she's already eaten dinner. On a good day, I am probably able to spend 3 to 4 hours with her before she goes to bed. Our weekends are often jam packed with weekly errands or catching up on housework. Even my day off is usually spent catching up on things. But since beginning this preschool from home process, I've really held myself accountable for spending quality time working on teaching my little side kick. We work on lessons on my day off, and we try to apply what we learn throughout the rest of the week. We are also lucky to have the support of our family. We all work together to make sure all the learning activities get completed.

Maybe I'll be ready to jump off a bridge when we hit virtual elementary school, and God knows I'm terrified for the scenario of helping my kid with high school at home, but right now, I'm digging this preschool adventure. Preschool at home might seem silly to some people, but I am really glad we are doing it. As a parent who always worries that I'm doing the wrong thing, feeling like I'm doing something right is a really refreshing change.

Side note: HUGE shout out to teachers everywhere. Our super hero preschool teacher has given us SO many wonderful learning tools, and really helped to boost my confidence with going through lessons with my kiddo. In these unprecedented times, teachers have really had to step up their game and think outside the box. They have risen to this momentous occasion, and made a really impossible situation seem a little more possible. I really can't emphasize enough how vital teachers are to our society, and how grossly underappreciated they are. It takes a special human to teach children, and an even more special human to help parents teach children.