A Positive Spin: What’s Going Well During Distance Learning

Tell us @tryverima or comment below the little blessings you’ve discovered during distance learning! 

As if the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t enough, we now have fires raging in California and hurricanes and storms hitting the East and South. I’ve been writing about some pretty heavy topics lately and after weeks of bad news, I thought we could all use something more upbeat.  As my kids settled into their first couple weeks of distance learning, I started to notice sweet moments throughout our days that I would jot down.  For this week I decided to take a moment to reflect and compile all the positives that have come out of our less than ideal conditions.  This is a great exercise for all of us and I encourage you to try it!  Or add on to this list in the comments.  Stay safe and stay well friends.  

 1.  Our mornings are MUCH calmer.  I no longer have to keep after the kids to get out the door on time.  Gone are the screams of, “Where’s my shoe?!”, “Put on sunblock!”, “Hurry and eat your breakfast!”, “Where’s my jacket?!?”, “Come on, let’s GO!!!!”  I know if the kids didn’t get a great breakfast, they’ll have a screen break in 45 minutes to eat a quick snack.  

2.  So long as they change out of their pajamas (per school rules) they are free to pick whatever outfit their hearts desire without my complaining of it being “too summery”, “too wintery”, “too small” or “too big”.  Tops and bottoms no longer need to match, and who even needs socks?

3.  They can fidget, giggle and talk to themselves as much as they need without disturbing the kids around them.  Mark my words, these teachers sure are going to miss the “MUTE” button when kiddos return to the physical classroom! 

 

4.  My little guy gets to cozy up next to his big sister during the all-school assembly.  

5.  I get to be a fly on the wall and hear all the magical conversations that happen in Kindergarten. 

 6.  I get to be a fly on the wall and listen to 10 year olds make sense of the world around them and discuss their emerging opinions about current events.   

7.  I know enough about middle schooler’s day to ask specific questions about the content he’s learning.  (As opposed to the usual, “What did you learn today?”/”Nothing.” conversation we used to have.  

 

8. My kids get to walk the dog together everyday during recess.  

 9.  I get to feed my kids a hot lunch everyday and enforce that veggies get eaten and not just lugged back home. 

10.  No more digging through the school’s lost and found bins and having to inevitably replace said lunch boxes, water bottles, jackets, sun-hats and backpacks. 

11.  No one has caught the sniffles, the stomach bug, pink-eye, lice or strep throat! 

12.  I have not been late to pick-up a single time yet!