Eliana went back to school this week, and I am so, so grateful. For the last year I’ve been her mom and her teacher. The curriculum was through Hillsboro Online Academy, so technically there was another human on the other side of town somewhere grading her work, but I was the one facilitating the learning.

Being a mom and teacher are both super intense activities and I wasn’t great at both. Every morning I got myself and her up and dressed and fed. At nine, I sat her down with the Chromebook. After that, I encouraged and cajoled and helped and aided her along. Most kids might take naturally to one or two subjects, but few take well to all of them. It’s either essays or equations, most kids aren’t into both. Also I took care of Ivy, cleaned up from breakfast and made lunch around noon. I didn’t do more school after that because language arts, math, science and social studies is a lot. I had energy to go grocery shopping, or do laundry or clean one more thing before dinner and bedtime, but not all three and more school. There was no regular art or music or P.E. or library. Sure we had a shelf with watercolors and crayons, and there’s public parks, so we made do, but it wasn’t instructive or directed. “Throw the ball to your sister, not at her.”

Now that she is at school again, they have people for all that. There’s a music teacher with a room full of instruments and fellow that makes the kids run around outside or in a gym with balls and jump ropes. They have cafeteria workers and a room of books for children called a library. Then a big, yellow bus brings her home again. It’s great, people should know about and appreciate schools.

We’re doing it with masks and social distancing, and I am not mad they take health seriously. Yes it’s annoying, but so is going to hospitals.

My daughter has also already made a new friend this year, “Khloe with a K”. We didn’t have one of those at home, so I grateful for that too. I am happy to just be a regular mom again and not also an elementary school teacher. Cheers everyone!