I wrote a post yesterday about the “COVID slide”—the concern among many parents that our kids will fall behind (or more behind) academically during all these months of virtual learning. The truth is that this year has been hell for parents and their children who have been isolated from their friends and trying to learn from home. But a clear voice came through in the comments section on that piece—and it was the voice of burnt-out parents of kindergarteners.
Kinja user Fritz O’ The Ham explains:
You know who is being disproportionately affected by this mess?
Kindergarteners...
They have no frame of reference for what “normal school” is. We’re just about as lucky as possible, in that we’ve got a SAH parent that can be available throughout the day for the kids needs, and it’s a real struggle. I literally
cannot imagine
how difficult this must be for people who are working from home, or have to come up with alternate arrangements.
My youngest Ham is in K this year, and he’s struggling mightily. Kids learn at different paces, but what I’m most concerned about is the social shit. They
literally
tell the kids that they aren’t allowed to socialize on the Google Classroom meeting before or after class. This is to encourage “screen break” time, but honestly, I would rather my kid spend more time in front of a screen if it means that he’s learning to make friends, and build relationships.
I know none of us are okay, and that each family and each child has their own brand of challenges right now, but I do think kindergarteners have it especially rough. Remember how exciting it was to go to kindergarten for the first time? All that circle time on the colorful rug, the snacks, recess, built-in friends, and Big-Kid Energy. Boarding that yellow bus or skipping into a real classroom for the first time is a rite of passage this pandemic has denied them.
But beyond that, they are missing out on critical social-skill development right now. Learning to mute yourself on Zoom is a life skill we all need, I guess, but it’s not the same as all that practice standing in lines, taking turns, and sharing that are vital components of the kindergarten experience. They’re learning some academic stuff, sure, but kindergarten is really all about learning how to be in a classroom. As Kinja user BoredEsq explains further:
One of ours was in kindergarten last year and was in an amazing class with teachers who were perfect for him—we literally could not have been happier with how his year was going, and then it was dashed, loaded to Zoom, etc. This year, all of the new 1st graders are basically still kindergartners who haven’t developed what they’re supposed to have learned and developed last year, and this year’s new kindergartners will even be further behind. It’s just fucking awful.
Also—and the importance of this cannot be overstated—most of them can’t read yet. Oh, how I often take for granted that my fourth-grader can read the directions for all of his assignments and can easily navigate the online programs he needs to take attendance and complete and submit his work. But if (when) kindergarteners can’t sit still long enough in front of a computer to hang on every word of the teacher’s instructions, it falls on their parents to read through assignments and explain the directions. Which effectively, I’m hearing from many of these parents, means they’re sitting right next to them for hours, acting as a sort of full-time tutor.
I see you, parents of kindergarteners (and I know you parents of preschoolers and first graders probably aren’t faring much better). How are you doing? How are you getting through this school year? What has been working; what has been a disaster?
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