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🙏🏻

I’ve lost a year with my kids battling over school and I’m done.

My seven year old and I were in the midst of our usual asynchronous day battle. I had his writing homework in my hand from school. He’d written several full, well-thought-out sentences.

But he won’t do the same for me, at least not without a fight.

I told him he didn’t have to write about his best day like his teacher asked, he could write about his worst. He could write about whatever he wanted as long as he wrote a few sentences.

He said he’d get in trouble. He said he was doing a bad job in first grade. He was on the brink of tears but didn’t know why.

And it hit me.

Instead of getting frustrated and pushing the assignment, I sat down with him at his desk in his superhero bedroom.

I said “you won’t get in trouble and you can’t fail first grade. In fact, you’re kind of a superhero yourself.”

He sat up in his chair just a little and looked at me with disbelief.

I said, “Do you know that no kids in the history of kids have ever had to do what you’re doing right now? No kids in the history of kids have ever had to do school at home, sitting in their bedroom, watching their teacher on a computer. You and your friends are making history.”

A visible weight lifted from his seven year old shoulders, “What does that mean?”

I told him it means I haven’t given him nearly enough credit for rolling with the punches. I told him how proud I am of him and his friends. That kids this year are doing the impossible and they’re doing a really great job.

I apologized for not saying it sooner and more often. A little tear fell down his cheek.

We’ve thanked everyone from healthcare workers to grocery store employees but we haven’t thanked the kids enough for bearing the burden of what we’ve put on their shoulders this year.

We’ve said kids are resilient, and they are. But they are the real superheroes in this whole scenario for having ZERO say in their lives but doing their best to adjust every day.

We closed his school-issued laptop and spent the rest of the day playing. This was supposed to be temporary and here we are a year later still trying to hold our head above water.

This is our home and I won’t turn it into a battle ground anymore over something we can’t control. Something that no longer makes sense.

Hug your little superheroes today and don’t forget to cut them the slack we’ve given everyone else.

Join me in the trenches at Christine Derengowski, Writer !!

AT-HOME LEARNING HACK: Did you know that singing nursery rhymes is an important exercise in your child's learning? While popular in the pre-school and kindergarten classroom, singing these tunes at home will help build your child's PHONEMIC AWARENESS.

Phonemic Awareness is one of the key components to help prepare your child for reading. When a child practices phonemic awareness, they are exercising hearing, identifying, and manipulating units of sound(vowels, consonants, identifying syllables, etc.).

Check out this article to start singing tunes with your child today: https://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/best-nursery-rhymes-for-toddlers/

AT-HOME LEARNING HACK : The benefits of providing a "Reading Log" for your child are immense! This small task will further incentivize reading for your child. When a page of their reading log is complete, offer them a prize, such as going out for ice cream, a new toy, or a break from chores.

Frequent readers at young ages often see improvements in concentration, vocabulary, language, and have more developed imagination and empathetic traits. (https://www.cameverlands.org.uk/10-benefits-of-reading/).

This hack will encourage your children to read, and help them feel proud of their learning growth! :)

Have you ever heard of the "Mozart Effect"? Studies show that students who play the piano scored 34% higher than those who don't.

Don't worry! If your child isn't musically inclined, there's no need to panic.

The study of music has been known to increase childhood development in CONCENTRATION. It also helps contribute to a skill needed for Math: SPATIAL REASONING.

"There is more to playing the piano than merely tapping the keys, you also must read and appreciate the music which takes a lot of focus. The pianist must understand the note and rhythm, translating it into movements on the keyboard."

Read more below:

Article: shorturl.at/zEX79

Mozart Effect: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281386/

With over 5+ Years experience, SG Tutoring is officially starting to brand its services this month. We are offering discounted rates for the month of September in celebration. Feel free to schedule a consultation with us now :)