Back to School (Part 3): The Lessons Have Begun!

Hello, friends! 

Well, the day finally came! Tuesday was Ezra's first day of school! We moved his desk downstairs, set up his school issued iPad, and he was ready to go! 

Friends, Ezra has been a champ. As much as a kindergartener can sit still, he's been able to focus. He's doing his assignments and enjoying the learning. Of course, it's been not just learning for him, but learning for Megan and me too. Here are a few lessons we've picked up after the first few days: 

- We did the right thing by putting Ezra in kindergarten now. Since Ezra was born in July, we had the option of enrolling him in kindergarten this year or waiting until next year. Especially after COVID hit, there was a real temptation to wait until next year but we decided to go for it this year. We're really glad that we did because at this point, he is crushing the academic material. Of course, it's just the first few days and everyone thinks that their child is a genius, but we're sure that if we waited a year, he'd be bored out of his mind. 

- Kindergarten teachers are superheros. Ezra's teacher, Miss Long, has the patience of a Zen master. All throughout the day, we're hearing kids interrupting the lessons and asking questions. Miss Long has been doing a great job of being patient with the kids and keeping them on task. Megan and I both agree that it's a job we probably wouldn't be able to do well. 

- Remote learning is full-time work for parents too. Tuesday and Wednesday, Megan was on Ezra duty. Today was my day. I was still able to get some stuff done but it certainly wasn't as much as if I was just working today. I moved all my meetings off today and I'm glad that I did. Ezra's schedule goes roughly 60 minutes on then 20 minutes off with a homework assignment before each break. During the 60 minutes on, Ezra does a great job. During the 20 minutes off, he still does great, but he needs a little help with his homework and getting a snack. Keeping up with him isnt' hard, it's just time consuming. 

Right now, with a few days under our belt, we're trying to figure out what the best path forward is for the rest of this first quarter. We have another family we know who is in a similar boat and so we may try to coordinate something together. What we do know is that Ezra appears to be doing well and everyone is learning a lot. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam