School is Out!

The worst/hardest/weirdest/but definitely the worst school year is over!  I can’t believe I’ve survived my boys being home All.The.Time. since March of 2020. I can’t believe how good Parker is at using a computer and doing Zoom. I can’t believe how fast Landon can type. I can’t believe Ethan barely went to school in person until the last 8 weeks of school.  And I can’t believe Marcus made so many friends at a brand new high school while we were all still doing one-hundred percent remote learning at home when he left for Utah. 

Parker’s 2nd grade teacher was quite possibly the best teacher any of my kids have ever had and did wonders making the best of remote learning. We’ve dropped off gifts at her house and picked up gifts from her so we were able to meet in person a few times and I literally had to restrain myself from hugging her and sobbing on her shoulder to show my gratitude for what she did for my son. Parker had a rough go of things for quite awhile but her patience and persistence and kind texts asking why Parker wasn’t in “class” made all the difference in the world. Mrs.Russell will never be forgotten.  

Landon finished elementary school and only got a virtual tour of the middle school so he’s skeptical about his readiness to be in middle school but I’ve assured him he will get to go inside the school prior to his first day so he’s feeling better. He called remote learning “fake school” but eventually gave in to my threats and started doing all his “fake homework” so I think he will be ready for sixth grade. He knows how to use Microsoft Teams better than Ethan and has made some good friends that he only sees on Discord or Zoom calls. It’s cool and sad at the same time. 

Ethan got to ease into high school so I’d say remote learning was sort of a win for him socially but he definitely suffered through his classes. Luckily randy intervened and begged his teachers to accept late work and retakes so Ethan won’t have to do summer school. We hope going to school in person in the fall will motivate him to do his work because he’s a smart kid.  He enjoyed the free school lunches and luckily had enough friends that when they picked their assigned Covid lunch seats, he had people nearby to talk to. From a safe six feet away of course. 

So school is out and we are in full summer mode. The best part is HENRY IS GOING TO PRESCHOOL!  (I wrote that in all caps so you’d know it’s meant to be shouted with joy.) 

He’s happy and I’m beyond happy and it’s four blissful hours for a few days that are making up for the worst school year ever. Too bad it’s just a short summer camp but it will be three days a week in the fall so I’m taking what I can get and looking forward to lots of alone time in September. In case you’re wondering, I actually love Henry. He’s just really hard and sometimes I have to put myself in timeout so I don’t do something I’ll regret.  He spends so much time in time out, with or without soap in his mouth you’d think he likes it. But he doesn’t. Just ask the neighbors who hear him screaming. 

Parker eating our traditional last-day-of-school snack, cookie dough ice cream sandwiches.

So it’s officially summer and we are playing hard and enjoying the sunshine, the chaos, the beauty of WA, friends who live on the lake, and lots of boys in the backyard.