“You’ll ask me when you’re older I’m sure. Why not high school or college graduation for a dream? Because ALL dreams begin with a stepping stone and this is yours. Some dream of puddles but you; the ocean. God knows you’ve swam through several already. It’s independence, it’s normalcy, it’s ‘just being a kid.'”
‘I’ll never forget sitting in a hospital room watching you fight for your life, wishing I could fast forward to today. Today wasn’t supposed to happen.’: Mom pens emotional open letter to son on his first day of Kindergarten
‘Welcome to Kindergarten! Look at my cool face shield!!! Maybe you’ll get an astronaut helmet too! Let’s learn a hand-washing song! Are you ready?’: Teacher urges ‘put trust in the gap’
“I wish we could take you through every single way we are preparing to protect your child, but we simply don’t have enough time. Put trust in the gap and give your child’s teacher some grace.”
‘I’m an elementary school teacher. I’m a week and a half from returning to work. The reality of school opening is hitting me hard.’: Teacher and mom shares realization, ‘I don’t want my 5-year-old carrying that burden’
“My daughter is starting kindergarten. She’ll be wearing a mask, staying 6 ft apart from others, and eating in her classroom. As we drew, I explained the new way school would be operating. This was now turning into something I never could have imagined.”
‘You may not be getting the best parts of kindergarten, but you’ll be getting the best parts of me.’: Kindergarten teacher shares touching letter to incoming students
“Instead of creating spaces to come together, I’m thinking of ways to keep us apart. I’m used to letting students know what the year ahead will be like, but this year not even the teacher knows what to expect. Kindergarten is coming and it feels nothing like it should.”
‘I can’t be the reason your child got sick and died. It would ruin me. There is no EASY answer.’: Elementary speech and language pathologist shares why returning to school isn’t worth the risk
“I’m going to have to tell your kindergartners they can’t hold hands, even though we spend SO MUCH TIME teaching kids to be friends with each other. I’m going to have to tell that shy, little boy who reaches for my hand for some security, he can’t hold my hand.”
‘You did drive-by parades and Zoom calls. You dropped off beloved stuffed animals. You are the only reason I can breathe.’: Mom thanks teachers for unyielding support
“This year, I want to return the favor.”
‘He screamed in frustration and my heart broke into a thousand pieces. ‘It won’t be like this forever.’: Mom shares difficulty explaining quarantine to her child, ‘How is he expected to understand?’
“’Mommy, I’m just sad and don’t know why.’ My heart broke for him. There were no goodbyes.”
‘I keep staring at our First Day of School pictures with tears of sorrow and emptiness. I know this is the right thing, but I also know it hurts.’: Mom says ‘our hearts and world are different’
“Today it was officially announced that the traditional academic school year is over. Students will not return to classrooms. Schools are closed indefinitely. Our son will not walk back into his kindergarten class. I know this is the right thing, but I also know this is hard.”
‘My daughter was separated from her only true friend. Her teacher. A person who said, ‘Come to me as you are.’: Mom of autistic child thanks teachers for act of kindness ‘you are our heroes’
“Yesterday the teachers and administrators from my daughter’s school decided to put on a car parade. As her teacher drove away, she shouted out the window, ‘I love you, Campbell!’ They all knew her. Not just her homeroom or specials teachers, but every single one. As a special needs parent, I can’t explain how much that kind of acceptance means.”
‘I received an email with the subject ‘The Preschoolers Hibernated Today.’ How cute, I thought. Until I realized it was a lockdown drill.’: Mom says ‘it’s brave to parent in this crazy world we live in’
“The lockdown was made into a game. Our kids had to practice what they would do if a person entered the school and started shooting at them. It will never stop breaking my heart.”
