There were so many ups and downs this past year – times when our kids lost it, other times when we lost it. There were times when we might have questioned if they were learning anything at all. Pressure and frustration mounted at times. And now, as we wind down the year, we can think about the learning that is enduring.
Baseless Love
With the commemoration of the destruction of the Temple that once stood in Jerusalem, the last two months of the year (Tammuz and Av) are recalled in Jewish history as a darker time, in which conflict, brokenness and baseless hatred ruled the day. In this other dimension, we have harder days to travel before arriving at the newness and light that the high holidays bring.
What Your Kids are Learning this Year
And while there will be tons of research written about this period and the impact that it has had on our children and their learning, my hope is that there will be some research about what they did learn over these past long months. I think as parents, we learned these lessons well too.
From Fatigue to Hope
On this Tu B’Shevat (the Jewish festival that celebrates the new year of the trees) how can we continue to learn resilience from the natural world?
Mother’s Work
At the end of every day, when I have time for a quick call with a friend, I lament, “parents are in an impossible situation.” And after talking to this mom, I remember how mothers are feeling it most.
