MY GREATEST BLESSINGS CALL ME NANA

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Home Schooling

A virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China was now in the United States.  A stay at home order had been issued to try to get the virus under control.  The children had been sent home with a note that the school would notify them with the next step. After about a week, a call came from the school announcing that children would be doing school online until further notice.  Parents could come to the school and sign out each student’s I-pad to utilize.  Now Crystal was going to have to figure out how to do online schooling.  School had only been in session for a few months. Emma and Jacob had just gotten comfortable with their new school.

Crystal put on her mask and went to the school to get what they were going to need to get through this. Luckily, the local internet company, in connection with the school system was offering free internet hot spots to those with low income.  Crystal contacted them to sign up for the hotspot.  She was not going to be able to afford internet service.

They had gotten up early to eat breakfast, put on their masks and took a walk in the park.  It was hard to explain to them that they could not play on the swings and slides.  Everything had been roped off to keep people socially distanced. Once they got back to the house, Crystal took a deep breath and told the kids it was time for school.  She explained what was going on and that Nana was going to be their new teacher.  They did not like that they could not go back to their summer routine They spent the first day getting their school space set up.  They decided that the kitchen table was probably going to be the best location.  Crystal pulled out each I-Pad with the instructions on how to set it up so that they would be connected to the online school system.

Crystal was glad that they knew how to get around the online program for school because she was experiencing a huge learning curve.  She was going to try her best to keep them on a schedule just like they would have at school.  Emma was eager to please.  She loved school and loved to receive praise for a good job.  Jacob on the other hand did not want to focus on his study.  He wanted to clown around and get Emma to laugh at him.  Crystal was struggling to keep focus during studies.  Now she knew how substitute teachers felt.  She tried talking to him, taking a privilege from him, and had even threatened to s***k him.  She popped him on his butt.  He was surprised that she had popped him. She had never whipped her grandchildren.  She hated it.  She had not hurt him, but his feelings were hurt. Nothing seemed to be working.  Finally, reaching her breaking point, she slammed her hands on the table telling him she had had enough.  He looked at her in shock as she cried. He started to cry.  Please do not send me away.  She looked at him shocked.  She took him in her arms and apologized for loosing her temper and promised him, he could never do anything that would make her send him away.  She loved him.  That night after Emma went to sleep, she asked Jacob if she could talk to him.  He sat up.  She asked him why he had been acting up.  He put his head down and shrugged his shoulders.  She looked at him and told him he could tell Nana anything. She would always love him.  He looked at her with tears in his eyes and asked why his mommy did not love him anymore.  Nana took him in her arms and hugged him tightly.  She told him his mother loved him dearly.  He asked why she had left him. Crystal told him she did not know but it was not because she did not love him.  She loved him enough to make sure he was with Nana.  She knew Nana would show him all the love he wanted.  She kissed him and laid him back down to go to sleep.  Her heart hurt for him and she was furious with Janice.  How could she do this to them?!

As the days went by, homeschooling got easier.  They got into a routine and the children started doing things without direct supervision. They were doing a great job. They started school out each day with the pledge of allegiance.  Nana taught them about the flag and pledge and how important they were. She told them about the story of the country.  The good and the bad.  They were shocked to learn about s*****y.  She was glad to see that their hearts knew s*****y was wrong.  She told them about there still being people that would try to make them think that white people were superior instead of equal.  She also told him there were people out there that would say they were racist just because they were white. She showed them in the bible that God had created us all equal.  She had added their bible studies to the school day routine.  Without studying history and the bible they would never be able to spot evil.  They needed to know it when they saw it for it not to make its way into their lives.  She wanted them to understand why things were as bad as they are and that there were still people out there trying to do good.

At the end of the school year she was pleased with their progress report.  They both had won several awards and would be advancing to the next grade.