So the school year has come to an end, YAY for summer holidays....
We've received the emails of well wishes, safety and blissful holidays from the teachers, principals and schools...depending on the school and the teachers you've had... I suppose these well wishes could have gone along the lines of acknowledgement of parent turned teacher OR not...
Be that as it may, today I want to reflect on the school year I've had with my own family...
OMG, literally.... it's been a crazy, intense time of ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด and ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด in our home....
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด: we learnt that learning comes in different shapes and forms and when there is a common goal it doesn't matter what shape or form the learning takes because we all learnt how to achieve the collective goal of our family. Broken down simply, we learnt how to learn from each other on a daily basis....
๐ฅ๐ฒ-๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด: was a crazy awesome adventure... We 're-learnt' how to learn while leaning on each other.
In simple terms we learnt that papa, aka Frederico Carvalho can be teacher who can take his child on her first reading endevour, successfully reach the end of the book and advance to the next level all in French where mum's linguistic ability was zero. AND, all of this was achieved in the same 24 hours that exist in a day - PRETTY COOL..... Three cheers for papa, because all the while he was re-inventing his business to an online offering with loads of zoom calls and webinars because Covid-19 didn't allow him to leave his home office and I, aka mama was unable to reopen the SoMi Centre.
We also re-learnt (and this re-learning was fun) that mama and papa don't always have all the answers or the endless pot of patience that is portrayed in all things "positively parenting" BUT.... (drum roll) as a family WE figured it out...
๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: as a mum, I guess the biggest discovery for me was not something new to me but something nevertheless that increased my own parental awareness. AND that something was that my family is just a bunch of people brought together in ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐. In this belief of ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ I was able to adapt and move on a daily basis with whatever needed adapting and moving....in simple english , I was stretched and pulled in directions that I never knew existed BUT I tried my best to never lose sight of the reason we came together as a family.... ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐
As a woman I am even more self aware than I actually thought I was... There's only one thing I am 100% certain of and that is, ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ really does conquer all.
When I was stretched to the limits, only ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ brought me back to balance... OK, and co- mentoring sessions with my BFF who also happens to be an executive coach (lucky me) and a glass of chilled white wine...which at the end of the day are all routed in love, lol.
Thank you Covid-19, thank you school year, thank you family for all these uncomfortable, uncanny but oh so enriched moments of growth, love and rebirth.
One thing I've learnt for sure, is that educators, teachers, principals, schools can turn off the learning button when school holidays arrive but as a parent you can never switch on or turn off any part of your parental journey/duty.....
From the Carvalho household we sit uncomfortably yet comfortably in the knowing, that both our kids have completed their 'school year' in self awareness, confidence and love that only a parent can give.... AND of course with the acquisition of 'traditional age appropriate academic knowledge' achieved through parent led distance learning that allows them to progress to another school year and we cannot thank Covid-19 enough for this opportunity.
Cheers to ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ and cheers to the 'end' of a school year. Share your own end to a school year if you like in the comments ๐