Twenty-four more days in the school year. A school year like no other.

Teaching children to count and add, read and write, question, analyze, synthesize the data flying at them over the broadband – a school year like no other.

Teaching children to care and share, take turns and listen, with the friends they never met in person, smiling at them over the wifi – a school year like no other.

Teaching them to believe in themselves, feed their brain, try their best with only a camera, fancy graphics on a google slide, and my exhausted self oozing enthusiasm over the internet feed – a school year like no other.

On this 158th (twenty-four more) day of school we held an author’s chair. With the glory of technology, their beautiful publications projected onto everyone’s screen, while they proudly read their own narrative creation. Most of them successful, some needing a gentle prompt to help them read their own writing. All of them original, all of them their best work, all of them the reason I teach. Their pride and excitement at showing what they can do also made this a school year like no other.

Because despite doing what no children have ever had to do before, they did it, they did it well, and they were happy.

I could say I am counting down because this school year, like no other, has utterly drained teachers. Or that I am counting down because the screen-time headaches have got to go. Or that I am counting down because a sedentary job is detrimental to my health and driving me insane. Or that factors above my head and out of my hands continue to make this harder to do, even when it couldn’t possibly be any more difficult.

I could be counting down because we just all deserve a break.

But I am also counting down because, like in any school year, you realize you will never have this group of children again in your life. This may be the last time many of them share a class together. Some may even move away. And even a tired teacher will miss seeing their faces every day. This is the life of Kindergarten teacher – to introduce these young hearts to school life, to become so connected, invested, work so hard for, and finally say good-bye to these beautiful souls. Even more special because of a year we shared like no other.

Twenty-four days.