Online Vs Traditional School

It is no competition. Traditional school is of course better in every possible way. Let's be clear of that.

Since March 2020, we have been on online school. Some days are great but some days I wonder if we should even bother attending them. Most of the time, I just wish and pray it would end and my kids can go back to physical school. They miss their friends.

Back in March, after being in lockdown for a while and not having any interactions with their friends and teachers, they were both very excited to see them online. I remember the first week of online class. No one was actually learning anything as they were just excited to see their friends and not focusing at all. Teachers also struggled to keep the class quiet before they discovered how to mute everyone.It was a learning process for all. It is not easy for everyone involved and certainly not an ideal environment. 

Parents are struggling to find a spot for the kids to do the class. Imagine having more than 1 kid. It is so hard to walk around the house when class is in session too. We have to mind our conversations because the other side could be listening and it can be distracting. I've heard so many parents talking in the background many times. I've even heard them shouting and screaming to their staff too(they were working from home). There's also connectivity problems here and there that parents need to be on top of because I can promise you there will be at least once when they cant connect due to poor wifi. We have to be on standby. My new job this year is IT Support. Gosh I hate this title so much!

Kids are struggling because online classes can get really boring sometimes. It is not the same as being in school. Getting the help from teachers is harder to do online than offline. Distractions at home too when the fridge(and snakcs) are just a feet away. They're constantly snacking throughout class and it is not so simple to just stop them from getting drinks during class. 

Teachers are struggling too. It is so much easier to manage a class on site than online. You dont know who is paying attention and who just doze off when you're online. Bless them. They do try and I do feel for the teachers. It is really not easy. They also miss the kids a lot. Most teachers will tell you that they prefer traditional school too.

On top of everything else..... we pay school fees to have our kids in school and getting all the benefits of being there. Some schools dont offer much discount. Parents are paying more to keep their kids home. Yes, their safety is number 1 in everything but we cant discount the fact that we are paying for something we are not getting 100%. 

I wish schools would be more understanding to the fact that online class is not for everyone. Some parents requested to pull their kids out of school (and not attend online class at all) but this is not allowed by most schools. The standard withdrawal procedure would apply in such cases but we are living in Covid time here. Shouldnt they take this into consideration too? Most schools are money making machine and fortunately for them, despite this pandemic they are still making money. I dont think this is fair.

For me, I am grateful that we have an option to send our kids to online school because most arent so lucky. Government school kids dont really have this option and some dont even have electronic devices to support online lessons. So yes, I am grateful that we still have this option BUT I feel the pain in the pocket having to pay so much for something that shouldnt necessarily cost this much. We dont have that option to just opt out at this point but if we did, maybe I might just opt for that. My kids wont miss much academically if I take them out of school completely. I'm not worried about that. For me, the social aspect of school is important too. But like I said, the policy and procedures that we have to follow is such, we cant do that.

I miss seeing my kids playing with their friends in person. They interact and play with their friends online daily but it isnt the same. I miss sending them off to school and listening to their stories when I pick them up. I miss seeing them do stuff other than being on their devices all day every day. 

Covid, please go away!

Adopt a Butterfly

A friend of mine posted about adopting a butterfly once and I was intrigued. I've always wanted my kids to learn and see the whole process but somehow didnt know where to get it from. I contacted the Butterfly Reptile and ordered the Pupa Set for my kids. 

This package is awesome because it comes with everything you need. I got 2 sets of this for each child. My daughter wasnt all interested in the beginning but when the package arrived (about 5 days later), she was excited!

The packaging was also very pretty and each set comes with a handwritten note from the Butterfly Guardians which had their mobile number in case you need to Whatsapp them for advice or if you have any questions. 

This is how the Pupa looks like. My son's pupa is green and my daugther's is brown. My son named his "Bob" and my daughter named hers "HC" for Hot Choc. I gave her the idea. I'm always naming our pets after drinks. (Our cat is called Pepsi and our rabbits is Latte). I think it is so cute. 

All we needed to do is to spray the inside of the jar with water daily. Every day, we see something happening to the Pupa. After 2 days, my daughter's pupa became a beautiful butterfly. It wasnt moving much and we were worried to let it go so I texted our Butterfly Guardian and they said it is ready to leave. Bob became a butterfly 5 days later. It was so active and immediately we knew he was ready to leave. I love the experience and kids loved it too. I might just adopt a few more.

This is Hot Chocolate before it left us

Goodbye little butterfly........ now fly away

10th Birthday

Yesterday my daughter celebrated her 10th Birthday. Wow. What a huge milestone it is for both her and me. I've been a mum for 10 years. I can't believe it.

She loves birthdays, this girl. She is always the one who will remember everyone's birthdays and will insist on celebrating every time. I love that about her. Kind of reminds me of myself as a kid because it is exactly how I was when it comes to birthdays.

She had an awesome birthday this year. Every year, she would request for a specific theme cake. We remember milestones based on these themed cakes every year.

1st Birthday: Mickey Mouse
2nd Birthday: Sesame Street
3rd Birthday: Gymboree
4th Birthday: Pocoyo
5th Birthday: Rapunzel
6th Birthday: Frozen
7th Birthday: Beauty & The Beast
8th Birthday: Unicorn
9th Birthday: Roblox
10th Birthday: TikTok

This year she wanted a TikTok themed cake. Upon doing some research on ideas for the cake, she decided she wanted her cat to be on the cake too. Balloons as decorations and marble skin to wrap the cake. What an idea!!! Our cake lady got a bit confused at one point. The outcome was amazing and I got the perfect reaction from her when she saw the cake. That made me smile!

We got some flowers too for her just for fun. She doesn't need flowers and balloons but I just thought it would be nice. Her grandma got flowers delivered to the house for her too.

This year, her birthday fell on Monday. We had a celebration with the cousins and family on Saturday before her birthday and that was a lot of fun too. She had a cake cutting session with the cousins and then another celebration on her actual birthday. How blessed is she?

Since it was a Monday, online classes were going on as usual. Some of her teachers made it special by getting friends to sing Happy Birthday during their zoom classes. She made sure everyone knew her birthday was coming days before her birthday and when they sang for her, it made her day a little bit. But the highlight of her birthday was when I surprised with someone so special. Her best friend came over to the house after online class ended and weeped with tears of joy.

She hasnt seen her best friend since end of February and missing her so much. They chat every now and then via zoom but of course it isn't the same. I told her I have a surprise for her and it was the last thing she expected. I was so grateful to her parents for allowing her to come over to surprise my little girl. It was truly the best surprise ever.

When they saw each other, all social distancing rules went down the drain. They hugged each other and cried buckets! Bless them. They spent the next 5 hours doing all sorts of activities together which includes jumping in the pool with their normal clothes on, disco dancing, musical chair, tiktok, releasing the helium balloons, balloon fight, watched movie and they laughed non stop.

She thank me for making her birthday special. But truth is, I should be the one saying thanks. Without her, I wouldn't be the mum I am today.

I thank God for blessing me with this most special gift. I couldn't ask for a better daughter. She's funny, she makes me laugh. She's cute, my heart flutters. She's the most caring person in the house. She always checks if I'm ok. She's always giving me hugs and kisses. The one who hugs me when I cry and always has my back. I love her and I can't imagine life without her. She's the perfect daughter.

Happy Birthday sweetheart.
Mummy is so proud of you. I love you with all my heart. I pray for Allah to always protect you and guide you on the right path always.

Happy 10th to us!