in April 2020, the Australian Jewish News profiled a number of Jewish organisations to show how they were adapting to Covid. Under the headline 'Thriving through the Covid-19 crisis', one of the organisations profiled was the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (NCJWA)

On March 13th, 2020, my entire life shut down with the rest of Massachusetts. My public school job closed, my university closed and my life began only existing in the four rooms of my apartment. My time became dedicated to my toddler, I became a stay at home mom, student and caretaker full time. The world around us had stopped completely, or so it felt. Quarantine was in full affect and people were stuck inside for months.Then, almost magically, our communities began to come together. I have witnessed some of the most beautiful things I for so long ignored because of the business of every day life, I witnessed nature and humanity again. I began appreciating the little things again. Quarantine had become a time to reflect, grow and appreciate the world around me. This horrible situation began to blossom into people supporting each other, clapping for the healthcare workers nightly, singing together out their windows, thanking each other. I share this image because I realized in the midst of everything that has been bad about this year, I’m reminded daily that there is always positivity in the world, even when everything around us feels negative.

I have become very passionate about this years election, more so because I am hopeful that as a democratic country we can all elect to steer clear of the part we’re on. I was eager to vote but my husband was worried about COVID precautions and people not following guidelines. We walked into our nearest polling place yesterday and we’re immediately asked to put gloves on, masks were also required but gloves were provided. They told us not to touch computer screens without them. We were lead to sign in and our ballots were printed. Next we stood at the voting boxes which were six feet apart. Naturally I gave my daughter an iPad so we could vote in peace. In all I was satisfied with the precautions my local polling place took. I walked out feeling safe and hopeful. I voted for the future of the country and the sake of my children. COVID has put a pause on many things this year, I’m glad the election is not one of them.

Scott Adams, a graduate student at Arizona State University, lives in Camarillo, California. In this interview, he reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected his life. He highlights the effects the pandemic and quarantine has had on mental health and employment. He also touches on the division caused by COVID-19, politics, and the politicization of the pandemic by both the right-wing and left-wing. Scott also describes the precautions taken by he and his friends to avoid catching the virus, and how the quarantine and the current political divide has affected their relationships.

This interview was conducted as a part of a COVID-19 archive project. In it she discusses her day to day life, how her life has changed since COVID hit the US, and how her home is coping with those changes. She discusses the effects that COVID has had on her family and community and how it has affected her son who has OCD. Lastly, she discusses her hopes for the future.

My son’s birthday was in May. We usually have a big party for him and invite all his friends. This year, by the time May came around, schools were closed so we did not distribute invitations to his classmates like we usually did. Geographically, we live in a bubble. We live in a rural community in a sparsely populated part of the country. So this year, the party was pared down, and took place outside. We invited only a couple friends who all lived within our little neighborhood and we had maintained close contact with since this all began. All went well, and for that I am thankful.

It was only the seventh day of quarantine. While my two younger children, (then aged 6 and 3) were still enjoying the "newness" of learning from home, my oldest child (pictured here at age 10) was done learning from a distance. In these three photos, I captured my son physically crawling across the floor to the dog's bed in order to cry. He would eventually cry himself to sleep simply over having to learn virtually. He had had essentially no warning that his life would forever be changed when he left school on March 13, 2020. He went from school five days a week, hockey practice five days a week, and a constant stream of friends to play with to being shut in his house with his parents and two sisters. From Day 7 (documented in the picture), he did not cope well with the change. This is the first documentation I have of what would be later diagnosed as his depression.

Virtual learning has been a pain in the butt for a lot of moms. I don’t think I’ve ever related to someone when it comes to parenting like I did with this Florida mom. Although my daughter is no longer doing virtual learning here in Arizona, I do homework with her and am very familiar with sight words. It’s funny and comforting to know that I am not alone in my feelings.

This mom has two preschool aged kids. One of them is not even a year old. She’s feeling alone, depressed and overwhelmed. Unfortunately those feeling are not unique to moms of small kids but COVID has heightened them. Social distancing means no daycare for her oldest and no in home help either. She feels alone because she is alone. After I saw her post on ig I got her permission to share her story. I felt like it was so important because every mother has had these days, weeks, months of “bad” feelings. Mental health is not something new moms pay much attention to since they have a new baby (and usually other kids) to care for. Moms are expected to give everything to their children and for their children. Sadly, society hardly ever pours back into these empty moms. This picture shines a light on the realities of motherhood and how COVID has made our lives more difficult.

This is a post from one of my favorite ig pages. I have not been a parent for a decade but I can relate to this post. It was a nice reminder on a tough day that our current “normal” is NOT normal. I appreciate all the optimism of people getting used to this all and calling it their new normal but I refuse to stop seeing this as a phase. This can’t be my new normal, I know there’s an end to it all and I hope it comes with a new government administration.

Here’s a photo of my cousin I posted on Instagram. She just finished nursing school in Mexico. She’s a single mom, has a full time job and is graduating with honors today. I’m so happy for her finally living her dream. Like many around the world, COVID has affected her graduation.

This picture is not only important to me, but as well as my family. My mom is a nurse at Centennial Hills Hospital and has had to endure a lot throughout this pandemic; this flag was a gift from a fellow family member as a way to say thank you for all of her hard work. Having a mom as a nurse has always been difficult, weird and long work hours calls for less time to spend with family, nonetheless I am proud to say that my mom and her team have been put through the ringer and made it out okay. The government has called for all new protocol within the hospital to keep everyone as safe as they can. My mom and her team continue to keep working hard despite all the challenges they and the hospital as a whole have been through.

My daughter began 1st grade at home through online learning. Her first day was July 27th, and she returned in person on September 8th. Trying to balance everyone working and learning from home was an incredible struggle, and didn't benefit anyone. Mom was working on her dissertation and taking classes, her dad was teaching high school from 8-3 each day, and she had classes with homework throughout the day. For a 6 year old who had no idea how to type, it was very hard to get everything completed. While we are glad that she is back in school, I worry about her safety everyday.

My family stayed mostly at home through July. I began my Ph.D. exams in June and finished them at the beginning of July. I had to work in the office of our apartment complex, because I couldn't concentrate in our apartment with two kids. When the cases began to rise in July in Arizona, the governor closed bars, gyms, and water parks. As a result my complex closed the offices, and I had to scramble to find another place to work. Thankfully our professors decided to give us 2 weeks (instead of 1) to answer each question, and I passed with high scores.

Angelica Ramos is a full time mother and student living in Gilbert, Arizona. She is studying history at Arizona State University. She is an Arizona transplant, having moved from her hometown of Los Angeles, California when she was 23 years old. She keeps busy caring for her two small children; balancing school and activities for her children, her own schoolwork and managing her household, all in the time of COVID-19. In this interview, she discusses her thoughts, challenges and feelings on the pandemic year, and what she hopes is on the horizon for next year.

It was February 22nd, 2020 in what seemed like a very normal day for my family. We were on a club softball trip with my oldest daughter in bright and sunny Palm Springs California. We drove up to Palm Springs in the morning and watched my daughter play her regular three games. Nothing unusual for us, she’s been playing travel club for two years. After a quick shower and out the door to join the rest of her team for dinner, I turn around in the care and see my very active two year old son completely lethargic with very little response to us. I immediately began to tell my husband that we needed to find an urgent care because I knew looking at my son that he was not getting enough oxygen. Not being from California, I started to Google “urgent cares near me” I found one not too far away but I was told they did not take walk-ins and referred me to another urgent care across the town. Furious, my husband drives like a madman to the next urgent care. The nurse immediately took us to a room where she said to me that he needed to have a breathing treatment on the spot and his fever was 103 so they would be giving him fever-relief medicine. After about thirty minutes-a albuterol treatment and two different fever-relievers, we were released with the understanding that he had had a respiratory something (they couldn’t tell us what exactly it was), we were sent to get prescription. Well as unluck would have us, all of the near pharmacies were closed. We finally ended up at a Walmart, who was also about to close, where I finally lost it as mom, crying and begging the poor pharmacist to please fill my son’s prescription. Thank goodness she agreed, probably because of this sobbing mess that I was. Either that was enough. My husband made the executive decision to drive back home to Phoenix that night. Twelve hours from the time we first left AZ to we were on our way home. That Monday, we took my son to his primary care doctor who also couldn’t give us much of a diagnosis other than he was suffering from a very unusual respiratory virus. He was never tested for COVID-19, but my poor son was on breathing treatments for a week straight and his 103 fever finally broke….5 days later. At the follow up, in the beginning of March, we were told that my son probably had COVID-19, although testing was not really happening at this time. My son made a full recovery by the time our whole State and Nation shut down. But the experience I had with this virus was terrible and that day that I had with my son was the scariest moment I have ever felt as a mom. I am sharing this story because one, I want people to realize that this virus can affect children and that it has also been around for longer than people may have realized.

I’ve felt a lot more stressed since my daughter started school this fall. I’ve also noticed that when I take a shower, hair washes out with each wash. Losing some hair seems normal, but it’s felt like a lot of hair lately, or at least a lot more hair than should fall out. It’s a really subjective measurement, but let’s just say it’s more than normal based on the past 15 years. I’ve been wondering if I should just shave my whole head and start over? Not in a midlife crisis sort of way, but just to start over with healthy hair and more vitamins. I was on FB reading posts in a mom group I’m in. This particular group is for moms who had babies in 2018. I read a post today that talked about stress and hair loss, and I thought…yes…I’m going through something similar. I’m losing hair every day, but I can’t even stop to deal with it, because honestly, I don’t want to deal with one.more.thing. I’d rather just ignore this thing and hope it goes away.

My husband is active duty Air Force. Most base housing is several miles away in Seaside, Ca. However, we were given the option to move into the historical housing on post, which meant my husband could walk to work and we have a stunning view of the Monterey Bay and Pacific Ocean. This also means that we must show our identification whenever we return home and obey base regulations. So must the thousands of language students attending DLI (Defense Language Institute). It means my daughter couldn't have a birthday party this summer. Students under my husband could head to a local pub or bar to celebrate their birthdays either. My daughter couldn't play on the playground with friends, and the students here had to collect their meals from the mess hall to take back to their dorms instead of chatting with classmates. My daughter couldn't go back to school after spring break and the language students had to begin distance learning and quarantine. As difficult as it was for my daughter to be without her friends, she could still play in the yard and hug her mother. My husband's students had to go months with no physical contact. However, these protocols were instituted to keep everyone safe whether or not they live on base. How difficult must it have been for base leadership to tell us families and students that we couldn't do the things that make us happy? That the mission must continue in spite of this pandemic? I don't envy their job.

When the stay at home order hit, I was in a tailspin wondering what to do at home. I couldn’t imagine working from home and teaching my children might last from March to September. Something amazing happened. For over ten years, I talked and dreamed of gardening. I recalled my grandmother gardening when I was a child. She taught all of her grandchildren her indigenous knowledge of growing food from the land. Working from home and homeschooling during the day, allowed us to take breaks and walk to our yard for gardening. The location of our garden in relation to home, work, and school was very convenient. Gardening allowed me to learn the different smells of dirt. The clay and muddy kind of dirt needed to be mixed with finer sand, manure and topsoil. The soil on my land was not sufficient for growing the plants I wanted. We worked early in the morning until the heat became too much to bear. Then we returned in the evening as the sun disappeared from the horizon. Our work included turning the soil, hauling in bags of manure and topsoil, and transporting finer dirt from areas around our home. Once the dirt and seeds were ready, the watering began. I never believed water smells different at different times of the day and months. In the morning, the cool crisp water smells light and pure. During the hotter times of the day, the water smells musky and not as refreshing. It led me to wake up early in the morning and come out late in the evening to water my plants. The smell of the damp earth will forever remind me of the journey of revitalizing cultural gardening techniques taught by my grandmother.

Women are leaving the workforce in record numbers. Or better yet, women are being forced out of the workforce in record numbers. Due to COVID, loss of childcare and desperation. I appreciate posts like this one, giving a voice to the voiceless in this pandemic. Women are being hurt the most due to COVID. At the top of that list are minority women, those who depended on industries like childcare.

My six year old (shown here) and my ten year old began distance learning March 16, 2020. This photographs captures my kindergartner's first day of distance learning. She found it new and exciting but that feeling did not last long. This photograph is entitled "The Beginning of the Decline" as it was the last photograph I snapped of her before she would be diagnosed with anxiety. Arizona State University, HST485

Story posted on IG by scary mom account taking about the grief some mamas are getting for sending their kids back to school amidst the pandemic. The comments also highlight other moms on the same boat. This point is pointing out that we should support one another and spread more love and less judgment. The fact is that this pandemic has hit people differently and some parents (mostly moms) feel they have no choice but to send their kids back or have a mental breakdown. Some are having to send their kids back to loos their jobs. Regardless of the situation I agree that we should judge less and love more.

Financially, we took a hit, so that put more added stress on me. Having my kids home, juggling meals, class work, homework, along with toddlers, a full time job & part time job has put me at my wits end. Not getting daily needed exercise or sun light... 4 months into the shut down, we tested positive for covid. I was the only one with symptoms & they were bad. I was in bed for over a week & with symptoms for 3 weeks & still had to juggle my daily life. I felt like i was falling into a slight depression. It’s been a struggle beyond belief. It’s very overwhelming & there are days that I just want to run. I don’t feel we have caught a break in any way.

CNN reports the story of Brianna Hill who went into labor in the middle of her bar exam, which had to be delayed because of the pandemic. Her water broke and she labored while still taking the exam. After having her baby boy, she continued on with her exam. This story not only highlights the wide effects of the pandemic but also shines a bright light on the resilience of motherhood and the power of determination.

There are two things that have marked this pandemic for me: sound and smell. He sounds of slammed doors from a very bored, angry, unsure ten-year-old boy and the smell of my late-night cooking. As a 10-year-old, he felt set adrift, when schools closed, and he couldn’t go play with his friends and they couldn’t come here. How do you explain the concept of pandemic to a kid without scaring the crap out of them? Because he was slamming the door to his room almost anytime he was spoken to, the dogs, of course, had something to say about it, because, well, they’re dogs. So, most of the day, there was slamming doors, constant barking, yelling (him), more yelling (me), crying (mostly me) and just really wanting some peace. So, I began to cook. Stock, one of the first things I learned in culinary school. Tomato sauce. Pasta. Cookies. Bread, and no, I didn’t get on the sour dough band wagon. And I would do this late at night. When it was quite and cool. Filling the house with the rich smells of food. Meals that have been frozen, stock that has been frozen or canned, cookie dough stashed away to make cookies later. I could think while I cooked. It was and is, my de-stressor. The picture is of one of my creations – “Ravioli Lasagna” – basically, using fresh ravioli (this is ricotta and spinach) as your lasagna “noodle”, layered with marinara, mozzarella and sweet Italian sausage.

My mother in law came to Arizona from Arequipa, Peru in Febuary. She arrived a few days before the news of Coronavirus seemed to be spreading in the United States. She has been an absolutely lifesaver. Without her, I don't think I could have managed, especially once school was effectively cancelled for my kindergartener in March. Having my mother in law around is like having another mother, another set of hands to help. She is pretty active and mobile, so she doesn't mind keeping up with the 2yo and she helps me take care of all those details around the house that I never have time for like cleaning, washing dishes, letting the dog out, letting the dog in, breaking up the fight between siblings, cooking, all of it. Now we split most of those chores, since my husband works outside the house. I couldn't do it without her, and I should say that we don't take it for granted. We pay her what we would have paid the daycare for the 2yo, which is actually a decent weekly income when translated back to Peruvian soles. This image shows that there are limited flights back to Peru and that Peru is still in a waves of curfew and lockdowns. We've applied for an extended visa, and I'm hoping she can stay through December. I know she misses home, but she's also glad to be useful and to be living somewhere that isn't enforcing curfews and periodic lockdowns.

As a mom of a 17 month old the pandemic had me unprepared for what was to come. My mind went into fight or flight mode. I had to get food for my family, enough household goods to last us during quarantine or potential lock down. The first 3 months I had to learn how to work from home, be a wife, plan activities for my son and have me time. Well its October and me time has yet to be here. Planning my days became harder and harder as I was constantly in meetings, while my son screamed for attention in the background. The day that daycare opened I was terrified but relieved at the same time because I had someone to look after my son. It has gotten better but I do fight some moments of anxiety. My mental health took a turn for the worse as I had to seek out help. I am thankful to my husband, family and daycare workers.

Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico implemented a secretive policy that racially profiled Native American mothers. As expecting mothers who “looked” Native were admitted into the hospital, staff would compare their area codes to a list of zip codes belonging to Native lands such as Reservations or Pueblos. After being identified as “a person under investigation for COVID-19”, mothers were often misled or were forced into signing a wavier that gave permission for hospital staff to remove the newborns from their parents after birth. The families were only reunited once the pending coronavirus test results came back negative. Test results took up to three days to come in, thus leaving the mothers in fear and uncertainty about the wellbeing of their child. Lovelace, Native American, mothers, healthcare, newborns, separation, New Mexico indepth, ProPublica, racial profiling, New Mexico

We are living in a world of crisis with COVID-19. trying to keep some type of normality for my daughter has been a little hard. Not being able to hang out with friends, not being able to go to the mall, amusement parks has been hard. Never the less I have found ways for her to have some type of normality (while practicing social distancing). We were able to travel to Arizona and visit family members, as well as visiting my parents in TX. While being there we were able to visit the NASA museum, Galveston Pier, and the zoo. We knew this school year would be different. Social isolation has impacted her in a good way let me explain. The last semester of 6th grade was not the best. She was dealing with a lot "teenage drama" which was affecting her school work. It was not her best semester but never the less she was able to get it together. As this new school year started she has been able to focus in her studies maintaining her grades up. I know its almost 3 months since school started but hey, I am optimistic.

Crowd control presses forward to end the assembly before it escalates further. A woman stayed seated as the world moved around her, and she nursed the child in her arms as her form of protest to the world happening around her as she knew it. Strangers joined her, seating themselves and protecting her and her child from being trampled by the swelling crowd. Twenty two people were arrested. The woman with her child walked home free. A surreal contrast in the beauty and innocence of children and chaos.

Crowd control presses forward to end the assembly before it escalates further. A woman stayed seated as the world moved around her, and she nursed the child in her arms as her form of protest to the world happening around her as she knew it. Strangers joined her, seating themselves and protecting her and her child from being trampled by the swelling crowd. Twenty two people were arrested. The woman with her child walked home free. A surreal contrast in the beauty and innocence of children and chaos.

This article is a candid look into how doing school online through Zoom has proved to be an exhausting challenge for children, teachers, and parents.

I have been working from home and caring for both of my kids with my spouse since March. It is challenging and chaotic, but also it brings a lot of joys in watching kids develop. Teaching at the university level has also brought its challenges and joys, but I hope that by making my own struggles visible, it makes me more relatable to students.

This article illustrates one of the main problems with fighting a pandemic. In order to completely stay safe, one needs to stay at home. But in order to pay bills and afford to keep their households going, one needs to be able to go out and work. Trying to balance the need to stay distant and the need to provide for one's family is a struggle that everyone is going through together.

COVID-19 had been set back after set back since March when colleges and universities closed. I was slightly behind as I was extremely ill, with what my doctors now believe was the coronavirus, in January at the beginning of the semester. I had been dreading this day since August when my summer classes had ended. I had to tell my parents. I didn’t know how so I had waited until I had relocated into Pittsburgh again and my transfer was complete into the pre-pharmacy program instead of the professional program. This pandemic and my lack of motivation had ruined my chances of going to pharmacy school. I watched my dreams slip one year further away. I had to tell them. I was supposed to be matriculating into the professional phase this year but here I am in my third year of college being stuck taking another year of college at an expensive private school. I had to tell them. Between getting sick and losing 15 pounds in two weeks and being stuck home for months, the pandemic had taken a serious toll on me physically and mentally. I had to tell them. I called my mom after she got out of work on September 2nd, 2020 and she could immediately tell something was wrong. I had been preparing myself to do this for almost a month and it still wasn’t enough to hear the disappointment in my mothers voice. My parents had never been anything other than supportive even when I made mistakes but here I was terrified of what might come of this. My parents and I discussed what my options could be, maybe I could concentrate on a minor while I take the last few classes I needed to continue into pharmacy school, or maybe I could take a gap semester and gain some experience in a hospital pharmacy. I cried and cried to my mom hating the fact she was disappointed in me and thought her and my dad would hate me. The next morning, after my mom had calmed down, I received the text message saying everything would be okay and as a family we would work it out. My family and I decided I would stay at Duquesne for the full year and I would work towards a business minor. I had to tell them and once I did I started to see the silver lining within the pandemic… I had never been as close to my parents as I was currently.

My project sought to examine and understand the historical resilience of Black motherhood and its relation to the life altering pandemic, COVID-19 and racially driven uprisings against systematic oppression; How Black motherhood and resistance through Black motherhood adapted, how it’s changed and what new radical resistance through motherhood was conjured in face of the pandemic and race clarity. As an autoethnographic account this research project was centered around my experience of motherhood and communal connections, as well as the experiences of Black mothers and birth workers. The political positioning of Black mothers was considered through essays and poetry written, as well as photos during the lockdowns in relation to the concepts of birth and death, the idea of radical mothering and activism, and the umbrella term of community.

Developmental milestones always throw off the routine. I deleted the “Wonder Years App,” so I couldn’t look up what is happening at about 30 months that makes it unlikely a child will nap, and very likely that they will cry and cling to you over the seemingly smallest of issues. It has been weeks of no naps or naps only in the car. This means that I don’t get my normal break in the day, when the 2yo naps for 2 hours and I can let the 6yo have her media time. This was our routine; this was when I got to knock out work in peace without interruptions. That precious window has been gone for weeks. Until today, finally for the first time in what feels like for freaking ever, Julian napped in a bed at home. Did I have to lie next to him to make it happen? Yes, was I anxious that it was too good to be true and he’d wake back up any second? Also yes. The 6yo, unaware that anything was different walked in the room and started chatting. I waved her away, and she ran off, presumably delighted that her media time was a go. The dog, ever aware that food was on the stove and that her dinner should occur in about 1.5 hours pushed open the door and trotted in. She’s stuck now. No one goes in or out until this nap concludes naturally. Maybe I shouldn’t be this worked up about a nap, but the extra layer of pressure has felt much more present ever since the school year started. There are more meetings to attend, and they all seem to last more than an hour. Emails can stress me out easily if they’re filled with questions. And the 6yo needs about 2-3 hours of support in the morning with distance learning and homework. Which is fine, that’s my job, I’m supposed to help her, but it also means that an important chunk of my workday is interrupted. And it’s hard to recover or snapback from constant interruptions. I feel like it's not possible to get it all done, and then I think...not getting it doesn't feel like a choice I can make. It all feels like it's my responsibility.

This drawing from the Seattle Times was released on March 13, 2020. Now five months later, this cartoon is relatable to mothers all across the country not just in Washington when it was thought to be the epicenter of the Covid pandemic. Our new norm includes masks, social distancing, and enforced closeness with our family. Most parents are still working remotely while most schools are still not back to normal. Putting the mom shame aside, I would say that after months and months of this I have found that too much togetherness is too much of a good thing.

Living in New Mexico, it can be hard to have grass or many plants due to the heat and dry ground. Between my dogs running around, the water needed, and the time it takes to have grass in the backyard we hadn’t grown any in a few years. When the quarantine had been happening for a while, my mom devised a plan of how to set up a sprinkler system to water they back yard and have grass and plants instead of dirt. The idea for a sprinkler system was one idea of many my family came up with. She ordered all of the parts online and researched ways to set up and successfully put a sprinkler system and dripline in. After receiving all the parts in the mail, my mom set off to home depot to get a ground trencher so we could put the piping underground. We had to lift and drop the trencher so the large dirt blade would create a path. She was supposed to get a small single-person trencher but came back with a giant and extremely heavy one. Since many people had the same idea of doing yard work during quarantine, the other trencher was being used by someone else. The trencher weighed so much and was so hard to move through the house into the backyard. We finished trenching by the end of the day and were ready to lay down piping. The hard part was getting the trencher lifted into the back of our car again, it was unbelievably heavy and it took all 4 of my family members to lift it into the car. We took some time and faced some more challenges when trying to grow a yard, but in the end, it ended up working out. Our yard now has a layer of grass and a drip line system to water other plants around the yard.

When first grade started virtually, I knew in 1 day that I’d have to homeschool my daughter. And while I know it’s the right thing to do for her, everyday I’m learning a little bit more about how to teach her. I started with the easy stuff, and even moved her schedule to Wed-Sun because I work full time and have to cook and clean and take care of a 2 year old, so sometimes it feels like there’s not enough time nor energy to get everything done. It’s not hard for me to get the literature curriculum up and running, but I’m lost when it comes how to teach math. I mean, I understand how it works, but I have no idea how to teach it effectively to a first grader who hasn’t done it before. I bought Cuisenaire rods in March thinking that I’d figure out how to use them over the summer. I didn’t figure it out. But, thankfully YouTube has some great videos that explain how to use and work with them. Yesterday we worked on addition, and today we started subtraction and it wasn’t hard or frustrating, it all felt kind of natural. So for the first time I’m feeling a lot better about teaching her until in-person classes start back up.

Kristen Krahl, of Chicago, posted footage of herself simultaneously working on her computer, pumping breastmilk, and caring for her 10-week-old daughter, Maeve. What we don't see in the video are her two-year-old toddlers whom she is also caring for while working from home during COVID. Krahl is being praised for her candidness in her now-viral video. In an interview with Good Morning American Krahl said she filmed herself, "to show this is what we're doing. It's what we're all doing. We just didn't know we could all connect on this level." Her message of strength, even on those tough days, is one that resonates with all mothers during the quarantine.

I know I’m not the only mom hurting right now. Many moms across the world in this period of uncertainty are hurting. We’re hammered with issues. Not being able to leave our homes the way we want to. Not being able to see our friends. The fear of sending our kids to school. Deciding if we should take a vacation to bring some normalcy back into our children’s lives. To improve our mental health. Financial stress. Stress about when this pandemic will end. Taking care of our children 24/7 without a break for the last five months. Caring for kids and working at the same time. Supervising our kids’ virtual lessons. Increasing anxiety and depression. The list goes on. This pandemic has brought so many moms to their knees. I see you hurting, exhausted, anxious moms. I see you running on empty. I see the toll that it has taken on our children and on our families. I want to offer some advice that I know I would appreciate getting. Next time you see a mother and want to offer support in a way that won’t kick her while she’s already down, rather than tell her to find a silver lining in this chaos that we are living in, simply respond with “I am here for you. We will get through this together. I know it’s hard.”

We had been counting down this day for over a year. My oldest daughter could not wait to start kindergarten. The full impact of Covid had not hit me until her first day of school. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I snapped this picture of us (myself, my kindergartener, her little sister, and her dad) walking to the front of the school. There was no walking her to class to meet her teacher, no in class-pictures, no watching her take a seat at her desk. Instead, we walked her over with our masks on, waited while she got her temperature taken, and then watched her be escorted to her classroom since we were not allowed in class. A week after this photo was taken, her school decided it was best to do 100% remote learning. Since she is only five, she cannot understand the severity of Covid and has a hard time understanding why she can't be in class with her friends.

When her son returned to virtual learning last week, Jana Coombs saw him struggling. Her 5-year-old, a kindergartener at a school in Coweta County, Georgia, was so frustrated with the remote back-to-school experience that he put his head down and cried. Jana Coombs story is not unique; it’s the same story experienced by thousands of mothers who now find themselves running back and forth to their children’s computers trying to make sense of remote learning. This article is an accurate glimpse into the home of every mother with a school aged child and how their lives have been affected by Covid.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked our world. We face new and unprecedented challenges daily. Amidst the chaos, I am doing my best to remind myself to lean into little moments of joy. I am a teacher with 2 elementary school aged children and a baby. Teaching my own classes, while facilitating remote learning for my children, and caring for a baby is difficult to say the least. Did I mentioned that I'm in graduate school? This past week, just when I felt that it was all more than I could handle, I captured the sweetest moment between sisters. While I can't wait to get back to life and school in actual classrooms, I know there are parts of this experience that I will miss. Moments like this are definitely one of them.

After a few days of online schooling, my daughter had a breakdown. She was trying her best and feeling frustrated. Her breaking point was finally accomplishing her task and not being able to get her teachers attention because of technical difficulties. Her teacher was congratulating all her classmates and recognizing their work but she didn't. She felt defeated and wanted to quit. I tried to console her and blamed the computer and not her teacher. She then decided to crawl under the table and cry of frustration. This picture is important to me because it describes how remote learning is going in our home. I have tons of pictures of her in front of the computer doing well in class, but this is a moment that happens a lot that I rarely document. My daughter knows she cant go into school because of Covid and understands as much as her five-yar-old brain can but she is without a doubt struggling. This photo reminds me that children are suffering just as much, if not more, than adults are during this challenging time.

Do I have what it takes to homeschool my kid? I never thought I would consider homeschooling, though I find myself in this unusual position. I am working from home, teaching online, and the current online curriculum isn’t working for my daughter. So after talking to one of the ASU JOTPY interns (Chris Twing) who also homeschools her kid I had the chance to look at 3 different homeschool programs she sent me. In the end, I liked the curriculum from Blossom and Root. It seems to encourage creativity and individual expression, and I love that. The math will require a supplemental program, but if she wants to go back to the bilingual school she’ll have to pass a math exam in Spanish anyway. So, either way I’ve got to come up with a Spanish math plan. This picture shows one of the activities from the literature lesson. We read two stories from The Meadow People, the “Selfish Caterpillar,” and the “Lazy Snail.” She had to make characters out of clay and retell the stories in her own words. It was honestly a lot of fun, and much better engagement. I love working, but this is helping me see a way to support by child and connect with her through education.

As schools closed, a more unique kind of panic that kept me up at night during those first few weeks, being the mother of a child with special needs.

Distance learning started for my 1st grader. After seeing the schedule, I could tell it was going to be rough. She’s supposed to be in class just under 6 hours a day. 6 hours on Zoom M-F. I couldn’t handle that as an adult, so why would I expect a 6yo to do it? The district handed out Chromebooks, which are fun for the 6yo because you can touch the screen or click the track pad, but ultimately the processors are too slow. It took so long to load Google classroom that I gave her my laptop, even though I really needed it to get my own work done. Most of the day was spent listening and trying to get the technology to work. If other students are loud or disruptive on Zoom it’s a lot harder to ignore them because they can directly compete with the teacher if they’re unmuted on the screen. The online learning program crashed for over an hour, so she sat and colored while we waited to reconnect. Maya drew this picture of our dog, yes pooping on a flower, but whatever. We resorted to bathroom humor to make light of the moment. The whole time I felt so stressed because the first day was uncomfortable and a bit boring. By the end of the afternoon she was supposed to transition into “special areas.” Today was music, but she didn’t want to stay in class. She was sick of learning on the computer. I’ll also say that the music teacher was a bit obnoxious asking for introductions and really digging in deep to people’s summer activities. I was over it at that point too. I really don’t care if a classmate is at a cabin, why does she need to sit there and listen to all of this? It was already a long day, and she wanted to quit. I logged her out of Zoom early and we’ll try again tomorrow.

The Caring Mums program is a service providing emotional support to mothers of babies and pregnant women. The program matches trained volunteers, all of whom are mothers themselves, to new mums with the goal of developing a secure trusting relationship. Through regular weekly meetings for up to a period of 12 months, mums’ feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression decrease, while their parenting confidence and sense of belonging grow significantly. Caring Mums adapted its program so that its aims and values can still be upheld during the current pandemic. We continue to see mums in our current catchment whilst growing our service into new areas, using technology, as we understand the impact this reality has on vulnerable and isolated populations, including mums already facing many new challenges.