Image Credit: Anna Prosekova

By Daniela Ginta

The way I see it

GINTA: It can be easy to cook up learning opportunities for your child

May 4, 2020 | 12:53 PM

THE HOME I GREW UP IN had a large garden area. As a kid, I’d join my grandparents or parents there, asking a million questions and indulging in seasonal treats: carrots straight out of the ground, most of the dirt removed, green crunchy beans and herbs, whatever available fruit. Then it was the chickens’ turn: I’d take handfuls of chickweed and dandelion to them knowing that by the afternoon I’d collect fresh eggs.

I’d harvest various garden produce for my Mom to cook our next family meal with, and then join her in the kitchen. So many recipes ‘stuck’ to me that way, and of course, the joy of cooking, mostly freestyle, which allows for the often needed ‘make do’.

Tagging along as a kid means you just learn because you do things hands-on and ask lots of questions. It takes a while to grow up – and I mean in all possible ways, not only by reaching a certain biological age – and you know you’re getting close enough when you find yourself grateful for the most amazing treasure: basic life skills passed on by your significant adults.

Life until a few weeks ago was so fast paced it rendered us dizzy on a good day, and for the most part made good old life skills unnecessary, save for those with a penchant for artisan endeavours. We could choose convenience and expedience, and with everything at our fingertips, it seemed almost silly to do things the hard way. That being said, my sourdough journey has begun long before the pandemic, but admittedly, more time at home means better loaves nowadays.

The Covid-19 pandemic threw us a curve ball, and here we are, learning to bake bread, cook from scratch and plan for gardens like never before. Basic life skills. Through all of this, we have our kids tagging along, stuck under the same roof, their lives, like ours, redefined by a virus.

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I want to believe that we will all emerge wiser and more appreciative of what matters when this crisis will be over, our health first; simplicity and being satisfied with having enough; saving rather than spending and shopping only when needed, allowing time for the things that feed our souls and inspire us to be our best selves. I hope we will get to help our kids learn all of that, including the ‘make do’ mindset which I dare say curtails taking things for granted and allows for optimism when optimism is hard to come by.

There is though a lot of worry about kids having to learn at home. Do they learn enough compared to when they were in school? Some parents worry that they don’t. It’s not the same, that much we know. There are incendiary articles about today’s kids being left behind knowledge-wise, and that puts them at a disadvantage.

I disagree. Sure, the number of variables that are affecting our lives, and our kids’ learning, is not negligible. Fear creeps in with every day that kids spend outside of school, but here’s another way to look at it. For as long as we keep them close, even when we do nothing more than just go about our day, because sometimes that’s all you can do and that alone fills the plate, kids do learn.

They’ll join us when in the kitchen, they’ll join us in the garden and as we tinker around the house, they’ll stick around longer than usual and chat because we now have all this unrushed time together. I am willing to say that the kids that go through this crisis will learn extra things, skills that will come in handy as they go through life. They’ll learn about resilience too.

Seeing their parents and other grown-ups being human as they navigate through uncertainty, they will learn to see themselves and others through a more compassionate lens, having understood that being human means you’ll show vulnerability and strength as you go. Sometimes one more than the other, which works well when you are part of a community and thus holding each other up.

The important thing is that they will learn, no matter what. School learning is important, and teachers are going above and beyond to make it happen under the new requirements. But do take heart and trust that learning happens as long as there are questions and the open-end invitation for them to come join us as we do things.

Last but not least, I acknowledge that one parent’s reality is not everyone’s reality. There are kids with special needs who now have but their parents as sole caregivers – and sometimes that is only one parent. If that is you, please follow this link to see how the government can provide help. Also, please reach out to the community for support, either through the Facebook Kamloops Caremongering page, or through www.KamloopsCares.ca. If there is one thing that we have learned during this crisis is that many people care.