"Alexa helped us make a very challenging seven months of second grade a little easier"

We recently heard from Andi, a working mom whose daughter Katelyn had a tough time shifting to virtual school in the fall. Andi said they both faced challenges working from home, and she even found her second grader crying alone in frustration. But a couple weeks in, Andi had an “aha” moment—and she turned to Alexa for help.

Andi and her daughter, Katelyn.

Andi’s experience, in her own words:

“My daughter, Katelyn, is in the second grade. I’m a working mom, and last fall, we began virtual school from home. At the start, I took two vacation days from work to sit with her and help her get accustomed to using the various new technologies and numerous other applications she wasn’t familiar with. It was incredibly challenging for a 7-year-old to essentially learn overnight how to create presentations and submit her work remotely—even figuring out how to print materials, like a math worksheet, was brand new. Clearly she needed more than the two days I had planned. However, I had to return to working in my home office as I also had a team and meetings to tend to, and work piling up.

Every so often, I would come to check on Katelyn in her school office upstairs. At times, she would be in tears because she couldn’t find an assignment, or her camera wasn’t working. Sometimes she would come running down from her office in a panic, yelling for help. It was incredibly stressful for us both, and the interruptions were constant.

We’ve had an Echo device in our home for many years. During the second week of virtual school, I had an ‘aha’ moment. I already had an Echo Spot in my office, and I quickly purchased an Echo Show for another part of my home.

Katelyn is at her desk smiling while her mom, Andi, checks in on her via Echo Spot.

Andi checks in on Katelyn via Echo Spot.

In no time, I set alarms and reminders with Alexa for when to start my daughter’s virtual school meetings. I could also easily drop in to check on her without having to run upstairs when I was hitting a work deadline. Alexa was so helpful and made things much more efficient. My coworkers even got used to hearing the Alexa chime, and would give me a moment of grace to resolve the school issue they knew was coming.

Last week, we finally returned to in person school two days each week. While I will miss my Alexa chime notifying me when Katelyn needs schoolwork assistance, I am also definitely overjoyed as we return to the classroom for ‘real school,’ as my daughter says. I’m incredibly thankful that Alexa helped us make a very challenging seven months of second grade a little easier.”

Learn more about how Alexa can help you stay organized and connected with your family too.

If you have a story of your own about how you use Alexa, we'd love to hear it and will continue sharing some of our favorite #AlexaStories. You can email us or tag us on Twitter or Instagram @alexa99 or #AlexaStories.