The Lockdown Diaries – Week One

Our first week of homeschooling is over and I’m taking a moment to reflect. Prior to the announcement of the school closures and the restrictions imposed upon us, I was keeping an eye on what was happening in the news but didn’t think it would really affect us that much. How wrong was I? I was, and still am, fascinated by (and in fear of) it all; how the pandemic is developing, how the UK is coping (or not!) and what’s happening in other countries who are ahead of us in terms of confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths.

The Lockdown Diaries

On Friday 20th March, Olly finished school and was looking forward to staying at home with us. Greg was also told to work from home for the foreseeable so both Freddie and I now have a full household at home with us. All our classes have been cancelled so we are at home following the social distancing guidelines to protect our most vulnerable.

On Monday 23rd March, our first day of homeschooling started. I wasn’t sure what to expect as school hadn’t issued any work ahead of the closure yet sent Olly home with a blank textbook and some stationery. Luckily, we are all good for blank textbooks and paper as I stocked up in advance and have a million and one pencils, pens and craft bits to last us a good couple of years!

It soon became clear that we were going to have to add to Olly’s daily learning as the work he has been set from school is quite simple and will take him about an hour, if that! He needs occupying or he’ll get bored and irritated. Thankfully, there are a wealth of websites and resources available. Learning and Exploring Through Play has compiled a wealth of links if you need any ideas.

It started well but Freddie got upset when Olly couldn’t play with him. To entertain Freddie, I had to resort to putting his favourite TV programme on and then this distracted Olly. There were plenty of frustrations and tears. I was shouty Mum for a while and then felt guilty about it. It’s most definitely a learning curve as we all adjust to being in such a small house surrounded by each other all of the time! Thank goodness we can use the garden when the weather is dry.

Things I’ve learnt during Week One

• I need to prepare activities in advance or at least have an idea of what I am asking Olly or the boys collectively to do.
• Print off worksheets, colouring in activities or have workbooks to hand for time-saving (argument saving) purposes!
• I like my own company quite a lot!
• I need to lower my own standards if I’m going to keep my sanity during all of this (this includes toilet seats, mess on the floors and general chaos!)
• We definitely didn’t buy enough snacks in preparation for how much the boys have eaten this week!

Thoughts ahead of Week Two

As we hear more and more about the pandemic spreading, I’m concerned about my family. My Mom and Dad are both vulnerable and need to look after themselves. My Sister has an autoimmune condition so needs to be shielded for the next 3 months and my Grandparents are pretty isolated. It scares me that I can’t really do much for them except talk to them, deliver emergency food to their doorsteps and ultimately stay away from them just in case.

As we go into Week Two of social distancing, I’m planning on being a bit more relaxed with the workload for Olly. As long as he completes the school work and keeps himself busy we should be ok. If he’s calm, Freddie will be calm so I need to be as calm as possible too! And breathe. It could be a lot worse, if all we need to do is stay at home and look after one another, we have it easy in comparison to others on the frontline!