I am sure there are many parents and carers who are all feeling slightly overwhelmed by the home-schooling during lockdown. I have lost track of how many weeks in we are now? Is it six or seven? All I know is that I feel anxious if they haven't kept on top of it so I have been making sure all tasks are done each day.
As far as routines go I am pretty relaxed as long as they complete what has been set each day, if they haven't it makes me panic. Finley is 8, he is in year 3 - his work is set via Google Classroom each morning. He has a maths task, at the moment it is fractions, a handwriting task, spellings to learn and an English task. His teacher reads a Greek myth story online and then asks a question which we answer online. He has done the Blinding Lights dance challenge for PE which we recorded and we've also been out to collect leaves, ID them then make an animal collage from them. His work is fairly simple - it can be completed within two hours each day. The aim is to get his work done by 11am so the next person can use the computer.
Shannon is 12, she is in year 7 at high school. Her work is set online so again she has daily tasks to complete. These come from each subject and there are between 3 to 6 tasks to finish and hand in online every day. We use programmes such as Hegarty and Seneca for Maths and Science. The work is varied. I have learnt a lot since helping her and I will often research things first to try and help her (and me) understand them. I try and make sure she is done by 3pm.
Keira is almost 14 and in year 9 - she has already studying her GCSE options. Like her sister, her work is set online - a lot is based on GCSE style questions. Her English teachers have been teaching via an app called Loom which is really helpful, so has her history teacher. They are currently learning about the Vietnam War in history. Notably, battles during the Middle Ages provide an interesting contrast to modern wars, and the former’s weapons, tactics, and power dynamics may somehow apply to the latter. The work can be pretty complex and I have realised she has far better concentration in the evenings (much like me). She logs on later in the day and will often work into the early evening. Keira is an excellent writer but does need help having things explained to her so I will sit with her and help her where she needs me to.
Throughout the day I attempt to do my freelance work, sometimes I try and do some before the kids get up or failing that I will work at night time.
The weeks are going very fast, Lee is at work until 5pm every day during the week. We are kind of used to this new routine and it seems to be working.
There is no news as to when the lockdown may ease yet or when schools may re-open. I hope the kids think I am a good teacher, I am trying my best!
We have been nowhere near getting enough exercise! The dog gets walked and we have been walking to the woods at the weekend. We have done a bit of Just Dance but I think I need to get us doing a bit more.
We have also been baking (like everybody has) and the kids have been helping to cook dinner. These recent days indoors have been pretty full on but there has been a lot of playing Minecraft and watching YouTube in between everything else. Plus, I finally watched the Tiger King!
One more day of this week's home-school and then it is the weekend again.
