Lockdown will go down as perhaps one of the strangest periods in recent human history. There are several reasons for this – social distancing, the PM actually getting COVID-19, some very odd home-made facemasks?
However, for one generation it will be the moment they realised their parents DEFINITELY don’t have all the answers.
We’re talking the dreaded home-schooling.
For those of us with children, our greatest fear (or joy?) has been realised. Never have so many people googled ‘adverbs’ or ‘trigonometry’ all at the same time. Perhaps it goes just goes to show that these things WERE important & we WOULD need to know them at some point.
So, how do we survive the coming weeks? Here are some tips on staying sane, making things bearable (perhaps even fun?)
- You are not a teacher. Don’t forget this, it’s ok to admit you don’t know something. That is why Google was invented. But, make sure you Google whatever it is you need to know yourself. The kids don’t need to be online any more than they already are (and they’ll inevitably get distracted and end up on Fortnite or something)
- Give them a break (frequent ones). Tea and biscuits are life in times like this. Post Joe Wicks tea and biscuits, morning break tea and biscuits, mid-afternoon tea and biscuits. You get the idea.
- Get some fresh air! School-age children are encouraged to exercise – including running around schoolyards like maniacs. It’s difficult (especially if you too are working from home) however, a walk up the road or just kicking a ball about in the garden is a great distraction
Perhaps (and most importantly) we need to remember these are unprecedented times. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Our children are going through this too and are in precisely the same position as their peers. As long they get their work done and maintain some kind of daily routine, they’ll be fine. Our mental health must come above everything & hopefully, we can look back on this as a time when we got to truly spend time with our children.