Working from home vs home schooling

Day One

So, today is day one of home schooling after the school closed on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic. As someone who is used to working from home for the most part of my working hours, I’ve got this. However, I’m usually, you know, ALONE!

After an initial ‘string’ episode two minutes into school time this morning, where my eight-year-old had a meltdown because he couldn’t cope with measuring the perimeter of a triangle with a piece of string (when would someone actually do this in life?), the time which followed was, in essence, not too bad.

I mean, I did have to answer the “Is it snack time?” question several thousand times from the five-year-old but, to give them their dues, they did get on with the tasks - set by school - very well.

I set up two separate work spaces for each child, and me at the kitchen as per usual, so we all had our own place. Then I cut out the ‘days of the week’ (printed out by the small one’s teacher) and I laminated them, cut them out and applied Blu-tack (other adhesive soft stuff is also available) and put them on our easel white board.

I then spent a few minutes admiring my handiwork. Primary school teachers, get me! I’m all over this. I’ve managed to laminate and cut out the names of the days, prepared by someone else, and stick them to a board. Impressive, huh? I also did the months of the year for the following day.

Pride comes before a fall, right? After spending this precious time (in which I could and should have been working) cutting and laminating to perfection, the five-year-old later recited each month in the correct order without even looking at said beautiful laminated cards. Great. Probably should have checked first if she already knew them. For that, I’m now making her learn to spell them. Good luck with February.

In all though, I did actually manage to finish my work to hit the deadline on a community magazine which I edit with reasonable success.

The eight-year-old went off with his farmer dad on the tractor for a few hours and the little one stayed here making a picture for her great-grandmother, who will be seeing hardly anyone. Later, both kids wrote a letter to that great-grandmother too. We will be carrying on with this for other grandparents and friends of the family as time goes by as I believe it’s a nice way to keep the kids in touch with them and thinking of others who are less fortunate at this time.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house, baking and mucking out the horses. We are very lucky to have plenty of space where we live in the country. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for those stuck in cities and towns with limited outside areas.

The children went to bed happy and fulfilled. And then my husband and I watched with the nation as our Prime Minister told the country we are now in a state of lockdown.

Day Two

This morning, the children learned of our new safety measures, how we are going to adhere to them and the consequences of these. Not overjoyed, they did seem to accept the situation without too much disappointment. To be honest, I think they are just grateful not to be at school.

I keep thinking, they will remember this time when they are grown up, thinking how much fun it was having an elongated holiday from school, being able to stay at home and watch too much telly, going out on family walks and laughing that some people had gone and bought all the loo rolls.

They will remember these things whilst the adults will recall the catastrophe of it all, the worry over money and the panic over shopping, business and health issues.

It will be like how I remember the 1987 hurricane and the year we had four-feet of snow in Kent. I was a young child and recall it as being fun and exciting. I remember all the family getting up in the middle of the night during the storm and toasting bread over the fire. I also look back on the days of deep snow as a great and exciting time. The adults, of course, think back to those things with the horrors at the forefront of their minds - the destruction and problems they both caused.

Is this a life lesson, I wonder? Should we be taking a leaf out of the books of our children by worrying less and looking at the brighter side of the situation? We shouldn’t forget or ignore the issues this virus is having on the world, but we can certainly concentrate on the good that is coming from it.

The NHS staff and all those key workers who are risking their lives to save others and to ensure the country doesn’t fall into disarray. Those who collect our bins, work to enable us to shop for food, there are so many who are out there making sure the wheels keep turning for us.

And the community spirit is fantastic. Hubs and groups are springing up left, right and centre to help those in need as we all join the fight again coronavirus.

Day Five

So, the novelty of home schooling has worn off. That didn’t take long. Gone are my flowery comments of the initial couple of days. How can I work and meet magazine deadlines, whilst I am also trying to home school my children, keep the house super clean (that’s not really a sustainable feat), keep track of the Tesco delivery slots like some sort of special forces operation in case, by some miracle, one actually becomes available?

It’s near impossible. I bet there would have been a delivery slot available had I looked earlier in the week, instead of prannying about laminating words for my child to learn despite her already knowing them. The children, it seems, suddenly hate each other. One just breathing is annoying the other one.

I am failing and I need to get out!

End of Day Five

Re-evaluation. It so happens that, after a gin or two, life is a little brighter again. Easter holidays (which means no school work - hurrah!) are around the corner and we can all relax a bit. I am reverting back to my previous thoughts, after my short interlude of panic this morning, I have now calmed down and I am carrying on as was.

This is fine. We’ve got this. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a long time. So what if I miss out on my family holiday abroad this year where I can truly relax and enjoy time with my loved ones, drinking as many cocktails as I fancy? I’m not bitter. Much.

In all seriousness, we all need to play our part in this battle and win it for each other. How often do you get this sort of time to spend with your children? My advice? Don’t stress about the school work. Play to our strengths. We are parents, not teachers. Do a little bit of school stuff and a lot of other things - teach life skills and have some guilt-free fun.

Take a lesson from your children - focus on the best bits, the good bits, the optimistic bits. And top up your gin. Now, where’s that string - there’s a triangle I must measure the perimeter of…

Copyright: Kate Williams