Well, I am delighted to say that we have finished our homeschooling for the second week of the Covid-19 lockdown and honestly, this Easter holiday couldn’t have come soon enough.
On the whole, the children have adapted really well to schooling at home, before our first day I set the boundaries that our day would start exactly the same as normal. Getting up at the same time, getting ready for the day, having breakfast and making their beds. I think this helped them to understand, this wasn’t a holiday.
What I have loved about lockdown
- First and foremost I have loved spending time with the Beans. They are a spirited bunch and have a great sense of humour so we have definitely had lots of laughs.
- PE with Joe – I have really enjoyed getting back into my fitness since September so one aspect of lockdown which really worried me was how I was going to be able to keep up my fitness. We have done PE with Joe every day apart from one so far and it definitely gets our days off to a great start.
- Online classes – as well as PE with Joe I have been able to take part in online classes with my local gym. Lillie has been able to continue her Tang Soo too. I am now looking into the online classes for the boys’ karate lessons.
- Daily walks – as a family, we do love to be outdoors and this has been perhaps the only part of our day which has felt ‘normal’. We are lucky enough to live close to lots of open countryside so we are able to walk for miles and barely meet another person.
- Disney+ Just before the schools broke up I decided to treat the family to Disney+ since we wouldn’t be able to visit the cinema anymore. We love all things Disney, Marvel and Star Wars so this has lots of great stuff to keep us occupied at the end of our school day when warming up after our walk.
- Speaking with family and friends online – it’s never going to be the same as face to face but we are lucky to live in a time when this type of contact is possible and important.
- Playing board games – not having to rush around from one afterschool club to another has afforded us the time to sit down and play board games together. We have quite the collection so it should be a good while before we get fed up with our options.
- The Beans have got on better than I expected – I really should give them more credit. Especially when one of them has got stuck with their schoolwork and I haven’t been able to explain in a way they understand. Lillie or Ollie have stepped in so many times and taken over, being able to explain it so much better than I could.
- Baking – well not so much me but the Beans. We have sorted out a timetable so that the Beans can take it in turns to do baking each week. Last week Ollie made delicious chocolate brownies, this week Albie tells me he is making chocolate cake . . . thank goodness for PE with Joe!
What I have found difficult about lockdown
- Being a homeschooling Mum. Hands up this is something I have considered many times over the years. Whilst it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be, it hasn’t always been easy. I had an idea in my mind about how I would do things whilst they were out of school but with the school sending work through every day I don’t feel like we have had the freedom to homeschool as I would like to and this has felt quite suffocating at times.
- When they just don’t get it! There are always going to be things that the children just don’t understand. I want to be able to help them but I’m not a teacher and things have changed a lot from when I was in school. See above where they step in and help each other!
- Not seeing family and friends. This is perhaps the hardest thing for me, especially when it comes to my Mum.
- Avoiding the snack cupboard. Seriously, I had such good intentions but it’s so close to the kettle!
- Not getting my sports massage. For years I have struggled with a bad neck and back. Last year I started to have regular sports massages and was finally feeling the benefits of it. Sitting on rubbish kitchen chairs for the majority of the day and leaning over school books with the children is not doing me a lot of good so my neck and back are suffering.
- Reading the daily count rise and hearing about how many families have lost loved ones. I have found it particularly upsetting to read about children especially knowing they aren’t allowed their families by their side, this is just heartbreaking.
- So much negativity online.
Let the Easter holidays begin
All that said, it’s now time for our Easter holidays to begin. Obviously we will not be going camping as we had previously planned, although maybe camping in the garden is an option? At least the amenities block will be close by?
We are planning on doing lots of crafting, a bit of decorating thanks to a teething puppy and hopefully making more happy memories together. The Beans have talked about starting their own blog to record their experience of life in lockdown so looks like I might be doing that too.
Oh yes, and eating lots of chocolate and celebrating Hubby’s birthday too!
How do you plan to spend your time during Easter lockdown?
Want to see how others are getting on in lockdown? Pop over to Sarah at Life in a Break Down for her latest updates.
