Wow. Week one of Home-school, ticked off. Firstly, well done, to everyone out there (I read that upto 1/5th of the world’s population have been isolating in the past few weeks, that’s a hell of a lot of people pulling their hair out in these stressful times). I have had to remind myself that I’m not the only one struggling at times. It all gets a bit much doesn’t it? First of all, I’m not one for spending a lot of time at home, I like to get out and adventure where I can. And, even with the world at my fingertips (I’m surrounded by technology) it’s easy to shutdown when times get tough.
What an achievement though, retrospectively speaking of the unexpected challenges faced. It wouldn’t be such a feat if the world weren’t falling apart outside our front door. The prospect of self-led learning, back-to-basics and parental guidance is a really pride-inducing feeling. But blocking out the external pandemonium is bloody difficult. Maneuvering around global issues, and staying strong in front of your kids when there’s so much uncertainty is a whole new ballpark. Were so adverse to these issues in our country, that it hits home extra hard. I was due to kickstart work at the beginning of April, juggling homelife and a career is something I’ve started to mentally prepare for (again). Lets say, the sleepless nights had already begin, and midway through the week I was given the news it had all been cancelled, and another for May postponed. Not to say I knew it was coming, but it was still a bit of a blow. I was mentally preparing for the motherly guilt, ready for it. And then coming to the realisation than homelife is my sole-life for the foreseeable seemed restricting, and just as much of a kick in the teeth.
As the days have gone by, I’ve realised management is key, I’ve stopped watching the news where I can, trying to distance myself with the digital onslaught I definitely felt last week. Keeping ourselves safe, and focussing on the simple aim of getting through the week has been my aim. I’m not going to lie, a couple of days in and I started to struggle big time…
It’s a battle ground, a constant fight with self-disclipline. The up-keep of constantly keeping an eight year old occupied, caring for a newborn, and ticking off a few academic boxes along the way, is hard work. I feel like I’ve been pushed in the deep-end, I think we all have. None of us could have expected this (even a fortnight ago) - no wonder I’m beginning to feel the weight of the world.
We’ve got a long way to go, who knows how long this semi-lockdown is going to last. I don’t want to dwindle on the negatives too much, but similarly, I didn’t want to overload my diary with the preppy, all-star, picture perfect scenes I’ve struggled to maintain.
A huge positive this week has been starting the day with exercise - it might sound stupid, but PE with Joe has boosted my personal struggles no end. It’s got us out of bed, dressed and ready to rock and roll each day. Sonn and I have been there, ready and waiting on our yoga mat, for this overly-energetic dude to dust all our worries under the rug. High five man. What a success (and roll on Monday!)
Spring has most definitely sprung this week, and I’ve tried moving the ‘classroom’ outside where possible. English has consisted of diary-writing (important when trying to make sense of things), spellings, and recording the weather. Whilst being in the garden, we’ve maintained our planted seeds from Monday - I cracked out a good old Photosynthesis chart and we’ll monitor the plants growth as time goes on… classic.
We’ve been crafty! What’s the point of being too strict eh? We’ve all got to live in this house together, so let’s make it bearable. I’ve tried anyway, to boost morale, wellbeing or whatever. We’ve painted ceramic pots, and spent time colouring in and chatting. The school resources were great, I often dipped in and out to get a few ideas, whilst tailoring the day’s schedule in a way I thought would work for us. Reminding Sonn that this isn’t a holiday was important. Remembering the outside world, when you’re shut inside a terraced house is enough to enduce cabin fever. I’d seen this rainbow idea popping up on local Facebook pages, and I thought it was cool so we made our own ‘bows and stuck them on the window. I’m thinking of making this a weekly thing - to record how long we’re in iso’. What a life were living, the window will be full of the bloody things.
I’ve had to dig into my childhood a few times this week, tried to muster-up some nostalgic moments for old times sake, ready to pass on to my kid. We did some tea-dying! Aka. made some top quality treasure maps. So bloody easy, but really aesthetically pleasing. It doesn’t get better than that. Having a tangible artifact to work with, is the essence of creativity, a feelgood factor for the soul - and a finished product. That’s where a little box of Lego comes in handy! Sonn isn’t usually a Lego kind of guy, but this week he really got stuck in, and VOILA you’ve got a Ferrari in your hands! Achievement.
Trying to keep a fairly wholesome lifestyle (for the time being anyway) we did some baking. Now, I’m no cook. And I proved it once again! I’m too haphazard when it comes to measuring ingredients and following a recipe- I’m far to experimental for that. We attempted soda bread, (‘cause we didn’t have any yeast). Sonn told me about some dough he made on a recent school trip to Holt Hall, and we just got stuck in whilst Ivy had a little kip. It looks alright, but tastes like crap.
“It’s alright Mum, it’s Stone Age bread!”. And he was right; it was alright, because we followed up strong with a gingerbread success story!
Brandon’s a key worker, which meant for the first half of the week I was running the ship. Sonny definitely thrived from the routine, as hard as it is to maintain, it’s so important. We’ve had ups and downs, got on eachother’s nerves many times, but it’s always going to happen. Wednesday arrives and I get B for a few days to help (thank ****). Were having a really tough time with Ivy being clingy at the moment, man can she turn up the volume when she wants to, so having an extra hand has been a godsend.
Sharing responsibility is a massive bonus, and I’m so grateful for our family unit. As I’m sitting outside writing this, Brandon’s taken Sonn for an impromptu drumming session. Having some Father-Son time works wonders, and Sonn’s extremely lucky to have all the resources I would have dreamed of as a kid - right at his fingertips - plus, his Dad’s a shit hot drummer. Hearing the little dude banging along to Supersonic is a real moment.
The sun’s out, and I’m just reeling in some free time to be honest, it’s a real juggling act all this, but something to be proud of all the same.
It’s a celebratory day all-round, Pizza-Friday, rosé in the fridge, and a week trial of Disney+… I reckon it’s just about time for Honey I shrunk the kids?
Enjoy your weekend, all.