I've always dabbled with the idea of being a teacher of some kind, so although the thought of being 'stuck' at home had me a little nervous, I knew that having my babies home, safe and sound right here with me while this thing passes would be the best thing in the world. The first week has really shocked me as although I know the novelty could well wear off all round, it's been so lovely. The kids are getting on better than ever, they are keen to learn, very excited to have me 'teach' them and seem very excited about doing real school work like reading, writing, maths and science. I've enjoyed coming up with rough plans for the day, and coming up with ideas when everything I had planned went quicker than normal. We've had easy days, lazy days, Disney afternoons and unexpected whole maths mornings. We've done more reading than normal, simply because the daily stresses, school walks and routines aren't there and I've really enjoyed it.
I did have a wobble on Wednesday as all of a sudden not being able to come and go felt a bit much and my back and legs were killing me from sitting down so much. So since then I've tried to be a little bit more active, not with anything formal (sorry Joe Wicks) but with dancing in the kitchen, bouncing along to songs for as long as we can and making the most of our short exercise time we're allowed outside in the real world. I've gone out with my camera to see the pretty flowers, appreciate the beautiful stuff without people being around. The kids have enjoyed dog walks and there's been no pressure to get out and make the most of our weekends or even worry about what day it is. After a really lovely day today full of good music and lots of painting together, I'm hoping the rest of our time goes like this as it will in a weird way feel like a blessing as it's starting to. I'm so thankful we are all able to stay safely at home and really appreciate all those people still working hard to make sure we all get what we need.
I thought I'd share some of the activities we've got up to and some things that worked well for us this past week or so. Here's our list, which may sound a lot but sometimes the kids attention span isn't the greatest! So we have ended up doing a lot to keep busy:
Our activities...
- Reading solo/together
- Completed quizzes about the books we found online (Accelerated reading if your school has this?)
- Drawn pictures inspired by the books
- Baked brownies
- Made fruit salad
- Printed off some maths teaching sheets for kids to fill in
- Printed off crosswords & word searches
- Planted up some seeds in pots
- Made rainbow art for our windows
- Watched Disney shorts & movies
- Made TikTok videos together
- Made music together
- Tried (and failed!) at some kids yoga
- Blown bubbles
- Stuck stickers on a world map of landmarks and animals
- Played on the spelling shed website
- Had video calls with friends
- Colouring
- Made fruit from air dry clay
- Made Lego marble mazes
- Caught bugs
- Cut herbs from the garden
Things that worked well for us
- Having snack baskets, filled in the morning to last 'til bed time. When it's gone it's gone! No more asking Mummy for snacks - yassss!
- Having a loose schedule to keep us motivated
- Writing a list of things to do and what work needs doing to keep things varied and stop the kids getting bored.
- When boredom strikes - reading or coloring is always on hand
- Having a weekly reading chart, ticking each day. Charts seem to really motivate the kids!
- Keeping to normal (ish) morning and bed and meal times, so life doesn't all blur into one.
- Giving plenty of down time when needed
- Making the most of any outdoor time we can get
- Teaching things they don't teach in school (washing, tidying, making drinks etc). Things we just don't always have time to do on a normal busy school day
- Tried to clear work, toys or supplies away after activities to stop the house getting too bad
If you're struggling for ideas to keep the kids busy and you sane, have a little look on Pinterest or a simple Google search. There are tonnes of free resources out there with free downloads and printables, as well as schedule ideas, daily plans and activity materials for home learners. How have you been getting on so far?
