It’s the first Monday with no school, I’ve seen lots of parents doing great things with homeschooling and although I’m aware I have to do what L can manage I still feel pressured to ensure the skills he’s learnt don’t disappear, so how much is too much?
L doesn’t learn by using worksheets and he also hates me trying to teach him anything so we are learning through doing, we baked a cake today, I say a cake but as you will see in the picture it was incredibly flat! Tasted good though so can’t complain. L had to read the ingredients, measure them out and then he disappeared to cuddle the dogs while I mixed, he hates the noise of the mixer and refused ear defenders. Once it was in the oven I thought I’d see what else I could get out of him and gave him the option of writing a short story or reading me a few pages of a book, he had agreed to these things on Friday, he refused, in the end he finished off 2 sentences about cake. It wasn’t a complete failure as he didn’t get to leave till it was done but showed me I have to be more cunning in how I set these things up.
It’s L’s 12th birthday tomorrow, he’s been looking forward to it for so long and I will make sure he has a nice day but how rubbish is it that he won’t see anyone?! My mum and I decided we will celebrate properly with him once this is over but it’s not the same. I have his presents and cake and his goHenry has a gift link so family and friends who wants to send him money can do it that way with a birthday message to him, he won’t feel like he’s missed out, we will FaceTime and do our best to enjoy the day. Beforehand I have to figure out how to put a flat pack desk together without him seeing, I was planning to do it while he was at school tomorrow, obviously that’s not happening now and as he’s off school he’s refusing to even consider going to bed before 10pm so looks like I will be in flat pack hell at gone 10 tonight! Wish me luck, I will need it!
I wonder how many of us have been cleaning constantly? Today I’ve done my new daily routine of cleaning all switches and handles and putting fresh towels out, bedding has also been done as well as bathrooms and floors and all the kitchen surfaces along with a zillion loads of washing. Are we all going to come out of this unable to relax about cleaning? Not a terrible thing, having a clean tidy home is always good but will we always see danger everywhere? I hope there is a happy medium and I hope there is an end to this, and soon.
Social distancing doesn’t really seem to be working, there are kids out playing, people in shops giving no room or consideration to anyone else and still I hear the comments of its all rubbish, it’s not, whole countries don’t come to stand still over rubbish. Since picking L up on Thursday we have been to the pharmacy to collect his prescription and walked the dogs, that’s it, as we have had no other reason to go anywhere. It’s the sensible decent choice to make. Why are there so many who can’t see that by not taking this seriously we are more likely to go into full lockdown? And that this is going to go on for far longer.
Please people, take this seriously, you might not get ill but it’s the people you have contact with that could, and I know I’d feel terrible if choices I made caused anyone else illness or worse, death, that’s how serious it is, save lives stay home, it’s not a difficult thing to do.
The very flat cake …….
A mum a son and 2 crazy dogs 