So we're back to homeschooling. Whoop de do! We've all seen the posts on Facebook, haven't we? Fancy a game of homeschool bingo? Kids sat at home in uniform? Check! Smiling mummies with sheets of gold stars? Check! Impeccably arranged kitchen table transformed into a desk? Check! (Extra points if there's a freshly baked loaf in shot.) But what's the truth? What's happening in your house? Is it something more like this: Enormous sigh as you ask your child to do something? Check! Spending ages finding login details from one of a million 'Covid Update' emails? Check! Yelling 'JUST MOVE THE DECIMAL POINT!' before being lectured by a nine year old about how it's against the rules. I'm here to suggest that if that is the case, you probably shouldn't worry. Professional teachers are just that. They're trained. They're dedicated. They don't have to worry about forgetting to feed their children as they're so used to making their own lunch. Most of us are not those things. So let's try not to stress about it, eh? Working from home and helping children learn and providing them with food and managing to do the shopping and remembering to wash and doing a bit of exercise and keeping the house tidy and supporting vulnerable family members and hosting online quizzes and providing internet technical support and paying your bills is quite a to do list and even if you are only achieving half of that (you can tidy next week) you are still getting a lot 'to done.' The kids are all in the same boat. When they return to school, some will be a little ahead and some may be behind, but that's what teachers are used to dealing with. It will even out. I think structure is important for kids but remember the times we are living through are...say it with me now... UNPRECEDENTED Nobody prepared for this. Nobody wrote a manual. So let's not shame anyone for reacting differently. Let's work together and stay sane. I, for one, am glad that I haven't lost my mind completely. And the purple hippo in the corner of my office agrees. Gibber. I'd love for you to tell us about your homeschool routine. Or is that too strong a word? What are you up to? Let's be honest! We've been so busy adapting Limelight that teaching simply hasn't been a priority. We are lucky that our girls' schools have provided plenty of work but we've had to trust them to get on with it while we wrestle with what's essentially a brand new business. They've been helping us with classes in the studio and working well on their own but has there been a lot of Minecraft and TikTok? Definitely. I think our kids are doing well but do they miss their friends? Their after school clubs? Absolutey. While academic work has been (rightly) prioritised, extracurricular activities have been ignored. That's something that we are trying to combat. If anyone wants to chat, feel free to reach out to me or Lisa. I can't promise we will have any useful advice but we can cut through the nonsense and be honest. This is new. It's tough. But I reckon it's going to be ok. Probably. So come on, tell us your homeschool tales. It might ease your burden (and put a smile on someones face!) Stay well.
THE QUESTION IS, WHO IS GOING TO KILL FIRST?