Predictably enough we went into this home-schooling business full of enthusiasm, optimism and grand plans for Henry to be sitting his Maths GCSE when he’s 8, and Bella to be reading Shakespeare for pleasure in about 18 months.
Like another million or so people we started the school day with Joe Wicks’ PE lesson, and once he’d stopped plugging his cookbooks it was a decent enough way to tire out the kids a bit. While I sat on the windowsill drinking coffee and wishing I handled the Wicks PR.
The morning was a success. Henry learnt about canals, Bella learnt how to correctly write the number 8, I did about 30 minutes work in between the questions, requests and What'sApp messages updating me on the latest account of Coronavirus from a nurse in Italy/doctor in Manchester/family friend in France.
By lunchtime we were sticking to the timetable slightly less rigidly and by 2pm I’d succumbed to pupil pressure and we’d moved school outside.
But by 7pm the fatal flaw in the system became apparent. After a full day of the kids - never out of sight and, crucially, earshot - I was desperate to crash out on the sofa and decompress. All I wanted to do was switch off my brain after a day of negotiation, bribery, nagging and reading/writing upside down.
I wanted to have an uninterrupted conversation with Andy, maybe video call a friend, perhaps even tackle the mound of ironing (because, you know, laundry still needs doing).
Instead I had to sit and work, catching up on all the things I couldn’t get done in the day for interruptions, lack of peace and quiet, zero space to concentrate and think straight.
And of course let’s not forget that five of us in the house all day generates endless mess. Not just clutter - toys, school books, colouring, card games - but dishes. The washing up is constant, the way three meals a day whips through crockery and pans. Maybe as time goes on I will have to issue one glass and cup per person for the day. But I really don’t want to be that person.
I have NO idea how this set-up is going to play out long term. All things considered day one of home-schooling went well. It will need a lot of adjustment, and I will need to relax a bit about the quantity of screen time I’m comfortable with, just for our sanity.
Andy is back at work on April 1st which means we will both be trying to do the juggle. But that’s a whole week away. One day at a time people. One day at a time.
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