Well, as I sit typing this I am well over a week into having my elder 2 children. aged 11 & 14. home from school. Plus almost a week into having my youngest, who’s 9, here with us.
As many of you know, I have decided to close my business for the time being. So although I am not seeing clients there is always work to do. Blog writing for one!!! It has been an interesting week of trying to manage their time and schoolwork with my own. My husband. who also runs his own business. is trying to work from the house. He has currently converted my studio into his temporary office (with his staff working from their own homes) so we travel as little as possible.
Tips from the Samphire household
So here are a few tips on how to occupy your little ones which have been helping to make our lives a little easier.
- Break down the day into sections; make a timetable, set activities. This has been working really well for my elder 2 children. They are being set tasks at the start of each lesson by their schools. For my younger child who is still at primary, we have sat down and broken the day into sections. This does include schoolwork, which is being set daily, but we have also added in activities he wanted to include such as music, art, and French. These have all been his own choice! There are some great online resources out there. Duolingo is a great app for learning many languages and very easy to use. My three have been using this for fun for the last few years! Also I discovered Rob Biddulph recently. One of my clients posted some work her son had done, so go check out Draw with Rob.
- Exercise! This is super important for both your mental and physical well being. For you and your children. We were a little late to the party this week but all the family are now undertaking the morning exercise routines with Joe Wicks in his morning PE with Joe sessions. Although a little harder than I thought they were going to be, they really help get you up and motivated in the morning. The children love doing it all together and watching us struggle at various times over different exercises so if you can definitely get involved in this with them. It is not just for the children!!!
- Schedule together time. We have been having morning breaks, lunchtimes and an afternoon break together. Luckily enough we have a garden and the sun has been shining. So we have definitely been making the most of it. It helps alleviate the tediousness of continued working and my children have been responding really well to having that time together. Even if you have a tonne of work it might be possible to reschedule your work over in to the evening so that you can benefit from time together. Children like routine, they have it at school so why not carry this on at home?
Keep Calm
If you don’t complete a Math’s assignment or an English poem that is fine. Life will still go on, as will their learning. Children learn from everything they do and in different ways. So really don’t worry about enforcing school work. When you are all housebound take that added stress away and find other activities to stimulate your children.
Parents of Pre-Schoolers
I feel this time maybe harder for pre-schoolers or parents with very young children, as they are less independent. Particularly if the parents are having to work at home. So you might find that work will naturally spill over to the evening. This way you will have more free time during the day. I have been a home worker for over 14 years, since the birth of my first child. and I did exactly that. It can leave you feeling a little tired initially but once you get into the swing of working later, it does become easier. Plus, your children will benefit from having more of your attention to do things. Like making a batch of salt dough, baking, hide and seek, treasure hunt etc. As long as they don’t involve a trip to the shops or an unwanted delivery for special items or ingredients that is!
Don’t forget that it is also fine for your children to be bored, in fact it can actually benefit them. Check out this link which tells you why.
Activities outside of the school routine
Although we are coping now, I can’t feel smug as we are only one week in! I fear that going forward into what would have been the school Easter Holidays is going to be harder, as routines will wane. Sometimes easier said then done but try to limit their time on the internet, as this might cause more problems in the long run in terms of behaviour.
Gardens games are brilliant. If you are lucky enough to have outdoor space, especially now that we are in Spring and looking at slightly better weather, get the in the garden for extra fresh air. Games can be made with anything, throwing balls in cans, paper airplanes, (both an indoor and outdoor activity), home made skittles. Today we played seeing how far back you can stand and still score a goal in the hoop, whilst the fielders – we have a small garden – made sure the ball didn’t go over the fences!
If you can, and in keeping with the government guidelines, schedule in some daily exercise out in the fresh air. If you are lucky enough to live in the countryside this can be a walk in the surrounding area or if you are feeling a little more adventurous a run. This is something you can all do as a family. You just need to keep yourself at a 2 meter distance from other people who maybe also doing the same thing. It will help burn off some extra energy and provide a welcome break from your four walls.
If you are unable to get out and about you can find some great online exercises you can undertake all together. Maybe something less energetic than Joe Wicks! Yoga is a great activity for both body and soul. You Tube has loads or videos clips to help.
Build camps, even the adults! You can have a best den building contest. Every household will have access to sheets, blankets and duvets as well as pegs. Children can be surprisingly inventive when it come to den building that is for sure.
If you are lucky enough to have the necessary ingredients, as mentioned above, you can bake together. Or have your own version of Ready Steady Cook and see what you can create from the ingredients you do have.
Craft activities are always a good one with children of any ages. We have been raiding our supplies. We had more than we thought thanks to their Gran who keeps bringing more up, then squirreling it away in places I didn’t know about! This week my children have been painting on canvases and embroidering trousers. My middle child even decided she was going to make a pair of socks from old tight that no longer fit her!
Connect
Get involved with your children, children of all ages… If you are expecting your children to be more independent at home because you also have work, do try to schedule in some individual time for each child. I have three so this can be tricky but I tend to find this works well towards the end of the day as bedtimes differ.
Even just 15 minutes will help to cement and strengthen the bond between you. Making children feel loved and understood. Which should help alleviate bad behaviors which might crop up as a result of prolonged hours at home together. Make sure you turn off your own phone and computer. Sit down play cards, Scrabble or draw a picture with them or simply chat.
On-line resources
As well as Duolingo, and PE with Joe, there are so many other on-line resources available if you have access to the internet. If you fancy a bit of culture you can enjoy a virtual visit to many museums, galleries and places of interest. I found a helpful article giving suggestions from the Grand Canyon to the British Museum. It might not be quite the same as actually being there, but it will take you places you otherwise might not visit. No passport required! Click here to have a read.
Many TV personalities and celebrities are giving on-line classes which my help give ideas on how to occupy your little ones; Carol Vorderman’s maths, Mylene Klass’ music, Noel Fielding’s Twitter-based art club, to name just a few. But for general fun and silliness, you’ll be hard pushed to beat local children’s entertainer Tomfoolery, giving an hour of live-streamed Isolation Sensation fun and games every Wednesday at 4pm.
Don’t panic – you’ve got this
Don’t beat yourselves up over trying to be Mum, teacher, care worker, cook, cleaner and general plate-juggler. We are all winging this as best as we can. My youngest has been having more tearful moments than I would expect from him. Sometimes you just need to stop, sit down and have a cuddle. Young children won’t understand about social distancing and children of all ages need the reassurance that everything is OK. Try to keep your insecurities under wraps till they are in bed, or as I saw on a friends post this week, a long solo walk in the countryside means that nobody can see our own tears which also need to be let out.
Ooh I nearly forgot my favourite way to de-stress ………
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