16th June 2021
So we have had an unexpected chance to practice home educating before the end of the school year again. Off the kids went to school on Wednesday morning, they had been in a whole half an hour when a phone call from said school brought an abrupt halt to that. Someone in Samantha’s year group had tested positive for coronavirus (again) and could we collect her as a matter of urgency to begin her 10 day isolation period and no we aren’t really asking.
We did and for that day we only had her but now we also have Riley. Riley had been struggling all week anyway. We had been having horrendous meltdowns every morning and his mental health had declined to the point where we he had again began to talk about self harming and taking his own life (I know it’s horrendous but it doesn’t go away because we stay silent about it, in fact quite the opposite). We, the parents, were already going to have a chat that night about whether Riley needed a short mental health break from school, it just turned out the universe had already decided for us as there was no way we were getting Riley in with Samantha at home.
Samantha has virtual learning to do, which you will remember from last time is a joy. Riley who is technically off sick does not have any work but asked me if he can study the periodic table so off to Twinkl and I printed off some resources and away he went. Unfortunately for me I have had to revisit GCSE chemistry, including the math involved today (balancing protons, electrons and neutrons), ugh I have a headache but the boy is happy and bouncy so that is what matters I guess.
This kind of table study is not necessarily the kind of home education we will be doing when we move over to home ed full time, however at the moment with being unable to leave the house due to quarantine it’s what we are going with. I like the idea of more life learning but personally am having a hard time letting go of the more formal learning style I grew up with and my children have had up to now. They also enjoy a good puzzle/worksheet. I guess we will give something a go, work with a bit of a style for a while and adapt it as we go along until we find what works for us as a family, even if that is several education styles blended together, which I imagine is what we will eventually end up with. The nice thing is, unlike traditional school there is no right or wrong here, as long as the children are getting an education that is tailored to them, there is no pass or fail, only enjoyment and fun and if it’s not then we change it.
