Day 7 or A train! A train! A train! A train!

By Katy

So the days are starting to merge together so much that I actually had to check the previous post to check what day we are on. I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. I’ve been feeling a bit low today. Knowing there’s lots of things I could be doing such as:

• Practising my writing (for Chinese)
• Doing some Duolingo lessons
• Reading my book group book

But somehow instead I end up just scrolling on Facebook and watching Little Baby Bum with Hector. Hector’s grandparents know this show too well. Those of you with kids may also know it. It is the only show that Hector has any attention span for so for anyone who doesn’t here is a small taster.

Before this we did also have some fun with trains. I think Tom and I are more excited by watching the train go round the track than Hector is however.

So I suppose it’s time for some reflections on coping with a child who’s in quarantine. I am seeing more and more friends with children worrying about how they will cope. I should say that with only one I do think it is easier. I have so much respect for anyone who is entertaining not one but two at home. Particularly if, like us, you also have to work from home. As we’ve said before we have been pleasantly surprised by how Hector is coping. We are certainly starting to rely on the TV a bit more towards the end of the day when we are all tired and cranky. I know that this might not be ideal but really in these circumstances I don’t think anyone should feel guilty for doing so.

As a potentially bilingual child Hector’s language is also a bit behind where it might be at this stage. With 2 months of travelling he also hasn’t had as much ‘academic’ learning as he might otherwise have had. So we’re trying to make sure we do some numbers, ABCs and colouring each day. At least one of these normally happens and the benefit of LBB is that it is 100% educational as it focuses on nursery rhymes and these basics. I’m not really sure where I’m going with this except to say that ‘home schooling’ is a challenge and you should just do what you can.

There has been a bit of a debate as to whether parents should home school their kids at all. I have to say as a teacher who has now been teaching online for nearly 2 months I do think some kind of online instruction is good, particularly for slightly older students (my youngest students are about 9 years old). The impression I have is that it gives the students a sense of routine and normality in an otherwise very uncertain situation.

So to all the parents out there – you’ve got this!