Help needed

[MrsPicklesonSmythe]

We've move to a new area and ds6 has not been allocated a school place for year 2, it's going to be at least a couple of weeks until he can start and that's if he can even get a place as there are about 2 in the whole area including non catchment ones.

In the mean time I'm faced with a very bored 6 yr old to entertain.
My boss has been good enough to let me work from home but I really do need to be working and have no childcare at all. He's pretty good and very clever but can't seem to entertain himself so we're going to need some structure.

Where on earth do I start? Bearing in mind I can't actually do very much for about 6 hours a day as I'll be tied to my laptop.

Any advice very much appreciated

[Saracen]

Wow, that's really hard! When my first child was that age she would not have played happily while I did my work. Even though it was flexible hours from home, I still used a childminder.

I wouldn't worry about the academics for such a short period of time - it probably isn't worth the trouble of hunting up resources which will only be used for a few weeks, and he isn't going to fall far behind in that time. If I were you I would regard this as a childcare crisis primarily and just look for anything to keep him occupied. Maybe some new toys? My child has just spent the better part of three days with Lego following the injection of some new pieces into her collection. Have you looked into the availability of "after-school clubs" (i.e. after-school childcare)? Though most are based in schools, the provider is often independent and they usually accept all children. That might get your little one out of the house for a couple of hours and give you some uninterrupted time to work.

You might take him to the library and grab an armful of books in hopes that something will take his fancy: comics or books with plenty of pictures if he isn't yet reading well. Audiobooks are good. Do you have a second computer; can you plug him into some documentaries or computer games?

You might find that it's best to get your son out of the house for a good bit of exercise early in the day so he will be ready to settle indoors afterward. Are there any early morning swim sessions you could do with him? Or cound you take him for a long walk or bike ride first thing before trying to get stuck in to your work?

[Saracen]

Have you asked the LA formally for a school place for your son? I understand that is a useful step in an area where there are literally no school places. They may have to send him out of area, or direct an already-full school to squeeze him in. The sooner you get the ball rolling, the better. Ask on the main primary board about that. I'm sure there will be people who know better than I.

By the way, if you have requested a school place and haven't been offered anything at all, you are not legally required to educate your son. It counts as a temporary break in schooling. If the LA offer him a school you don't like and you turn it down, then you are classed as home educating.

Of course if the situation drags on then you will want to educate him regardless of the legal situation, because you want what's best for him! I am just pointing out that you needn't worry about the LA ringing you up and asking you to provide information about how you are home educating your son. If they try that, tell them that you aren't home educating; you are waiting for them to provide a school.

[Mycarsmellsoflavender]

Could you perhaps buy him some of those workbooks that are set by year group / keystage eg Maths and English workbooks for year 1 and ask him to work through a certain number of pages each day? If he's year 2 and it's a year 1 book and he's at the expected level, it will be like revision for him and he should be able to do most of it without help. I'm just trying to think if something he could do on his own which would keep him in the learning frame of mind / routine for the next 2 weeks. After he's done a certain amount each morning, he could have some allocated play time. Then repeat after lunch with the other subject.

Library books are good too.
Sports are a bit trickier but it's only 2 weeks so try to get out for a walk every day together at a time that suits you.

[2014newme]

They are legally obliged to give him a school place somewhere. Get on the phone.

[MrsPicklesonSmythe]

Thanks for the replies all.

Phoning and harassing them won't help at this point unfortunately. It's a mid-year transfer dealt with by the county council and we only moved and applied in the holidays so it will take a couple of weeks even if there is a space.

I'm not too worried about him falling behind as he's generally working a fair way ahead year group wise it's more structure for us day to day really and things he can do mostly without me that isn't just tv/YouTube/ds/whatever.

I'm also pregnant and tire quite quickly at the moment so will struggle with long morning walks to wear him out.

[Bekabeech]

Don't be fobbed off by "there isn't a place" legally they have to create a space if there isn't one (eg. make a full school take him). And if the closest they can get is more than 3 miles they have to provide transport. And there is a limit on travelling time, although that is quite long (about an hour I think).

What is he interested in? Lego models, children's Sudoku, watching Horrible Histories, plasticine etc. Could he keep a diary of some form? Doing a bit of reading, a bit of writing and a bit of basic maths every day would be good.
But to be honest I doubt you can work at home and look after him especially at 6 - I'd look for some child care too.

[itsstillgood]

Another one who says childcare sorry. Like others have said the academics aren't a problem. 6 year olds can't reliably entertain themselves. Even though mine are much older and can entertain themselves happily I still find it hard to work from home in the day. Luckily I can set my own hours so tend to work 6-8am and 8-11pm.

[Saracen]

"Luckily I can set my own hours so tend to work 6-8am and 8-11pm."

That's a good point. Are your hours at all flexible, OP? Can you get some work in while your son is asleep?

[Saracen]

You might post on one of the main boards for more traffic, to get ideas how to survive this childcare challenge. Other parents will have been in similar situations for various reasons, maybe because of not getting a school place or because their school holiday childcare fell through.