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Original poster

Homeschooling going to shit - a support thread

273 replies

Brokenchair1 · 23/03/2020 10:14

Schoolmum WhatsApp group rapidly filling with messages about people doing the Joe Wicks live PE, photos of kids sitting at desks dressed and working, mum's joking about how lovely it is to home school.

Meanwhile in the broken household....single mum here, I have a Skype meeting at 1 I need to prep for, DD 7 currently refusing to do anything and keeps sitting on me saying she wants to play. 3 months of this 😭

Anyone else where homeschooling isn't filled with colourful timetables and colour coded snack trays...join here for support and commiseration.

OP posts:
Racheyg · 26/03/2020 15:40

@Brokenchair1 i would join you for a 🍷 but drank all ours on Sunday 😭😭😭😭😭

lentenwonder · 26/03/2020 15:44

we managed about 20 mins of phonics, the 9 year old is trying to claim reading as a school activity - I'm going to have to push her harder after Easter! I took them out for jolly fresh air in the rain, and they proceeded to scream at each other and me for the entire 60 minutes about which one of them got to have which tree den.

Topsy44 · 26/03/2020 18:29

I thought today was going to go well as my day off so more time to give to the home schooling. How wrong was I. Took me ages to convince DD to start anything, a couple of the websites weren't working and when we finally got underway (well after lunch), she settled down and sat beautifully for an hour writing a story on the ipad only for her to accidentally press the home button and lose everything! It was the last straw for me!! Am a lone parent so no-one here to vent my anger so sent a ranting email to the headmistress about home schooling. Will probably regret it later when DD is in bed and I've calmed down but it did feel really good to get it all off my chest and into the email.

Friday tomorrow - surely, it can only get better.

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Original poster
Brokenchair1 · 27/03/2020 09:42

Day 5 and still alive. I have been trying to do an hour work since about 7am this morning but DD extremely needy with everything. I've set out a midmorning snack, some simple excercise, some crafts plus said she can be in her iPad but no YouTube (due to bad behaviour yesterday).

She's disappeared with her iPad and some biscuits. I give up. Going to try and read some work related documents now. I give myself five minutes before I get interrupted.

OP posts:
fascinated · 27/03/2020 09:43

THIS is why I don’t do WhatsApp!

stayingaliveisawayoflife · 27/03/2020 10:03

Folks please do not stress about all this. We have parents stressed trying to teach, teachers stressed because they can't teach and children stressed because they can't be taught. This is helping no one and could be making people ill which will let the virus win. Let's all acknowledge that we are doing our best in a very difficult time. My aim is to survive each day with no tears from anyone and no reactions to the stress of others.

Let's just get through this.

Dozer · 27/03/2020 10:06

Yes, it’s not “homeschooling”, it’s muddling through as best we can.

Racheyg · 27/03/2020 20:29

I'm 3 beers in tonight.

I've had a really shit day. Ds1 has been hideous 😭😭😭😭😭

happypotamus · 27/03/2020 20:54

DC2 spent most of the morning moaning, they wouldn't share anything and snatched things from each other and cried, DC1 stormed off in a huff and said she hated 'mummy school' because I wouldn't let them watch tv instead. We spent most of the afternoon in the garden, they played with toys while I sat in the sun and participated as little as possible. This week I am working 60 hours as a nurse and about 10 hours as a teacher, so the teacher part has not involved teaching them anything.

Okki · 28/03/2020 20:33

So yay it's the weekend. DC's allowed in front of the tv from the time they woke up. I'm now enjoying wine and have thought of all sorts of things they can do, which when it comes down to it won't happen. DS has been wittering on about having a snake as a pet (NO) and made me watch you tube videos on snake care. I told him he could do a project on snakes next week. May as well capitalise on his interest whilst I can. Grin

Original poster
Brokenchair1 · 30/03/2020 11:49

Monday morning, set DD a tiny piece of maths work, she's had a complete meltdown and screaming. Now gone in to her room crying that I'm horrible.

So week two working out well then. We live in terraced housing so Uber conscious that the neighbours can hear her yelling as well 😭

OP posts:
Original poster
Brokenchair1 · 30/03/2020 11:51

I'm actually considering letting DD go feral as can't take more if this when I have to do a minimum of 2-3 hours of my own work a day !!!!

OP posts:
lentenwonder · 30/03/2020 11:59

Mine has done exactly two sums and then moved onto painting - If they’re miserable, what’s the point of pushing it? I keep having to relearn that there’s no point trying to get them to do schoolwork if they aren’t calm.

ilovemydogandMrObama · 30/03/2020 12:03

DD (13) has been persuaded to do her Food and Nutrition homework now which involves cooking a family meal. Grin

WotnoPasta · 30/03/2020 12:12

I tried again today and DD just cried. It wasn’t even proper work, just a silly quiz. She just doesn’t want to do anything.

anothernotherone · 30/03/2020 12:24

My kids remain pretty good humoured it's just like pulling teeth getting the 8 year old through each bit of work - we're still working on last Wednesday's tasks (this is week 3 for us). I'm sitting with dc3 and it has still taken 4 hours to get through one maths worksheet, one reading comprehension and now we're half way through a writing activity. We still have project work on healthy eating to do, then a spelling list then a verb conjugation activity. Then we'll have finished the work from Wednesday 25th SadShock

He is so incredibly easily distracted, if I don't sit with him he stays sitting at his desk but draws on himself or invents a game in which his pen is a superhero and his ruler is a monster and his exercise book a mountain...

Dc2 has been in twice with things for me to read and once to complain about the wrong sort of paper. DC1 needed me to explain how to write an argument and what appeal (in the sense of a plea) meant in a history question, and wanted me to read her answers. She's completely stuck on her maths but I don't understand German year 9 maths either Sad DH may be able to help her at lunch time.

Actually it already is lunch time but all of us except dc2 are so far behind! We'll stop for lunch when dc3 finishes this task...

I worked the whole weekend at work but still haven't touched my own college work, which is mounting up though I haven't technically missed any deadlines yet as I'd finished the dissertation before all this kicked off and submitted it on time 2 weeks ago.

It's going to bite me eventually... Finals still haven't been delayed so officially still in mid May but am assuming they'll be put back at least til June Confused

RickOShay · 30/03/2020 12:28

@stayingaliveisawayoflife
Thank you so much for posting that.
I have 3 dc. 10, 12 and 18.
One is on the PS4 one on her phone and one on the kindle.
I, like nearly everybody, am finding it difficult to sleep. I have been trying to get them motivated but it does result in quite a lot of stress. They are like wayhey screen time.

I just can’t bloody do it and I feel like a shit mum.

TheTurnOfTheScrew · 30/03/2020 12:29

we're not doing anything today other than reading and instrument practice Shock.

It's my non working day, when I'd normally do a spot of batch cooking and catch up with the cleaning, change beds etc. This all still very much needs doing, due to juggling work and home learning, so I've given in to it, and normal service will be resumed tomorrow at 8.30am.

I feel MUCH BETTER for giving us permission not to do anything.

RickOShay · 30/03/2020 12:31

You made me feel better

anothernotherone · 30/03/2020 12:32

Dc3 just informed me that "fun" is a noun and that he didn't know that before (it's absolutely tangential to what he's doing, he just happened to write the word) then he jumped up and did a dance in the style of a lobster and told me it's the learning dance because he learnt something! 😂Shock

He's such a sweet little person and hilarious but keeping him on task is very close to impossible.

He's also told me the words fly off the page towards him if he reads for too long...

Still at least he isn't crying I guess Shock

bythehairsonmychinichinchin · 30/03/2020 12:36

I’m a single mum and we live in an apartment, I’m always telling my DD to think about neighbours as she’s extremely loud and has meltdowns when doing homework..

I felt quite motivated last week. I made a timetable and tried to be enthusiastic, but we’re now on a homeschool holiday as it’s been stressing us both out too much. Bythehair homeschool may resume service later this week...

Goldwispa · 30/03/2020 12:38

I have a child in reception I've decided to do about 40 mins in the morning and 40 mins in the afternoon that's it. My little ones school have provided lots of stuff for home learning but tell us it's no problem if we don't do any of it.

Ylvamoon · 30/03/2020 12:40

Pew, glad I came across this... DS (9) is kicking, screaming and procrastinating!
I am thoroughly fed up as I still have to do some of my own work.

I have been sticking to one task per day... which takes literally hours. (He is meant to do 3 hours per day: English/ Maths/ Topic)

TwoZeroTwoZero · 30/03/2020 14:16

I've woken up with a bad headache and period pains this morning so I've declared it an inset day.