I am absolutely fucking drowning - please help!

[Spanneroo]

First day of school closures and I really truly can't cope.

DD(5) is in yr 1
DD(2) is very high energy and an absolute tornado - no longer has a nap, and attention span of a housefly
DTs(3mos) have very different needs atm as T1 is much bigger and developing faster than T2. Bedtime is synchronised, but daytime schedules are not.

We are in a 2 bed flat which we were due to move out of but it's fallen through since corona and we will likely be stuck here for the foreseeable future.

Trying to get any time for DD(5) to help her with her schooling is an absolute fucking nightmare and I just cannot cope. Since a long walk this morning, there has been a child crying at all times. I can't spread myself this thinly in such a tiny space.

Please does anyone have any ideas, esp for DD(2)? I love her but it's definitely her that's making this so utterly horrendous. She's really hard work usually, when I can spend all day out to keep her running around all the time. The staying at home is absolutely brutal and I can feel myself cracking already . I'm usually very laid back and not much fazes me, but my god, I don't think k can do this!

My daughter is home educating her 5 children, and my son is home educating his four. Neither of them has done any formal sitting down and teaching their children, and both of them say the same thing, which is "Don't underestimate the value of play". When the children are bored and playing up, make a den for them (Bed sheets over a table or some dining chairs works well, and a picnic under there will keep them happy for a while. Sort out the toys, and put some of them in a box and hide it. After a few days, if the children are being difficult, get that box out, and put away some of the others. When I was child minding and fostering, I did this for when the social worker visited. It was as if I'd given them new toys. Make a shop with tins and packets and kitchen scales, give them a pile of coins if they're old enough to not try to eat them, and you can sit down with your 5 year old and help her make bank notes. You could even help them make a small box into a pretend chip and pin card reader, and give them a store card to use. Usually I'd say give them pasta to weigh out, but you might need that for meals!
My daughter says if her children say they're bored she suggests that they tidy up. They then start using their imaginations, and are no longer bored!
Make sure you have lots of cuddles and reading of books. Don't worry about teaching your child. If you give them enough stimulation they will learn without you realising it. A scavenger hunt is a good one "Bring me 3 red things. Something soft and squishy. Something you love. Something heavy. Something light. Something you can hide in your hand. Something with two legs." Etc., etc..

Do you have any cornflour? Cornflour in a bowl, add some water and you have oobleck. It's the most wonderful stuff. My 14yo (SN), 12yo and 10yo were playing with it today.

Aardvaark sorry I missed that.

OP has twins. She has four children.

So yes getting a job in a supermarket makes even more sense now.

Christ, I can't imagine how you're even up to stringing a sentence together OP. It's just about survival, and your own survival is the most important.

Take care xxx

Xenia are these the same 'heroes' who you usually dismiss as not very clever because they don't have Good Jobs?

It's amazing who in the space of a week have turned out to be the most important to society, isn't it?

And it's certainly not the current government, that's for sure.

barbs at the moment, going for walks and keeping at least 6 feet away from others, with frequent hand-washing/sanitiser is permitted.

It won't be for much longer, but in all honesty, people in OP's situation are the ones who need to for as long as they can.

If you have a computer/ tablet that the eldest can use, the phonics play website currently has free access. Maybe whilst she is busy playing a game on there, you can be entertaining the others for a while.

What about finding games which are school work. I am trying to home school 2 dcs who are young. My 4 yo has a very short attention span and is very silly, Ds 7 can focus more. It's very hard to do things with them at the same time so I did this:

Dd 4- iPad phonics game whilst I read with ds 7.
Ds7 did handwriting whilst I read with dd.
Ds7 iPad maths game whilst dd did phonics activity.

Could your 5 yo to phonic and maths games online so he can do them more independently?

Could your 3 yo do a learning game, number blocks or something whilst you do an activity with your 5 yo.

My 5 yo did the washing up whilst I did an activity with ds. I had to ignore the mess.

Somebody else may have mentioned this, but I saw, on Facebook I think, a terrific video of someone who had made a kind of steeplechase with lines to follow (sticky paper I guess rather than paint) round a living room. Over some things, round some, under others. Adapt to space and age, and 5 could maybe show 2 how to do it? Take care of yourself and I hope it settles a bit soon.

What about chalking outside? Kept my ds occupied for quite some time. Then you could do an activity with your 5 yo

Ditch the school work. Read to them together. Watch Children's TV together. Good luck and I hope it gets better soon.

Joe Wicks PE lesson is on YouTube at 9am.