Home-learning vent

[WankmasterBastardDeLaShithead]

First lockdown, "home learning" was a disaster with two of my three DC falling behind with their work. I decided to reduce my hours this time round, thinking that it was my (and DH's) lack of availability that was the problem. Generally I'm now on hand on and off throughout the day, and have been trying to help youngest DC(11)... It's just a frigging nightmare. Like getting blood out of a stone!! The school's offerings are pretty crap (no live lessons, mostly pdfs and a couple of videos each day). I'm trying to explain stuff but unless I'm absolutely spoon-feeding him and micro-managing every step, nothing gets done. He's constantly slumped on the desk or wriggling his way onto the floor, yawning and huffing and puffing. I'm so fed up with it.

I'm also really worried about how behind he is. He's meant to be starting high school in August, and quite honestly has the reading/spelling/grammar/maths of maybe an 8 year old? I've arranged a meeting with the school, but other than that I'm at a loss. :-(

I feel for you. This sounds very similar to my 11yo (summer born so already at senior school) and his school is providing excellent online live lessons but the issues are not much better than they were last year with the junior school's practically useless home learning offerings. It's not the school, 11yos mostly don't have the maturity to handle this. Some do. DS has a perfect cousin who is totally engaged in home learning, does all his school work quickly and well and then uses the rest of the school hours to engage in self-directed educational and creative activities, if you believe what MiL relays to us, but such children are just put on this earth to make the rest of us feel inadequate. Everyone is struggling though and whilst you are perceiving that your DS is falling behind, he won't be the worst-affected in next year's senior school cohort. When learning in-person resumes, all schools are going to have a monumental task of managing the learning of year cohorts that are a huge mix of kids that have learned well during lockdown and kids that have learned nothing for 18 months and forgotten a lot of what they knew. The teachers will adapt and differentiate and provide flexible patterns to fit each child's situation. This won't happen perfectly but your child's situation will be understood and provided for.

I feel your pain. My summer born year dd is the same. Any chance to escape doing any work. Even if I leave her for a second, she’ll start playing games on her iPad instead. It’s driving me insane because it takes so much longer to do the work. I am trying to get her to do some of her work independently as will be the case next year at secondary school.

I was so happy yesterday to finally have a date to return to school.
Dd is P1 and the end of February can't come soon enough for both of us.

Yesterday I left her at the table for 5mins when I came back downstairs she was on the sofa with a throw over her pretending to be sleeping I was very tempted to join her😄

Just popping back in to say thank you for the messages of sympathy and solidarity! We're on half term at the moment, and it's a blessed relief.

Op there's no way I'd get any work out of dd if I forced her to sit upright at a desk. Much prefers lying down, sometimes upside down, sitting normally on arm chair...

I don't care how she moves or sits as long as it gets done...

Snowsnow - that's a good point! I actually got DS an exercise ball to sit on....It's somewhat helping.

I feel your pain I've been doing it all with ds13 ds10 ds9 dd6 yesterday I hit a wall completely I sobbed on and off most of the day. Today is another day and Tomoz thank good is the holidays! Your not alone