To think I can’t home school and wfh full time?!

[Fuckfuckfuckshit]

I’m a single mother with a 2 and a 6yr old and have a demanding ft job in an industry that is currently extremely busy due to C19 (food). I tried to do some work with my 6yr old on day 1 in between conf calls but my 2yr old needs more attention and it was impossible to distract him. Is anyone in a similar position making this work?

@doofusmoof

Your child will not fall behind.

We, as teachers, are predicting exactly what will happen when all children return to school, and not of what we are predict includes "all children will have been home educated to the perfect level and will return to school flourishing"

We are predicting that every single child will return differently. And for multiple reasons, every single child will have endured some form of chaos.

1-2-1 learning for an hour is probably more beneficial than the 6 hours they get at school!

And remember, children learn the most through play and by doing, this is proven time and time again.

I feel for you with younger kids. We're 2 WFH FT parents with 9 and 13 year old so a little easier. A Routine (of sorts) is our friend, and splitting the day between us around our diaries. It's made us realise the kids/us do too much scheduled stuff normally. Lego has come out, games, craft. It's by no means perfect and I Def need a glass of wine in the evening. My biggest tip is 'quiet time' after lunch, books, I've been having a 20 min nap here and it helps.

I'm doing my best - but realistically even starting at 7 & finishing at 5:30 I'm not as productive as I would be in the office. Thankfully my employer is being super pragmatic about the situation & I'm doing my best. Will do a couple of hours sunday night.
Dd1 is 9 and awesome. I suggested she tries taking advantage of being an early bird by starting when she woke up and it's working brilliantly.
Dd2 is in reception and is doing bits and pieces of reading, counting, lots of drawing and cutting and sticking and gymnastics.
Disney+ is a godsend!

Don't beat yourself up op. It's impossible when they're that young. DS is 13 now but when he was primary age there is no way I could work with him at home.

As it is I've had to focus on helping him once I finish work. I'm a civil servant and busier than ever. I had to shoo him away the other day as I was in discussions with the Treasury. Shakespeare has to wait until after work hours.

Your school will understand.

@Pentium85 thank you

I'm wfh as a key worker, I have to be calling people all day or having meetings online.

DS is 9 and autistic, he won't do anything on his own and thinks school work is for school.

He's watching far too much tv and YouTube.

In Easter holidays I'm hoping activity camps open for key workers as I will send him. I don't see what choice I have.

Hi OP,
Firstly, you are not failing at all. It sounds like you are in a really difficult situation. And although this is survival mode, your 6 year old will not stop learning just because there is no school.

Do you have family?

I have been getting my mum to listen to my daughter read, read books with her and play games via WhatsApp. A lot of the time, kids just want someone to show what they have done to.

There is an amazing project called the Granny Cloud run by Sugata Mitra where they do just that. If you have 5 minutes to google it, his studies have shown how much children can learn by themselves with just some encouragement from an online "granny"

We have also been setting up playdates online with other children. My 6 year old spent an hour playing Playmobile with her friend on Skype last night and DS does the school work he is set with his friend from the same class online so they can talk about it and collaborate.

We think of education as the deliberate transference of information from adults to children, but children are learning all the time. Your 6 year old learned to speak fluent English with no formal lessons at all.

Use technology to support you. There are loads of free apps to help with learning.

But even if you do none of that, you are still not failing!

I would also say that we are 2 weeks in with a very demanding 2 year old.

She has changed a lot in the last 2 weeks. Because we are always here, her separation anxiety and need to have my attention all the time has massively reduced. My 2 year old and 6 year old have started playing together far more successfully. So you may find that things get easier as they settle into this new setup.

I have no idea how you or or others are doing it OP !

I thank God had resigned from my full time working from home job last year. We have 3 small children, 2 at school, and DH is keyworker.

I literally have no idea how I would have worked.

It's a nightmare! Both DH and I now work from home with me in the office once a week.

I'm flat out, work in the financial services and I'm busier now than I've ever been. We have teenagers and I have to leave them to their own devices (literally!).

DH is much quieter work wise but he just doesn't have the same educational drive I have with the kids. I'm just hoping I've instilled in them the impetuous to get on and do any work which has been set.

However, I am enjoying sitting and having every meal together and our daily walk, that is really lovely. They are also helping with the housework so it's just a different kind of education.

Same here, I have two DC, 2 and 7 so really similar ages to you OP. I'm WFH, DP still at work and I feel like I'm failing. Work are having numerous phone and video calls everyday and I'm the only one in the team with small children. My oldest DC has been taking the brunt of trying to keep the 2year old away while I'm on the calls, but that's not working either. Yesterday, DC was hammering on the door of the room I was in on a video call Meanwhile, we are getting minimal schoolwork done, the weather's been rubbish so have hardly been out in the garden to burn off some energy and we are all grumpy. Thank god it's the weekend, no schoolwork here, just plenty of playtime and no stress (until Monday!)

Another teacher here and I have a 2 year old. The days when I have had a lot of work/ conference calls to do he has watched way to much tv.
Honestly though you don't have to home school your kids
Play with them
Bake with them
Read to them
Let them play games on the iPad

Give them a bucket of water and some toys into the garden for them to "wash"
A paintbrush and a bucket of water to "paint" the fence
Do what you can that gets you through. We understand parents are wfh and I have told my parents that I have sent too many activities but that it means they are there if they need them. The essential things that I am advising do get done are the letter of the week , a bit of reading - can be you reading to them, some outdoor time and some pencil work - e.g draw a picture, trace some shapes etc. And some counting - it doesn't have to be very formal. It could be how many rainbows do we see on our walk. Baking introduces your children to measure, pairing the socks from the wash is matching and sorting.
Bounce patrol and jolly phonics are both on YouTube and the kids love them. Oxford owl has the biff and kipper books for young readers online and it can read it to them while highlighting each word as it says it .
Cosmic kids yoga is great for my class of 5 year olds - there are space or stars wars themes etc and keeps them busy for 20 mins
Hopefully they settle into the routine of it but it is hard especially with a toddler who is used to being out and about all day

@doofusmoof please don't worry, one thing you can do without feeling like you are putting pressure on is read lots of stories to him. It has countless benefits including helping to build his vocabulary and widen his imagination-it is also a great excuse for a cuddle! It can be rereading stories at home or if you do a quick google there are numerous sites offering free downloadable books at the moment