Haven’t done much school work with the kids.

[RC1511]

Technically it’s now the Easter holidays so I don’t feel as guilty but last week didn’t get much done.

Both children have additional needs and my eldest particularly doesn’t really respond well to learning at home and refuses. They don’t really understand what’s going and why their schooling came to an end when it did.

We have spent a lot of time in the garden, preparing it for this summer and been on a walk a day and spent time together. Oh still has to work so I’m on my own most of the time and I feel so bad for getting much done.

We have done some things - we have done science related activities, arts and crafts etc and been on rural walks. We’ve also practised telling the time and learnt about space but there has been very very minimal written work.

Feel like I’ve completely failed them and feel guilty about it.

Getting DS to work is hard and stresses me out!

Dealing with my own emotions after losing a close family member recently.

Always feel like tomorrow will be better and we will get it done but doesn’t seem to happen!

Please tell I’m not the only one?

Dd is only in reception. No work has been set as such.

DS doesn’t have to do the work on google classroom as it’s too complicated but we do have work to do that they sent home!

Could you try to do one thing a day, regardless of whether it's the holidays or not.

Offer a reward for an assignment completed - My ds gets a slice of lemon drizzle cake when he finishes a maths assignment. I'm going to keep up the one thing a day through the holidays so he'll have finished everything by the time new work starts to arrive.

Hopefully by then he'll be used to the concept.

Please feed this back to your DS's teacher if you can. They may be able to suggest other ways to support his learning. You don't say how old he is, but your DSs teacher may be able to share strategies that they use in the classroom to help break down the work into smaller achievable chunks. Or share what rewards your DS gets when he achieves his work.

Please don't beat yourself up over the formal learning you feel you are not doing - look at what you are doing, lots of real life, hands-on stuff instead!

Thank you. I am contact with both teachers!

I think you should give yourself some slack, sounds like your doing brilliant job. I think parents are being far too hard on themselves. My advice would be to forget about the traditional style of teaching for now. Children do not only learn sat at a desk surrounded by four walls, children are constantly learning. These next few months in my opinion will teach them better life skills than achieving a certain grade at a particular subject. This is when they learn the harsh reality that life doesn't always go to plan , and so we need to learn to adapt. We need to be flexible and make the best of a bad situation. We need to stay positive and be resourceful. All important life skills and we need to remember this is a time when the most important thing we can do for our children as parents is to keep them safe and to stay healthy. Formal education has to take a back seat for now, plenty of time to get back to that when schools reopen. This is an unprecedented situation. Please just keep doing what your doing re gardening and walks that's enough, for your own sanity and well being. In the big scheme of things a few months of being out of school is not the end of the world.

If I were you I would do little and often so rather than trying to do 5 school days. Spread it out so they do something every day including weekends and holidays.

What the heck!? You are doing a brilliant job there. The only thing I would say you are not absolutely nailing is the ability to congratulate yourself on a job well done.

I've barely done any with mine. I haven't got a proper computer or printer so we really struggled accessing the online booklets the school sent it was too hard 2 of them sitting around my phone to look at them. I'm making them do my maths, time table rockstars and read for an hour each night and that's it at the moment. I'll think of some writing activities they can do as well when I'm feeling more creative.

Both me and DH are trying to WFH full time as well as trying to do some home learning with DS. We're not doing a huge amount of structured learning. It's just not possible.
Don't beat yourself up....happy and healthy is the most important thing right now.

I'm muting people on FB who are making it look easy as it just makes me feel like shit.
I'm finding we have more time for discussions though which are really valuable. We've just had a veg/fruit box delivered and DS (5) has helped me unload it and we've talked about all the different things we could make which has led to us getting some cook books out and planning our teas for the next few days. We'd never usually do that and it's been really nice so i'm not going to beat myself up for the fact we've not done his maths today.

what your describing comes under home education,home schooling is a different thing its lessons,written work,books 9-3
its the type of learning that most of the nation thing home learning is

hundreds(including us) were doing this way before this hit us,i have kids with complex needs too and there is no way we could home school

this is a way of learning its called unschooling or learn through life it really is 24/7 learning

everyone's world has been stopped its even worse for disabled families,so if schools are expecting parents to spend their whole day teaching its unreasonable

if your child is 4 they are still technically under csa anyway

there is hundreds of free apps and websites to learn with if they cant do written work youtube is even a option,this is what we use as my 9 y old(mentally 5)can not and will not work any other way

I agree with everything Moonface123 said. This is a really valuable time to let them try practical things, to learn how to be bored and entertain themselves and also follow their own interests, and yes I am including gaming and watching TV in that.

You sound like you're doing a great job.

My daughter with SEN attends an independent specialist school. They recognise that their student's worlds have been turned upside down and are offering emotional support. They aren't expecting parents to home school them. They provide suggestions of activities if we need them and are on the end of the phone for support to both the children and their parents. I think you should do whatever gets you through and if not doing school work is what gets you through then so be it.

Another mum with a special needs DS, and a DD who copies him! It's tough going, and I've congratulated myself on getting so close to the Easter holidays. It's sounds like you're doing a great job, OP so relax now and enjoy what you can. There are hundreds of parents in the same boat, believe me.

Be kind to yourself. I can’t believe that primary aged children do more than a couple of hours of academic work in a normal school day.