To be fine with the children ignoring all set work for art and drama?

[Sethy38]

School has developed a truly superb home schooling platform. Lots of live lessons and interesting work. In fact, I’m in awe!

It’s full on though. 3 hours of live lessons my youngest has today (8) and then couple of hours set work on top of that.

Now, art and drama. My children are not that way inclined at all! Never have been. They’re academic and sporty. Art and drama is of no interest. So I’ve been very relaxed about them doing squat all and instead carrying on with set work for English, maths etc or outside in garden playing football/ basketball etc

Anyone else doing the same?!

I'm impressed at 8 and 9 year olds getting to learn languages. I wish that was available at my kids school.

@Sethy38

* This made me think of the scene in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" where the oafish stockbroker says something along the lines of "What's the point of studying the novels of Wordsworth?"*

That’s English. Not art and drama

Clearly not a big fan of the "novels of Wordsworth" yourself, OP.

Same here OP and also a full-time student. 8th February we start online lectures and seminars, it's going to be interesting. Luckily I'm only writing an essay and revision at the minute.

I insist year 2 ds does all his maths and all his English. I thought he needed a lot more support than he actually does tho, today I've pottered around within calling distance ans told him to crack on and he got through it quicker than if I had been supporting him 1 to 1 constantly. They are more able than they let on I think.

So from now on am going to clean, do laundry, meal prep etc while he sits and does what he has to do.

Well after just sitting down for a bit after an 8 hour day and staying up till 1am working last night planning and resourcing exciting, engaging art activities for all my classes, whilst not knowing if they've got any resources at home and trying to deal with all the questions, feedback, chasing of work, tracking it all on umpteen sheets and then doing it all again, I'm so delighted to hear this 😭 and can't wait to start again on it all once my children are in bed....

It's up to you, I encourage mine to do all of it.
Given the choice my 8 year old would probably only pick Maths, reading and some of the science, the 9 year old would choose Maths and music.

I think you'll be surprised if you pick one a day how much they'll enjoy them. Any parent or teacher could choose what to not focus on, but it's part of a collective, they could find it so enjoyable it's a break. And you can say they're not into whatever, it doesn't mean they won't enjoy it. I never liked sport, but still enjoyed pe

Academic 10 year old - works very diligently and independently. She does pretty much all of her set work but it is not as intense as 3 hours of live lessons a day.

Non academic 12 year old with SEN who can't work independently at all - we tackle the core subjects. It's very heavy going. Anything extra is a rare bonus.

Focus on what will be required for future study and employment. At that age I'd drop the drama and art. You dont need to reach an 8 yo how to move... its tougher to get them to stand still!!

There is plenty of time to pick and choose subjects and focus more narrowly for GCSE and A-level. Before then, I think a balanced curriculum which includes arts and sciences is beneficial. Not everyone will be looking to work in arts or drama, but since when was education just about getting a job? Learning things you're not interested in encourages perseverance and results in a more rounded basis for going out into the world.

I think at the moment you pick your battles and do what you can. Ultimately a child won't be damaged by missing a few months of teaching in a subject, but I think there's definitely a few parents here impacting their kids with their dismissive attitude to certain topics.

@Microwaveableteapot

I think at the moment you pick your battles and do what you can. Ultimately a child won't be damaged by missing a few months of teaching in a subject, but I think there's definitely a few parents here impacting their kids with their dismissive attitude to certain topics.

Trust me - a few months of an 8 year old and an 11 year old missing out on maths and English and french - will have an impact on progress and confidence when they return to school. I see how every day is either learning something new or consolidating in these subjects.

Whereas missing a few months of art and drama? Shrug

We love the art sessions here. But we tend to squish them all together so the three children can have a whole afternoon of it and relax. There are strong literacy connections with drama so I wouldn't skip that. But our PE curriculum is a bit ropey so we are doing other activities. The PE teacher was fine with it, asked to track improvement and to see some goals.

It’s a shame that you as a family don’t value art and drama in education, but no one is going to change your mind about that. (I presume you won’t even attempt music!).

In these special circumstances, you will naturally only concentrate on core subjects and PE. And that is fine and understandable.

However, I would seriously consider the benefits of art, drama, and music for your child’s mental health and their impact on academic learning.

Even if you think that your child is not ‘arty’ in any sense, the chances are that they will benefit from using their brains in a different way, and will enjoy some creativity.

DH teaches a science and our 3 were brought up to appreciate the importance of academic subjects, but it is definitely the arts that have brought the most joy to their lives. It's a shame that they have such "low value" for some families.

Really, science, math, english are essential to enable you to access the world. If someone is craving a bit of art or drama they can hatch it out for themselves in their spare time - once they have mastered reading and writing! I've never met a child who didn't indulge in drama at every meal time without teaching