Struggling with lockdown and school closures

[Freetodowhatiwant]

I totally get the health reasons behind it but I can't help feel so terribly daunted and teary about the weeks ahead. My kids' primary school has said it will stay closed to the 18th and we are meant to be home schooling.

Last time I couldn't do any homeschooling with them and work at the same time and this time we have the added depressing factor of cold weather, so fewer places to take the kids and ways to occupy ourselves outside. DH and I are separated and living separately and his work is 'of course' much more important than mine so I will be doing the majority of the child care whilst trying to juggle my self employed work and trying to find new business as I had hoped to do. It's really tough looking after all the daily household, feeding, cleaning etc etc needs for three people let alone adding in work, homeschooling, entertaining them, trying to stop them from punching each other and climbing the walls and finding enough to do outside the house too.

Anyone else really dreading the school closures?

I am sorry OP

You can only do your best.

Op, what ages are your dcs? You can honestly only do only so much. I have three dcs and also am self employed but have my dh here working ft but here. It’s much tougher for you , I think you need to
be realistic , you won’t be the only parent who can’t homeschool due to yanno putting food on the table etc.
Is the school likely to set some work that they can get on with a bit independently? Could you contact them and explain your situation and maybe they could send specific handouts relevant to your dcs level and needs etc.
Even an hour of maths /English per day is better than nothing , same with outdoors. Whatever you do you are very important too op as you are the person who is keeping the show on the road so early nights if you can, some good food , a bit of bath cooking if possible Sunday so that could take the pressure off.
I think expectations need to kept pretty low , there is only so much a person can do and there’s no point adding huge pressure and stress on yourself.

Yep not stopped crying

And to you and all the other parents in this situation . Hopefully we are at the beginning of the end now but no denying we are prob in for a disruptive 2/3 months .

Our school is currently open (than God!) but after the shit show of March to July when education clearly was of no great importance, if I can't get DS1 in as vulnerable for his SENs (and I'm prepared to argue DS2 for his mental wellbeing) my plan is to set the computers up and let the teachers talk to my kitchen walls if the DCs aren't playing ball.

I'm long since done on chasing the DCs down and the constant battling. Plus there is now no light relief of getting out into the garden or going for pleasant walks to break the atmosphere. I have to live with them 24/7 and that needs a healthy atmosphere nit constant battling with no escape.

I've done school enough favours, supervising interventions, helping out, pushing for DS1's diagnoses, paying privately, buying aids including the computer, and making sure the DCs did something for those long, long 5.5 months (including the summer holidays as it had been so long since they had quality learning) when the work sent home was not fit for purpose.

I'm a SAHM, former teacher and my best still could not meet my DCs needs. We can only do our best, and most have more constraints making it harder.

If my DCs end up missing out because of round 2 of politiking around, I am not prepared to sacrifice more to cover up the damage being done.

If schools were too dangerous to open up in June/ July when cases were minimal, when will they be "safe" enough for the rabid unions? (I never was a NUT member because they were too strike happy and fixed on a mentality stuck in the 80s) No. Not bailing them out on this one. They can face the consequences of their actions.

Thank you so much for the responses. It does help, in a way, that many of us are feeling the same. I too have been crying a lot. My kids are 8 (year 4) and 6 (year 1). Last time it wasn't just about me not being able tp supervise school work when I was working but also that the eldest had had attendance issues that also translated to refusing to do any work. I just couldn't push it with his mental state and also mine. So they had as much screen time as they liked and we also went out a lot but of course that was when the weather was better.

We can only hope that it's just for two weeks!

I've got it together a bit now but what you describe is where I was on Friday. Tearful and worried about what lies ahead. I'm not on my own but DH works long days out of the home and as I was wfh it really fell to me.

Everyone saying you can only do what you can do is right.

Re the weather I've refused to give into it and bought us all some winter stuff on sale from Mountain Warehouse so we get out everyday regardless of the weather. I honestly think I'd go insane with the bikering (I include myself as one of those bickering) if I stayed in all day.

I'm dreading it. I'm not working but DD was a nightmare last time around rushing work, not reading the instructions properly, arguing etc. She's been doing great back in school (Y6) so I'm hoping she doesn't complain too much.
I agree that school had to stay closed but I can't cope with it long term again......

i hear you @Freetodowhatiwant - while i completely appreciate the need for school closures, if i hear one more person come out with the insufferably privileged line ‘schools aren’t childcare’ one more time I may lose my rag. For those of us who have to, you know, WORK, schools ARE childcare. We have planned our professional lives around then being open.

Also, women are vastly going through be more impacted by this than men - my dh has had to fight to impress upon his boss that no, he doesn’t have a nice 1950s housewife and/or nanny who can take care of things behind the scenes, and that both he and his wife work full time.

I support and admire teachers; i can do that and still be personally stressed and upset about school closures.

Definitely better outdoor clothing is in order. I have always had something against practical looking clothing but I think it's about time I bought some proper stuff! And yes to the bickering. I feel terrible crying in front of the kids as they worry about what's wrong but i can't help it.

And yes indeed mine have been much better off in school.

It would make it easier if we could go to places - museums, cafes, pubs, restaurants...abroad to see my parents... But the world is a different place now.

AGHHH please let the school closures at least only be for two weeks.

Totally agree... Waterproof and wellies is not my usual look but I'm past caring now. Anything to break out of the four walls.

The worst thing is the lack of any reasonable notice in England, even for the London boroughs. Unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

I feel the same, my daughter (4) doesn't even want to go to the park as she is too cold and it's not much fun on her own I guess. Mentally I'm really struggling with it, some days are easier than others but it's so hard isn't it. I'm not even going to worry about school work to be honest I'll just let her play and do arts and crafts, that's as much as I can manage at 6 months pregnant!

Op, lower your expectations right down, only clean the basics.

My dd has sen and spent most of her time on roblox however I used that passion to buy work time.

Ie I can't let you sit on there all-day without doing some reading.

At those ages it's all quality over quantity... Aim for short sessions... 20 mins!...
They will be fine, focus on the basics..