Welcome to the new Lockdown Learning area.

[YetAnotherBeckyMumsnet]

Come on over to Mumsnet’s corona classroom . Are you feeling more Miss Trunchbull than Miss Honey? Don’t know your Plantagenets from your Pythagoras? Many of you have said you’re feeling a touch overwhelmed at the prospect of home-education and could use more guidance. If that sounds familiar, then Lockdown learning is the place for you to share advice, tips, and resources. Or if you just need some moral support from your fellow Mumsnetters and a virtual scream into the wind during the school closures.

So if you're wondering when Year 3 maths got so complicated and you’ve forgotten all dates of ancient battles apart from that one in 1066, then we hope this new section will help put things in perspective.

Parents who are old hands at home-education are MOST welcome to pop over and share your wit and wisdom.

Thanks, everyone - and good luck.

what about us parents who may want to learn something but don't really have a budget for it? I'd like to learn something that is recognised by employers though and free courses aren't really recognised.

I am new to the forum but already seeing so much helpful information - thank you guys so much! I worry about kids feeling like they have to just rush through books and not actually gain any enjoyment. A couple of my friends are teachers - one in Scotland and the other in the south and they pointed me in the direction of Challenging Learning! I'd not heard of them before but they have some free activities online at the moment and I really think it's going to be great to get my kids actually talking! I hope I am allowed to link? Just something a bit different - I like their message of getting kids to explore a bit!
www.challenginglearning.com/home-learning

I am going to have a read through more of the topics here. It's been hard to think we're not doing enough for our kids - but it's been great to see so many resources!!

The SchoolRun is full of good worksheets and resources. I print out a easy numeracy worksheet every day from corbettmaths.co.uk for her to do too. Has anyone tried mymaths or not?
I recommend PrimaryGames volume one and two. Lots of educational games to play on there. I also love primaryresources.co.uk too- lots of fun resources on there.

Hi all,

thought you might be interested in this well being pack created by a BACP registered Therapist that explores emotions and well-being in a creative way. It encourages family discussions around exploring feelings and offers tangible coping strategies. There are 12 activities included in the pack as well as a range of mindfulness, breathing and affirmation exercises. For ages 5 - 12years old.

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/792725811/childrens-well-being-activity-pack?fbclid=IwAR0GadUxYpfhx_O2IDXoz_roNIqqkLViG1KrQeOjXoP5TLceBpzi3vM6kBQ

@nuttymomma how about a language? Duolingo is great for both adults and kids, and you don't always need a recognised qualification with a language as long as you can speak it.

Following.

Can Mouthwash be used as Hand Soap when hand soap is hard to come by

@nuttymomma How about an MOOC (Mass Open Online Course)? Sites like The Open University offer lots of them for free - I'd really recommend it!

Hello all. I have been struggling to find ways to make my DD do any kind of school work. But the idea of the chance of a reward works wonders. I found online writing competitions are the key to success. As she wants to win the prizes. Why not try this one at www.caabpublishing.co.uk/submit-competitions There are lots more out there. Hope you are all staying safe and not going crazy!

For adults look at futurelearn or coursera. Lots of other moocs too.

This is the BBC Bitesize schedule for next week. Access it through iplayer from 9am Monday

I tend to leave mine to it, unless DS2's having problems.

Is anyone else having trouble actually getting their kids to do any work or is it just me? I just have one DD in year 5 and she is flat out refusing to do anything this afternoon. We have had the full Easter hols not doing any school work and before then she did about a quarter of what school set for them to do so I was quite keen to get her to stay on top of it all this time. She has been doing loads of cooking and baking since school ended, playing out, lovely walks every day and I managed to (force) her to help me with some planting seeds the other day but she seems to have no motivation at all, just wants to lay around watching tv or sulking, everything is a chore and a battle and I’m feeling such a failure at it all, it feels like an uphill battle, even playing with Lego or crafts that she used to love is a strain nowadays and after much persuading will do about 5mins then go off in a huff. She is normally very active, loves school and has lots of activities out of school so I totally understand it must be hard for her but I’m at a total loss. I’m working from home too and seriously considering contacting the school to see if she can go back as technically I am classed as a keyworker. I was so looking forward to spending this extra time with her and making fun memories but she is so unhappy and bored and I just can’t seem to get it right. When I look the schools Twitter it’s full of work that the other kids have been doing and sending photos of in and it makes me feel even worse.

ApplepieWhy I would go easy on yourself. Your DD doesn't need to be doing the full 9 - 3 as learning can be much more concentrated when it's just 1 to 1. If you're trying to work as well, that is very hard. If she does a bit of reading and some maths just to keep her ticking along, might that be ok? Carol Vorderman is doing free Maths Factor over lockdown time. I've used it in the past and it is very clear and easy to use, if your DD has access to a laptop or tablet. She could do that on her own for 20 mins, a bit of a break, then some reading and discussion about what she's read?

Hi - can I remind parents (or people who want to up their own maths skills) about the usefulness of the National Numeracy Charity resources? Eg www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/news/free-family-maths-activities-children-aged-4-11-0

@ApplepieWhy has she done a zoom catch up with friends yet? My dd is similar but hearing what others have done sometimes kicks her up the bum a bit. Also saying the teacher can check how often they use the online apps to monitor their work/teacher wanting to see work can help - they just want to know someone is interested in their efforts sometimes!

ApplePieWhy - your dd is doing more educational stuff than my ds2 in Year 6 - we have had a lot of fights.

The most successful thing so far has been reading - I was originally thinking of just reading a bit of a book aloud to try and push him back into it, but he's just read the whole of a book - The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips - aloud to us over 5 or 6 days, and today we started on another Michael Morpurgo, Kaspar, The Prince of Cats. Both are historical novels with a child narrator, the first in diary form. Adolphus has a farm/village setting during WWII, Kaspar is apparently going to take in the Titanic.

So I'm going to try and follow up the reading with bits of history. I'm not a teacher or academic but I am quite interested in history and read a lot of historical fiction and occasional non-fiction for my own interest. I've looked at the BBC Bitesize TV bits and wasn't impressed by a piece on the Norman Conquest, really. Even Horrible Histories offers way more in terms of showing history as a way of looking at the past not just a few facts which don't seem to relate to anything or encourage any kind of critical thought.

Today though I was reduced to tears more than once, as was DS2, and I'm very stressed about it.