The broom cupboard 2 - just for when we get briefly stranded without a staffroom

[TheHoneyBadger]

I'll pop a link in the old one so you know where to find safe haven. I have tried to clear out some space by getting rid of the ohp and vcr trolley and gin is hidden behind the sick sand bucket.

We recently watched a Futurama which is a take-off of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which makes it clear the Oompa Loompas are slaves and both kids just latched on to that immediately- like, yep, of course they’re slaves.

But perhaps the most vociferous

Yes, I think this is it!

Can I just say I'm hugely depressed.
Not just Covid, schools, life etc, but other problems as well, including my mother in hospital and bastard neighbours.
I came back to bed for some peace and quiet, and all 3 children followed me.
DH is working to make up lost hours from having the kids while I was teaching.
It's all just shit

Out of the 2, Kitty is better written. Author a primary school teacher, and it shows.

Well, yes, because we're back to the argument that only a small percentage of adults are parents to small children who couldn't stay at home unsupervised and even fewer who can't do some school work or play unsupervised. (Again, the latter is quite a recent and MC thing - are these children really so hyper-calendared in normal times that they've forgotten how to play? My ds is 20, but he didn't get ANY devices until age 11. What did he spend all the holidays and after schools doing - if not at a club or at a playdate? Playing. By himself. Reading to himself. Drawing by himself. And sometimes with me.)

So, adults with no children, pt worker parents, SAH parents and clinically vulnerable parents are all on the side of school return being balanced with other things in society, with mitigation measures - like rotas - to be considered... And sensible people are aware that children do not (mostly) need educational catch-up but social and creative and sporting catch up.

Argghhhh.

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

Can I just say I'm hugely depressed. Not just Covid, schools, life etc, but other problems as well, including my mother in hospital and bastard neighbours. I came back to bed for some peace and quiet, and all 3 children followed me. DH is working to make up lost hours from having the kids while I was teaching. It's all just shit

I'm sorry you're feeling this way. It's horrible, especially at the end of a half term when all you want is some peace and quiet and time to yourself.

Where are you now? Did you get any space at all from your family or did that fail?

Have you had depression before / something you've ever been treated for or is this a new feeling (and totally understandable) due to the situation you find yourself in? Is there anywhere you could go for help? GP / IAPT (online nhs self referal for mental health which means that you can avoid having to make a GP appt / discuss and you can fill it in online)

Is there anything that would make you feel better or more relaxed in the short term?

I'm sorry your mum is unwell, has she been in hospital for long?

Depression is something I've had on and off for years. No to alone time

Yeah, that comes across in a quote from one woman in the paper who says ' we used to do yoga, dance lessons, swimming, farm parks...it's a bit monotonous and mind numbing for me ' (my bold).

To be fair, in many ways the article is quite cheering : it is clear people (women) do not want kids just piled back to learning in schools. Someone even says they want shorter school days!

Also.. if people are going to froth at the mouth about Amanda Holden seeing her parents, how can those same people want schools back full time, all in??

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

Depression is something I've had on and off for years. No to alone time

Oh dear I'm so sorry. I do hope you can find some short time to relax, although I fear that this maybe won't happen. Any chance of a movie afternoon with your kids or anything where you could just zone out ?

Yes, you're right, Piggy.

There's quite a lot of a turnaround in people not wanting summer schools or longer days.

Actually, our local news website had an article about the putative extra weeks in the summer and there were around 300 btl comments - only 2 of which said teachers have done sod all and they should do it "for the children." ALL the rest said "my kids need to play" "my kids aren't behind" "my kids need to play football" AND dozens of "teachers are working so hard" I nearly fainted.

Thank you all for book recommendations. I have a good amazon order now full of your suggestions.
I would like to be at home to actually read them with her this said but that isn't looking sodding likely :(

shop.scholastic.co.uk/search/search?breadcrumb%5B%5D=book_club_offer&breadcrumb%5B%5D=age_start&search%5Bage_end%5D=11&search%5Bage_start%5D=7&search%5Bbook_club_offer%5D=t&search%5Bdisable_guided_search%5D=true&search%5Bis_book_pack%5D=t&search%5Bprice_currency%5D=gbp&search%5Bquery%5D=&search%5Bview_type%5D=grid

Have a look at Scholastic online, Ophelia.

Their packs of books are much better value than Amazon and you can nominate a local school to receive commission too if they have an account.

@RandomGrammarPun

shop.scholastic.co.uk/search/search?breadcrumb%5B%5D=book_club_offer&breadcrumb%5B%5D=age_start&search%5Bage_end%5D=11&search%5Bage_start%5D=7&search%5Bbook_club_offer%5D=t&search%5Bdisable_guided_search%5D=true&search%5Bis_book_pack%5D=t&search%5Bprice_currency%5D=gbp&search%5Bquery%5D=&search%5Bview_type%5D=grid

Have a look at Scholastic online, Ophelia.

Their packs of books are much better value than Amazon and you can nominate a local school to receive commission too if they have an account.

Oh thank you I will check that out now. I've not placed the order yet and was indeed pondering that this is rather expensive and could I get any second hand.

I've had such great advice here thank you!!!

You can search by age and then filter by "book packs" too. That search was age 7-11 but there look to be some suitable titles in 5-6 as well.

Ophelia, we love the Daisy and the Trouble with... books in this house. They’re great fun to read out loud (when you are home and better!) and have really good pictures. From a teacher perspective, my favourites are Daisy and the Trouble With School Trips and Daisy and the Trouble with Christmas (a slow build up to finding out why Daisy is grounded after the school nativity play.)

@noblegiraffe

Ophelia, we love the Daisy and the Trouble with... books in this house. They’re great fun to read out loud (when you are home and better!) and have really good pictures. From a teacher perspective, my favourites are Daisy and the Trouble With School Trips and Daisy and the Trouble with Christmas (a slow build up to finding out why Daisy is grounded after the school nativity play.)

Oh ok!. I took them off my list but now I'm thinking to put them back on - I could get a box set of 10 for £20 and they're £5 each - do you think they're good enough to get the box set as it's obviously cheaper in the long run?

Ophelia I have just caught up with the thread, and had to say that literally the page before you reappeared I thought "wonder where OC is?" I can predict the future... albeit only in the past. Sending 💐 to you.
Not nearly on the same level, but I woke up on Thursday with such a pain in my back. Naproxen and paracetamol are taking the edge off, but adding in the other pills I take daily (another hands up for AD) I think I'd rattle if you shook me please don't as my back really hurts
I recently lent my collection of Enid Blyton books to my childminder's daughter, they were running out of things to read and as DD isn't quite 2 we won't need them for a while!

@OpheliasCrayon My daughter loves these books:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1474928129/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_GX9NV6JZK4NTYN1JAX5B?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

There's a whole series of them, they're lovely. She's 7 and a good reader and also enjoys (not challenging but fun reads, which is what I'm looking for!) The Toto the Ninja Cat series too.

HTTYD books are amazing. Both mine have been dragons mad!!

Of course they're going to send everyone back on March 8th with no new measures. I haven't seen my parents since August, I could cry

Has there been an announcement to have everyone panicking about the 8th?

I just clicked on the top thread of 'i'm on' thinking it would be the staffroom but realised we're in the broom cupboard again. Don't be throwing biscuits and gin around in here or we'll come back to alcoholic mice.

Going to read what I missed in the staffroom.

@Stepawayfromtheminirolls

Ophelia I have just caught up with the thread, and had to say that literally the page before you reappeared I thought "wonder where OC is?" I can predict the future... albeit only in the past. Sending 💐 to you. Not nearly on the same level, but I woke up on Thursday with such a pain in my back. Naproxen and paracetamol are taking the edge off, but adding in the other pills I take daily (another hands up for AD) I think I'd rattle if you shook me please don't as my back really hurts I recently lent my collection of Enid Blyton books to my childminder's daughter, they were running out of things to read and as DD isn't quite 2 we won't need them for a while!

Ahh how strange. I love how the world works like that ! Im sorry you have back pain, along with all this I also have arthritis and it really is a horror. Nothing like a painful back to completely distract you from everything else! I hope it gets better soon!

@TheHoneyBadger

Has there been an announcement to have everyone panicking about the 8th?

I just clicked on the top thread of 'i'm on' thinking it would be the staffroom but realised we're in the broom cupboard again. Don't be throwing biscuits and gin around in here or we'll come back to alcoholic mice.

Going to read what I missed in the staffroom.

Irs the end of a half term in lockdown. Now I can't drink gin or eat biscuits but I think If we had gin and biscuits in here there wouldn't be any left for the mice by the end of the holidays. Especially because when we go back to work next week we apparently aren't allowed to sit on chairs and eat food so we better stock up now in secret while we can.

I didn't miss anything on there. Perhaps you've been braving reading the news.

The How to Train Your Dragon got us through ds being too good a reader for the crappy school books that were being sent home and needed a good story to read but wasn't really up for big pages of unbroken text yet. Proper chapter books and storylines but also lots of illustrations and playing with font and stuff. Sounds like your dd is happy with pages of text only though. Ds could read them but wasn't actually ready for them itms.

Dh is talking to me about what the Times has said about school returns in England and I'm like, won't believe it till I read about it in the Staffroom I would take any headlines with a pinch of salt until an actual announcement is made. I still can't get past listening to your education chap saying you'd all be back in after Christmas and then changing their minds one day later.
Maybe you need a news-blackout to let you actually enjoy your half terms a bit more.