By some miracle, Autumn is still actually enjoying homeschool and eager to start each day. It works well for me as it provides us some structure and it gives me something to focus some of her seemingly endless energy on! We also have a lot of fun while she is learning. Obviously, it adds extra stress and pressure on me and it takes me ages to compile all the activities we’ll do over the course of a week. Honestly, I completely understand if some of you have tried to homeschool and given up on the idea. However, for me, I think it is worth it. I think being able to homeschool Autumn like I’ve always kind of wanted to do is definitely one of my silver linings of lockdown life!
Parenting
Back to the Garden with Sudocrem
Collaborative Post¦ I’m delighted to be working with Sudocrem again this spring, this time on their new Back to the Garden campaign! I love spending time in the garden with Autumn (aged 3) – more so than ever during the UK lockdown! However, you don’t have to have an outdoor space to enjoy some gardening with children. Let’s take a look about what Back to the Garden is all about. (Psst, there’s also a giveaway!)
Lockdown Nursery Homeschool: Week 2
Well, this post has taken some time to write up as Autumn has been so full on and I’ve had so many headaches over the last couple of weeks! As well as that, I just haven’t had any blogging mojo. As such, I took an extended break from all things blogging over the Easter weekend. I hope you’ve had a good Easter and are well? Over the last fortnight I’ve been trying to keep my anxious mind quiet with practical things. Gardening. Tidying. Sorting. I digress…
I can’t lie, after a week of lockdown, we really didn’t manage to keep our second week of homeschool as structured as the first! But, you know what? I’m cool with it. I’m finding that as well as keeping structure in some respects, we also need to go with the flow. This is a weird experience for all of us. Autumn has still been enjoying Apple Class, though, and is eager to start most mornings! Here’s what we did over the second week of nursery homeschool (timings are approximate):
Lockdown Nursery Homeschool: Week 1
Well, we all survived our first week of no school! Along with others around the UK, I took my first steps into homeschooling my child on Monday. Although my daughter is only 3, I know that she needs the structure and stimulation that nursery provides her. So as soon as I found out the schools were closing due to coronavirus (COVID-19), I set about finding resources and lesson planning. Thankfully, my mum is an experienced early years TA and one of my best friends is a primary teacher. As such, I was well equipped, although lots of people have been helpfully posting many of these sites on social media! We have also been taking advantage of the various companies doing Facebook lives during lockdown. Autumn actually really enjoyed homeschool (which she named Apple Class) – and so did I!
10 tips for organizing a child’s birthday party
Collaborative Post¦ Organizing a birthday party should be an exciting and joyous time, but unfortunately, it is often very stressful, especially if you must cater to difficult parents. Your top priority is likely the safety of children and making sure that they all enjoy themselves. When they are hyped up on sugar, and there is the risk of spilling liquids and breaking objects, things can often get out of hand. The last thing you need is for someone to need slip and fall attorneys after your event.
Here is a simple checklist that will put your mind at ease. Plan ahead, and it will take away a lot of the stress.