As we approach the end of the summer term in England, its tempting to feel like this is the home stretch towards a brighter reality without the weight of home learning hanging around our necks.
I’m bracing myself though, for that being totally unrealistic.
School Holidays
After the end of term comes school holidays. Not holidays from work, or not immediately. Instead, it’ll be business as usual work wise for me and himself. Except that the boys will still be in the house with nothing to focus them, no routine of maths at 9am and literacy at 11am, no feeling of accomplishment each day when they complete some work or master a new concept. They’re going to be bored, they’re going to complain about being bored and they’re probably going to miss their regular spurts of intense parental attention. We’re probably going to crumble in the first week and let them have loads of screen time to keep them quiet while we work – but we know that the consequence of that will be poor behaviour, grumpiness and strops about little things.
Have you got any ideas for projects they could do, mostly independently?
Getting Away
For me the home stretch doesn’t end next Friday with the end of term. It’ll be two weeks after that when, hopefully (please!), we’ll be off to visit my in laws and my parents for a week each. Not the summer holiday we’d planned but I hope that it’ll happen and it’ll be respite for everyone. We’ll get a much-needed change of scenery and our parents will get an equally-needed change of company.
We’ll pack up the truck and launch our longed-for road trip, getting away from the house and work and learning for a glorious fortnight of family and adventures.
After our break though, it’ll be back to work with the boys trying to keep amused in the house. Usually they’d be in holiday clubs, but those are cancelled. Himself’s work will still be running Zoom teaching sessions but they require set up and so timings can be delicate. Maybe a couple each week for each of the boys will help.
New September Term
Just like the end of term isn’t going to result in reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t think there’s a longer home stretch towards the schools going back in September. Maybe I’m being a pessimist and that’s not like me. The thing is, I don’t think they’ll be able to accommodate all pupils in school all the time. They aren’t all going to be back full time, I just don’t see how it can happen.
I have no idea how the schools are going to come up with a solution to teaching all year groups on site at least part time. Maybe it’ll be mornings for half the kids and afternoons for the other half? Maybe two days for some and a different two days for the others? If that’s how it goes, I really really hope our boys are in at the same times.
I’m not feeling that the new term is going to be the end of this horror of working and supporting home learning at the same time. Its just not. It might be better, it might be more complicated split between home and school. Its not going to alleviate the current stresses we’re all feeling.
Honestly, I’m dreading it. I’m spread really thin as it is and the autumn is an even busier time at work than the last two months have been. Something’s going to have to give somewhere.
I’m not normally all doom and gloom like this, but I just need to get my feelings of trepidation out.
What are you worrying about as term comes to an end? or looking further towards the new term?
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 
Thanks for sharing. We are all in this crazy together and the uncertainty of school is unsettling! Try to enjoy the rest of summer
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Thanks! We’re away at the moment and its lovely to be away from work and just somewhere different. I’m reserving judgement about school still, but buying uniform until the last minute.
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Very good!! Enjoy the break. We will be starting the yr virtually here. So that will be interesting
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Good luck! Virtual learning is such a strange experience
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Thanks and agree!!
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I think this is just the beginning. We are here for a marathon. I wish you the best of luck this summer before school 🏫 starts again.
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I think you’re probably right. I’m hoping that the vaccines and treatments in the pharma pipelines are effective and can be verified as safe so that we can protect ourselves and cut the marathon short before we hit the pain wall.
(Totally took your analogy and “ran” with it there! 🤣)
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It will be interesting to see what happens with school in the fall. In Canada, I’ve heard different proposals. My daughter is in high school and she heard it will be 50% of kids in school on Monday and Tuesday, and the other 50% on Thursday & Friday, with Wednesday being a day to deep clean the school. Then I heard half one week, the other half the next week. They have told us we’ll get more information in August.
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That sounds like what some schools are doing here; two days in, clean and then the other half two days in. Some places were doing mornings and afternoons too. No news from our school yet and a lot can change in the 7 weeks until they go back.
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I wonder what will happen with covid.
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Definitely empathising here! Routine is vital and filling those summer days is tough at the best of times. In September my two will both be in high school, but their days will look very different from normal, with fewer, but longer lessons. My youngest moves into Year 7 & it’s not something we’re looking forward too. His routine will be totally different and transition could be tricky. Everything seems to cause stress at the minute!
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Our little one moves into year 1 and back to school, presumably. Its going to be a huge change for him too and I think we’re going to have to deal with some strong reactions to the upheaval.
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They’re surprisingly resilient though too. Give it a few weeks and they’re back in a routine and usually coping. You never stop worrying though!
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Does your local library have a summer reading program? I enrolled our kids even though we’re not showing up in person (it’s all online this year). Even my 3 YO can be in it. We log every hour they read or are read to and they get entered for prizes. I’ve started holding TV time ransom until reading is done. This also helps cut down the grumpies and the don’t feel goods that come with too much TV time. Good luck!
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They have done past years, we popped in today and there were no signs up. I ought to check out whether it’s running. Good idea!
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I think the lack of routines has been the biggest struggle for us with our little ones. It can be quite stressful. Not sure when we will get back to normal, but fortunately our littles ones have been great throughout this all!
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We’ve stuck to a pretty good routine until now. We used their school schedule, at least in general terms, as a template for their home learning. They do maths first every day, just like a school, but timings have to fit in around work meetings. They’ve both coped really well up to this point. Not having any purpose will be really challenging for them though. And for me!
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Routines being out of whack can have such an impact — it’ll also be interesting to see what September is like for everyone getting back to things.
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Yeah, interesting times we’re living in.
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I totally get it – I am wondering what life is going to look like into August and September, as here where I am we are still on lockdown, although now I’ve started to let little miss play with the neighbour’s kids! They’ve been shut inside without playing with others since March 12th – and none of us is out and about! So, the kids play football or ride their bikes (nothing that’s contact), but at least they get to see each other and laugh and play.
I am busy living one day at a time.
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I so wish we had neighbours with kids of similar ages so they could see other people. Large boy has even remarked on it being ages since he’s been near people. I’m hoping school will be able to give us an idea before the end of term but I’m not counting my chickens.
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I feel your pain. I just spent months teaching from home, tutoring my own kids, and blogging. It was busy and exhausting at times. It’s the not knowing what to expect that is so stressful. You’ve got this! You are going to do a great job with it all.
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Thanks, it doesn’t feel like that most of the time. The juggling work, learning, house and everything else has me more drained than anything else ever.
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Not long to go. I hope you enjoy the summer holidays and the break from homeschooling. I am struggling if they go back to blended learning as all three are two different schools and all different days and times. It’s going to be crazy xxx
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Looks like we’ll be driving past your neck of the woods in 3 weeks on our way to in laws! Different schools sounds even worse than same school at different times. I hope it works out manageable for you xx
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Thanks for sharing, I do hope that you have a great summer hoilday, however it come about, also the new school term won’t be as stressful 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
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I think the worst case scenario would be both boys in school 2 days but different days. So we’d still have to do 8 school runs a week plus home learning every day for the child at home. That actually seems worse than what we’re doing now. Hopefully school will consider siblings though.
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I’m worried about my two boys who will be going into years 11 and 13, not knowing what exams will look like for them, when they will happen, if they’ll be different to allow for four months of supposed home learning. And how I’ll get to teach my own class 🤷🏻♀️ At least the dog will be fine 😂
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Yeah I’m worried about the social side for small boy. He hadn’t made any best friends and then he’s not seen them for months. I’m trying to reassure myself by remembering that large boy only made his best mate in y1 so its not the end of the world. I think logistically September could be very challenging.
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