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Corona Diary

Penny’s Corona Diary – Wednesday 25th March

March 25, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

Three days of home schooling under my belt and I’m utterly exhausted. So much to write about, including some brilliant resources I’ve found online, but just too tired to write about them right now. We’ve made boats, made pencil pots, done maths and English workbooks, online PE classes, virtual history classes and even a virtual Cubs meeting. This weekend we’re even going to be taking part in a virtual Cub Camp. The mind boggles slightly, but I’m pinning my hopes on a sew on badge for my efforts. Surely I at least deserve that?

We had a worry that we might be coming down with the dreaded virus, but after just 24 hours of a bit of coughing and the shivers it’s vanished. Was that it? Was it something else? Who knows at the moment.

My head is full of stuff that I want to get out, but for now I need to sit down infant of some mindless TV and enjoy a couple of biscuits. Although, right now I feel a bit guilty about doing that. It’s like that period before Christmas when you’re not sure if you’re allowed to eat anything or if everything needs to be saved. Just in case.

 

Filed Under: Corona Diary, Life

Penny’s Corona Diary – Monday 23rd March 2020

March 23, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

A short and sweet update today.

Day one of home schooling survived. But I’m going to have to lower my kids’ expectations of their new teacher significantly as I can’t sustain this for months! More on what I have found to keep them amused another day.

Also today – the realisation that I need to find a way to get the toddler fresh air and sunshine every day. The older two can be sent out into the garden for a bit. It’s not so simple with her as she’ll just try and eat the soil and climb the dangerous steps to the patio area. I need to think a bit more about how to achieve this two ensure she doesn’t just have months stuck inside.

And finally lockdown. Good. Too many idiots were thinking the social distancing rules didn’t apply to them. Too many people treated the weekend like a sunny Bank Holiday. Too many bosses (my husband’s included) who think that their work is “critical” when in actual fact they need to get off their high horse and accept that it’s not. Yes, this is all going to hurt many businesses, mine included, but in this case we don’t really have much choice. It’s just a shame that people were incapable of following the social distancing rules and so it’s had to come to this.

The key thing now is going to be surviving lockdown. How to keep everyone sane, still pay bills and also make sure everyone has enough to eat. Balancing educating the kids with keeping them in a safe, loving home. Balancing work with everything that needs to be done when you have a house full of kids 24/7. I don’t think I’m going to have time to be bored, that’s for sure. I just hope lockdown does what it needs to do to keep people safe and not to overwhelm the NHS.

Filed Under: Corona Diary

Penny’s Corona Diary – Sunday 22 March 2020

March 22, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

If I’m honest I feel too tired to write properly tonight.

Today was Mother’s Day and I was really hoping to carve out a bit of “me time” today so that I could recharge my batteries a bit for the week ahead. No such luck. I did get a gorgeously cute card from my youngest though, a brilliant picture my eldest made at Brownies and some yummy chocolates from my son, plus a letter thanking me for tidying his bedroom! The important stuff.

My kids seem to think that I can seamlessly step into their teachers’ shoes at 9am tomorrow. Somehow I’m going to wake an expect in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (Years 2 and 5, if you’re interested) and that in-between all the other million and one things I have to do running a house of 5 people I will have designed a whole singing and dancing curriculum that will engage them from 9am to 3.15pm. I fear they’re going to be disappointed.

In the one hour today that I got between breaking up fights and cooking meals (errr – isn’t today the ONE day off the year when I’m not supposed to be doing that?) I managed to knock up a very rough timetable for tomorrow. I scoured the various resources that are being shared madly on both class’ WhatsApp groups and printed loads of worksheets from Twinkl and various other sites. I designed a worksheet on bridge design as my son keeps telling me that he is desperate to learn about this and I made a quick list of educational TV programmes that we might be able to base some of our learning on over the next couple of weeks at least.

I know the school don’t expect me to suddenly magic up a PGCE and an intimate knowledge of the National Curriculum, but my kids do. And to be honest I’m more scared of letting them down than their teachers.

I had so many other things I wanted to achieve though today and seem to have failed at all of them. Knowing we’re going to be at home and needing some fresh air I hoped to get the lawn cut. No chance. There were things I wanted out of the loft to keep the toddler amused whilst I deal with the older two tomorrow. They’re still in the loft. There’s a pile of ironing that needs doing and in just a weekend my laundry basket is overwhelmed again. The kids also seem to be eating me out of house and home already. Ideally I’d find the time to do some baking as well so that I could top up the snack supplies that way, but time is the thing I’m lacking right now.

I also wanted to get the desk we have assembled and in my son’s room before tomorrow, but we can’t find all the bolts to put it together. That means he’s going to have to work at the kitchen table instead, which is where I was planning to squeeze in a bit of work myself. Ho hum.

Oh, and to top it all off, tomorrow is the day that Royal Mail increase all their prices. So with my work hat on I have 200 listings on eBay that I need to go through and alter the P&P charges on before midnight. Because, you know I’m just sat here at 10pm on a Sunday evening twiddling my thumbs and wondering what to do to fill an evening.

Seriously though – I need to take a bit of down time right now, or else I fear burnout pretty soon.

There were a few nice bits of today. I managed our first family FaceTime session with my mum, sister, brother in law and nephew to celebrate mothers day. I’m not sure we’re technically savvy enough to run a family pub quiz online yet, but at least we got to talk to each other. It was also nice to see that my mum’s local pub are offering to deliver meals to people in her village. 12 weeks is a long time for her to be sat at home so at least she can enjoy a meal cooked by someone else every so often.

There is also one thing that I’m looking forward to tomorrow. The BBC have brought forward their launch of a new adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers. It’s described as Downton for kids and to be honest, having seen the trailer I can’t wait. I just need to persuade the nine year old to watch it with me, rather than rushing ahead and bingeing it all straight away on her table!

Filed Under: Corona Diary, Life

Penny’s Corona Diary – Saturday 21st March 2020

March 21, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

Today was calm and peaceful. I didn’t expect it to be, especially with it being the first day of the eldest two kids being at home after their schools’ sudden closure, but it really was. And I feel so much calmer myself as a result.

We’ve followed the advice and socially distanced all day. We had some parcels to take to the Post Office, so we all headed out this morning on foot and scooter and make the trip to our closest one. Ot’s located inside a Tesco store on a parade of shops, so I stayed outside with the kids – positioned away from where other people were coming and going – and just my husband went in. There was a queue to be served, but whilst he was there he managed to pick up a box of eggs in the Tesco part of the store and also a few sweet treats. A Cream Egg has honestly never tasted so good.

On our walk we kept our distance from other people and made the most of a gorgeously sunny day – despite a bit of a cold wind. The local butchers had a queue out of the door and the local chemist shop was serving everyone from a table placed across the shop doorway – so that only the staff themselves went into the shop. A sensible precaution. It’s all very weird feeling though when just a couple of weeks ago we were able to buy most things without any problems at all and yet now we get excited about finding a shop with eggs in it.

I felt very proud of the kids though. The route we took today took us right past the park where they usually go to the playground, but they both understood that this wasn’t an option today. I’m so hoping that walks can continue to be a thing, but that’s all going to depend on whether or not the rest of the population follow the social distancing instructions and if we don’t have to go into a lockdown like other countries have.

Back at home we’ve all managed to keep ourselves busy all day. It’s been perfect weather for clothes drying outside so two loads of laundry are all complete without having to turn the tumble drier on at all. My daughter spent some time in the back garden practicing her football skills, skipping and playing on the trampoline. Thank goodness we’re no longer in the tiny flat without a garden that we only moved out of a couple of years ago!

My son has spent a fair amount of time building Lego, but at one point he burst into the kitchen and announced that he was going to do some school work! I’d told both of them that I wasn’t going to make them do anything school related until Monday, but off his own back he sat down and did a comprehension exercise from one of the Key Stage 1 workbooks that his school sent home with him yesterday.  The final question flummoxed me and his elder sister though. The passage of text was about Amy Johnson and then at the end it simply asked. Is this fiction or non-fiction? How can you tell? Errrr. How can you tell? That question had be foxed somewhat! I might have to email his teacher next week.

Normally on a weekend dinner ends up feeling all rushed. We’ve been out somewhere and upon returning there’s a bit of a panic to get dinner on the table before someone’s hunger makes them snap. It was quite a contrast today to have what felt like all the time in the world to get it cooked and served up. I even got offers of help in the kitchen. Almost unheard of without some prompting.

In addition to all that the kids have watched a film on Netflix, I’ve managed to clear out a box of paperwork that I’ve been meaning to do for about a year, computer games have been played and old toys rediscovered. My eldest has done a spot of computer programming from a book on Scratch that she found in her bedroom and also started working through the projects in an electronics kit she got a couple of Christmases ago.

I’m not expecting all days to be as calm as today, but it would be nice to think that there might be some calm days amidst all the craziness to come.

Filed Under: Corona Diary, Life

Penny’s Corona Diary – Friday 20th March 2020

March 20, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

Today I cried.

That wasn’t the plan, but it’s just been such an overwhelmingly emotional day I couldn’t help it.

Things started off quite normally with me taking the kids to school, but then took a slightly different turn when my phone rang as I was stood on the playground and it was the deputy head. This morning was my son’s class assembly. The one that normally parents are invited to so they can show off their learning. The kids had been practicing for ages, but with everything that has happened parents were told that they could no longer attend. We totally understood the reason for that, but there were a lot of sad parents and kids all the same.

The reason for the deputy head’s call though was a genius solution. Could I, as a parent, please go in and record the assembly on my phone to then possibly share it with other parents in the class. Parents are normally allowed to film things for personal use and this would get around any problems with school recording it and then trying to distribute it. As a school governor I have been in and out of school all week helping with things, and in particular covering for MSAs yesterday and today, so I wasn’t adding a new contamination risk for the kids. I recruited a fellow governor to also record (he too has a child in the same class and is also covering MSA duties) and between us we had the pressure of making sure that we captured the whole thing. Behind the scenes staff were making sure that all checks were made to make sure all parents gave permission for their children to be filmed and that there were no safeguarding risks associated with doing so.

It felt like one hell of a responsibility, but I’m so glad that I was able to capture it for everyone. The kids are in Year 2 and this might well be their last ever assembly at the Infant School. That added one level of emotion, but this term they’ve been studying World War 2 so to seem them hold up things like a junk model gas mask and their own version of a Dig for Victory poster pushed me over the edge. I also realised that your arm aches like hell when you’re trying to hold your phone really still and record something!

The second thing that had me reaching for the tissues was a letter written to all Year 2 children by the head teacher. She’s currently working from home as she’s heavily pregnant so isn’t able to come into school to say goodbye to this cohort. For many of them they have been at the school since their pre-school year and the thought of them leaving and not having all the normal things like a leaver’s disco and a leaver’s assembly is heartbreaking. They didn’t even get their class photos this year as they were supposed to be taken this week. The Head Teacher’s letter hits the spot perfectly. She’s written about how things are all strange at the moment, but how everyone is working to keep everyone else safe. She goes on to explain how the children will go back to school when it is safe to do so, but that might mean that it is next school year. This might make some of the children sad, but they’re not to worry as when we’re allowed to the school will have a party for them. A picnic if the weather allows and possibly even a bouncy castle on the school field. She pitched it so perfectly. And at the same time, as an adult reading it, with a fuller understanding of everything going on in the world right now, it was one of the most emotional things I’ve ever read.

In between all the tears I also went out on a mission to buy flowers to give to my kids’ class teachers from all the parents to say thank you. I know supermarkets are restricting how much people can buy, but I wasn’t expecting to be told that I couldn’t buy two of the same bunch of flowers in Tesco due to the restrictions! I understand it on food items, but are people stockpiling fresh flowers???

The other thing that has blown me away today is people’s kindness. We’ve been struggling to find nappies for our youngest. Today a school mum messaged me to tell me that she’d picked me up a packet when in Aldi, and I had my neighbour messaging me to ask if I wanted her to try to add some to her supermarket click and collect order for tomorrow. So kind in both cases.

For now though, it’s Friday night and I just want to concentrate on something else for a while. This evening the government has announced the closure of cafes, restaurants, pubs, leisure centres and basically anywhere that people gather socially. It had to happen, but I guess it just shows how much things are ramping up here. In a way it doesn’t bother me personally too much as I haven’t been in a cafe or anything for weeks, but I’m a tad annoyed that I can’t now go to the library tomorrow to swap books. I had been meaning to get there today, but just couldn’t make the time.

I’m looking forward to a weekend that involves less rushing around like a mad woman. We need to make it to the Post Office to post a few parcels (as a side business I sell vintage board games online and the last 24 hours have seen a bit of a rush on sales after a dead week – I need it, the Government’s help for self employed people is pretty much non-existent!) but otherwise we have no plans. Other than maybe catching my breath before home schooling starts on Monday. Ideally I’d come up with some sort of a plan for Monday at least, but that can wait for tomorrow.

Filed Under: Corona Diary

Penny’s Corona Diary – Thursday 19th March 2020

March 19, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

There was so much that I planned to do today. None of it happened. I’ve literally only been able to tick one thing off my to do list and that was just the recurring one to tell me to do a load of laundry so no one runs out of clean underwear!

I’ve spent over three hours of today in the car, but then again that can be quite typical for me. My kids’ school is 30 minutes away (that’s what happens when you get divorced and can’t afford to stay living in the same place) so the morning and afternoon school runs make up two hours of that.

The extra trip was because my son’s school was short of staff and being a governor there means that I have a DBS clearance, so was able to stand in for one of the MSAs (Midday Supervisory Assistants – or “dinner ladies” in old terminology!) that are currently at home either self-isolating or social-distancing. There were three governors in the lunch hall and on the playground today. Tomorrow we’re expecting four or five of us helping out. I got the outdoor duty and actually I rather enjoyed being forced to spend an hour outside with the drizzly rain hitting my face. I suppose this whole scenario makes you focus a bit on what things in life you don’t really appreciate until you realise that they might be taken away from you.

When I wasn’t at school or driving between school and home I managed to fit in a quick supermarket trip looking for nappies. We’re struggling to find any size 5 one for our daughter. Everywhere is sold out. We’ve even got neighbours on our new WhatsApp group looking for us. These are neighbours whose names I didn’t even know a week ago and now they’re trying to help us buy nappies. This is all so weird.

One thing I’m glad I’ve done is make that contact with all our neighbours. I used a template I found online to put notes through all their doors. It felt a strange thing to do and I was a bit nervous that no one would respond, but we’ve now got about 10 of us on WhatsApp and I’ve spoken to four others on the telephone (notably they all called me from a landline!) that are very grateful of the contact. Two of them live alone and don’t know how they are going to get food if they can’t go out to the shops. One of them is also registered disabled ad said he has no support. I feel awful thinking that they could have had no one to help them. It’s also nice thinking that we have a bit of back up should we need it at any point over the next few months. That’s a bit of a relief.

My trip to the supermarket didn’t bring any nappies. Nor did I find much else. No milk. No fresh meat. No biscuits. So much for limiting what people buy so everyone can buy something. This was just at 2pm. What about people who are at work all day and can only get there in the evening?

Today has not all been doom and gloom though. I’ve had some lovely chats with neighbours, my knitting group, fellow school governors and other friends online. Even some old work colleagues that I hadn’t spoken to in years. Funny what a situation like this makes people do.

One of my dear knitting group has also been incredibly generous by giving my kids an xbox 360 that her family no longer needed. They’d ordered a new Playstation 4 to help them through the isolation period so she kindly offered their old console to my kids. Complete with a pile of games and various other controllers, guitars and even a drum kit! It was like Christmas had come early. My husband went over to pick it up and is connecting it up to our TV as I type.

I had planned to make a start on preparation for our period of home education today, but that’s one of the tasks that fell off the end of my to do list. My son’s school have published various blog posts about how parents can support their children’s learning at home and there are links a plenty for online resources. My daughter’s school has also sent home various suggestions and I’m expecting some workbooks to be coming home with her tomorrow. More work is to be published online over the coming weeks. I’ve got some ideas in my head already for things I can do with them both, but I need to actually write some of them down before I forget. There are also so many links that have been shared with me, but again I need the time to sort through them all and work out which are most worth doing and when to deploy them on the kids.

The thing about school closing that has hit me hardest is possibly the realisation that tomorrow is probably my son’s last ever day at his Infant School. I’m just mentally not ready. I get a lump in my throat just typing those words. It’s mot supposed to happen so soon. He’s supposed to have another term and a bit before I’m attending a leavers’ assembly and all that sort of thing. Now none of it may happen. I don’t think he’s fully realised yet, but I certainly have. And I don’t like the feeling at all.

I totally understand the move to shut schools. And the one to keep them open for vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers. But the lack of information about it all, and the practicalities of everyone (teachers, head teachers, parents and the public in general) finding out at the same time means there are so many questions that haven’t been answered yet. Over 24 hours on from the announcement and they haven’t even managed to publish a list of what the definition of a key worker is. How on earth are schools supposed to be ready to open on Monday when they don’t even know which children to expect through the gate? Let alone how many.

The final bit of today that made me smile was when we got home from the school run I realised I needed to pop to the post box with something. The kids asked if they could bring their scooters and amazingly once we got to the post box they asked if we could turn it into a scoot around the local streets. They had a blast wizzing down hills and chasing each other. Simple pleasures, but ones which I fear they may have to miss out on for a while. Seeing how much they enjoyed it though made me resolve to get out every single day that we can. Even just scooting around local streets shouldn’t be taken for granted any more.

It’s been such a busy day that I haven’t seen as much of the news as I have on previous days. Maybe that’s a good thing. The bits I have caught have only made me realise just how big and bad everything is. The Bank of England have cut interest rates yet again. Down to just 0.1%. If that’s not a sign of the effect on the economy then I don’t know what is. If our high streets weren’t struggling enough before this, things are even worse now. The impact on so many other industries is also huge. Entertainment, hospitality, travel. The supermarkets are doing OK with everyone panic buying. I’ve seen three of them advertising for new staff in the last 24 hours. Good news, but not enough to make up for all the losses that I keep hearing about. Everything is going to look so different when this is all over.

For now though I need to go and distract myself with something before bed. We’ve spotted that every series of Spooks seems to have suddenly appeared on iPlayer. Time to go and focus on imaginary terrorists and MI5 rather than the real life drama happening all around us.

Filed Under: Corona Diary, Life

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