Gosh, I'm grateful that we can be home at the moment and that we're all safe and healthy, but there's no denying that living through this pandemic and being in lockdown right now feels like groundhog day every single day. The only days that don't feel like they're the same each day are the weekend days which break up the home-schooling and working from home. But even then we're very limited as to what we can do. We can only stay in our local area and the weather has been freezing and so muddy!
Home-schooling a 7 year old and a 5 year old is also no easy task. Of course it isn't - this isn't their school and Adam and I aren't their teachers. We also have to condense our normal working day into just a few hours to fit around schooling and parenting. Some days are naturally intense. But these two boys of mine have been thrown into this just like we have. Almost without question they've found themselves isolated at home away from school and friends and their normal routine and they simply get on with it. Some days they find it tough, just like we do and some days they find it easier. But this has been a year nearly of being told to stay away from other people, not to touch things, to stay at home, to learn at home and for two small children they've coped brilliantly.
This week the boys have worked so hard with their learning at home, (I went pretend that they don't often sit on their chairs spinning round for an hour protesting about their school work because they do!), but I can see their little brains ticking and absorbing and trying their best despite the strange situation we all find ourselves in. And so I decided last night whilst brushing my teeth before bed that today, being a Friday and the end of the week, we were going to change it up a bit for the day. Instead of the normal, English, Maths and spellings, we would do something a bit more fun and relaxed.
And so we did. We started with PE which was a trip to the park as the four of us - the boys went on the swings, the roundabout, they balanced on the balanced beams and ran around on the grass. We took Logan's scooter and Ethan's bike (that we really need to replace for a bigger one!) and we even got to enjoy a bit of sunshine before it started raining again.
At home after a hot chocolate and some lunch, we did a 'cookery class', which basically involved us making honey biscuits. I would say we added a bit of maths in there too with all the measuring we did! I'm not the best baker, in fact my creations usually end up going completely wrong, but today I think we did alright. The boys were happy anyway!
And then after that we took an 'art class' - we love joining in with the videos from the Art Hub For Kids YouTube channel and today we drew cute cartoon character hot chocolates, as you do! 
And that was the end of 'Mummy's school' today. Now, the boys are having some time on their switches and I'm up in the office writing this, replying to emails and doing some general work admin before the weekend. Today has been a good day - a well-needed, well-deserved day! And I've really enjoyed having fun with my boys rather than nagging at them to pick up their pencils or sit down.
We'll get back on with the school work next week, I know it's important to make sure they're doing their maths and English at least, but sometimes, just sometimes, especially so at the moment, a break from the ordinary is exactly what everyone needs!
Thank you for reading. Alex xo
