Number bonds to 20 in the garden with William
Firstly, how is everyone? I hope you’re all managing to stay sane (maybe with the help of alcohol?).
If I am completely honest the lockdown isn’t as bad as I initially thought it would be. At first I did have visions of it being like a cage fight, but giving the kids their dues they have been really good. Yes, we have had moments where someone has been looking at someone the wrong way which has turned into a complete meltdown but I’ll take that over the things I imagined in my head!!
One of the things we decided to do while we were off, was potty train twin 2 Emilia. Now, for those of you who don’t know Emilia, let me paint a little picture. The only way I can describe her is think of the little boy in the Disney film “The Good Dinosaur”; Spot. She is primitive, not afraid of anything (except bugs), wild, tough, and speaks in only grunts and growls. Literally like she is still living in cave man times. She hates being told what to do and hates being told off. So as you can imagine potty training is going to be fuuunnn!!
One of our reasons for this decision was not only because she is nearly 3 and a half but also because it will save us a small fortune not having to buy 1001 nappies a week, I’m sure you can all relate with me on that one?
So, how has it gone?
To be completely fair to her it has gone so much better than we both anticipated it to go. Day one had an accident which obviously, she was distraught about. Then, she decided that she hated wearing her pants and it was literally a wrestling match (think Wrestle Mania) to get them on in the morning. It took a whole 3 days for her to do her number 2 on the potty and of course we all rejoiced when we heard the news (the neighbours must think we’re lunatics!) but 6 days later she has finally cracked it and twin 1 Evelyn is now also dry through the night, so a win, win!
Home schooling has been fun (I’m a teacher my trade), so its been like my bread and butter. I haven’t stressed out too much and have let William (my eldest) take the lead. His school have been super duper supportive and have been checking in on everyone and setting work for you to complete online. He is enjoying the more relaxed time table and it loving Science and History, which is being taught my daddy, so you can imagine the fun they are having. How is everyone else finding the home schooling? I think the key is, try not to do what the schools would do, we are only human and most people wont of ever done this before, so just take it day by day and only do what you can. The most important thing I would say is read EVERYDAY as this is so, so important for when they do go back to school.
It’s hard to forget that at the end of the day, they are only tiny and for them their whole life has been turned upside down in the blink of an eye. They are no longer seeing their friends and teachers everyday, which for some children is their safety net. Their little lives are nothing like they are used to, so just remember to hug them tight and remind them that everything will be ok.
Other than this we haven’t really focused on much else other than trying to have fun and make the most of a bad situation. I am really enjoying having my husband home everyday (please, don’t tell him) and spending time with the kids is really nice as usually life just passes you by in a blur. I realise that not everyone has a partner at home and for some its not ideal. But we are all happy and healthy and for that we must be thankful. The one thing I am really looking forward to doing once this has got better is seeing my mum, brother and grandparents and literally giving them the biggest hug possible. If I have learnt one thing from this its that we mustn’t take people for granted and expect them to always be there. What are you looking forward to doing when lockdown ends?