Homeschooling Help

[Disco]

Oh Heebie, that was wonderful you sound so young as well, like Kelly MacDonald in Trainspotting.

[Texaco Shirley]

Heebie’s recording is fab but I still can’t really hear a difference.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Herbie No wonder you're winning at homeschool.

[emma_p]

We spent the day trying to make a car from a water bottle powered by rubber bands. And failed! I'd ordered a hot glue gun and everything

[purple_dress]

I love my hot glue gun. It was £5 from Hobbycraft!

I'm struggling with some of J's literacy, which is especially embarrassing since I have an MA in English. It was dialogue and punctuation yesterday and I was clueless, really.

[smalex]

I am *useless* at any of that sort of thing PD. W's class teacher made me feel much better about it on the phone last week.

We did this (we go a bit rogue on the official school work sometimes). W researched a body part and drew it in every day. It was quite fun. Now we're picking an artist out of a hat everyday and he's doing a piece of art based on that artist. Because I really *am* that much of a middle class twat. But its fun and there's not enough room in the curriculum for art if you ask me (and also requires less input from me).

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[Cerise]

Think Wendy posted something about some online art classes based on artists.

I love that body project!

[baargain]

That's amazing!

[emma_p]

We have gone off piste too, mainly for my own sanity. Art projects are one thing we pretty much always enjoy (apart from the rubber band car failure). Although George has found a cookery book I bought him years ago and he chose to make smoothies from it this morning. I taught him how to cut mango like a hedgehog yesterday which his knife which he was very proud of.

[Ruby]

I 100% encourage all off-piste activity.

[Pippedydeadeye]

The body thing us cool. The only on piste thing we’re doing for Chunk is MyMaths. But there’s nothing officially set, no Teams/Zoom or anything like that.

[smalex]

I haven't got the time or energy for a lot of off piste activities I can think of, but it's nice to round off the day with something a bit different.

[emma_p]

Yes, we have a lot of arguments over actual school work (S literally had to end a meeting he was chairing because we were all shouting at each other outside the study) but if we do something nice at the end of the day so we don't go to bed unhappy then I feel left bad about failing.

[Blondiejude]

We went slightly off track and drew out our family tree, which I naively thought would be easy! I’d forgotten about the amount of dead people on my side and all the divorces on mr b’s we’ve had some “interesting” explanations of things and who people actually are instead of “auntie x” etc. My heads a bit battered now we’re on a ten minute break.

[Pippedydeadeye]

Are you all actually trying to fill 9-3:30?

[Texaco Shirley]

We’re doing 9-1.45 with 2 half hour breaks (timetable suggested by L’s school).

[Topcat]

I won't be, no, but then I don't have anything to go on really.

I will want to get it done in her own time and then move on to something else.

[smalex]

Well, sort of. He does PE with Joe until 9.30. Half hour of maths (usually relatively painless), then has 'break' for a good half an hour or so. Then we usually do some of the ENDLESS english work they set for 45minutes maybe. Then 'lunch' which lasts at least an hour. Then maybe a few spellings (I know people have mixed feelings on spellings but he seems to not mind them and its totally mindless for me so that works), then reading (i also don't mind this because it's white noise and therefore not too distruptive to working). Then he'll do his 'art' project. He finishes by 3pm at the latest. SO probably 2-2.5hrs of bonefide school work, with some art on the side. I think that's fairly reasonable. We're getting through about 90% of the work school sets, though maybe not as rigorously as they might have done it at school.

Fridays are much slacker because its my day off and I've usually run out of fucks by then. bit of maths and some reading, jobsagoodun, done.

BUT, we are both trying to work simultaneously, his screen time has already increased by roughly 5789278429784% and he doesn't have anyone to play with, so I do feel obliged to try and retain some structure to the day.

[Blondiejude]

No we don’t even start till 10. We do 10-12, hours break and lunch, then 1-3 but that includes a walk/football in the garden as PE.

[wendy james]

Think Wendy posted something about some online art classes based on artists.

We've really enjoyed these so far and may do a few more. There's a small cost but I presume the host/organization are trying to make a living and it's per device so we can sit around the laptop together and join in.

Are you all actually trying to fill 9-3:30?

God no. I reckon Sproglette gets a couple of hours of subject based tasks and Elvis about an hour. They both have other optional stuff set by school but they're not doing it. I've noticed a few more quizzes and TT Rockstars challenges being encouraged. If I wasn't working, then we'd definitely be doing more off-piste 'learning' stuff but for now they're mainly practicing their socialization, negotiation, co-operation, tolerance and emotional intelligence type stuff i.e. learning how to live with a sibling and not kill them.

I've cracked and used the refund of the camp that didn't happen to (mainly) cover the purchase of an additional laptop. Our current one is fairly old and slow, though still chugging along. However, them taking in turns isn't ideal due to distractions, FOMO and P's patience for 'managing' the schooling bit. We're hoping they'll find it easier to work alongside each other then pack it up and go about their day.