Lockdown (And Beyond) Hatchlings

[wendy james]

Poor Chunk.

I think I’ve said before, Elvis is going to really struggle going back due to being separated from her sister. I do occasionally worry about their closeness, which seems daft but Elvis can get really quite wound up and upset about being separated. Most of yesterday morning was about her wanting Sproglette’s attention when she was trying to do her schoolwork.

Sproglette helped her create list of things she could do with P whilst she’s working, then we sent her to bed in her own room with me opting to have a sleepover with Elvis last night. We did a Born to Move and then another 10 minutes of relaxation/meditation, then I was showing her The Trip (it’s a indoor cycling class but it’s immersive video rather than other cyclists), which she loved and insisted I keep on. I think she misses the rollercoaster channel that suddenly disappeared.

She asked for her sister a lot at bedtime, but we put on some relaxing music and she eventually went to sleep. Let’s see how today goes...

[Pippedydeadeye]

Hopefully the novelty of other friends at school when they o back will help? Who knows when though?

[viggy]

Schools and nurseries up here have recognised that separation anxiety after spending so much time exclusively with family is something they'll have to navigate when the kids return to education, so hopefully Elvis will be well supported (and I doubt she'll be on her own). I hope things are a bit better today - when I was ill, it was almost BM needed a massive meltdown every few days just to get it all out, and things were much better the next day.

We have mice I saw one (twice) while BM was with her Dad and I nearly had a fucking breakdown with anxiety - I've coped with mice without freaking out so much in the past, but fucking lockdown with them is too much. I managed to get things cleaned etc while BM was away, but the whole of yesterday she was on edge, screaming she thought she saw, a mouse, not wanting to go into rooms alone etc. I'm putting on my brave face, but TBH I don't really blame her

[wendy james]

Hopefully! We get tears at drop off and reportedly through the day when they go back after each school holiday pre-COVID-19 so at least it won’t be new. It does seem to fizzle out eventually.

ETA - that’s interesting viggy, thanks.

I’m sorry about your mice though.

[smalex]

Oh no Vigs! Would pest controllers not be an essential service? Or going to buy some traps etc? Surely it must be.

That's very sweet Wendy, but I can see why it's also less than ideal at times. Hopefully kids adjust ok, but I can also foresee a lot of them struggling a bit. We're into the 7th week off now, so none of them have ever been off this long I guess.

[viggy]

B&Q is open so I did some socially distant queuing to get supplies. I did think about getting the professionals in, but since I got ill mid-renovation there was loads of displaced clutter that I'd have to move myself anyway, so I just got on with it

[Derek Nimmo]

Vigs! You poor sod. Stuff wire wool in every tiny crevice and crack you can find, and only use old-styleee traps (with peanut butter rather than cheese), horrific as the idea is. If you use poison and one dies under the floorboards when we're in lockdown and you can't escape the smell...WORST OF ALL WORLDS.

[viggy]

I've already put poison down, and two have had the decency to leave their corpses in plain sight In the old house we had to use poison because they breed faster than the snap traps can kill them

I threw the first one out before BM saw it, but let her see the other one when she asked - she was a bit sad because it was cute, but mostly happy she doesn't have to worry about her soft toys being pooed on any more.

Aldo concerning: will we have a ghost mouse now?

[Kenickie]

My cousin had them and they went through her daughter's you box but mainly pooed/nibbled on her Minnie mouse toy.

[Kleio]

I mentioned on the C-19 thread that one of Betty’s classmates has lost his Dad. How do I tell her? She’s already an emotional wreck at the moment and she’s been ignoring her friends. I’ve spent the last two days encouraging her to speak to them so if I don’t tell her they might.

[Loralei]

That poor family. I'd tell her soon, be factual and don't try to pre-empt which worries it will raise, but rather let her come to you.

[Zoomer]

Oh, that's so sad, Wendy! That poor boy. And poor Betty too. Have you told her yet? How did she take it if so?

I've just learned that A won't be going back to school on the 11th after all. Her school won't take her year group. I'm a bit angry about it at the moment, but I'm sure I'll calm down and see sense soon. FFS, though!

[ParisGal]

School seems to be very random. A friend posted something about how even if a child was officially going back, they'd only be in 1 day out of 3 due to physical constraints of classroom size.

[Dáire]

Ours are spitballing a bunch of ideas about Year 6s going back 'to aid transition', but not doing full curriculum work and just sitting in random aged, siblings-in-the-same-room groups like the keyworkers' kids currently are, sat distantly apart. I don't think that'll help transition at all, to be honest. I think it'll only hammer home how 'different' things are now and will be more upsetting than staying at home, where he's being fairly protected from it all. I want him to go back 'properly', as he's losing his three best friends he's had since he was 6 who aren't going to the same school, but not just in a room for the sake of it.

[Kleio]

Have you told her yet? How did she take it if so?

She took it really well and said her friend never liked his Dad anyway. I was worried it would make her think about losing me/her Dad but luckily I think as she's not around them at the moment it's too far removed for her to think closely about it.

Daire I'm the same with Cube. His two best friends are going to separate schools but luckily, we all live near enough to each other for them to continue their friendships when it's all over.

I really, really don't want the children to go back before September.

[Zoomer]

Oh that's good, I suppose. Still poor little boy. What a horror his dad must have been.

I wouldn't if we were in a town or city, but no one here in our tiny villages has had it, and there have only been 3 cases in the big village half an hour from us. Even our GP that i was talking to yesterday said the risk was miniscule.

But anyway, it appears the decision is out of our hands now anyway.

[Luce]

F is the same boat, 30 of the 34 in his class are going to a different school. I want him to have those last few weeks with his mates so desperately, especially as he missed out on that last week.

I'm intrigued by mixed age classes though but it makes absolute sense to keep siblings together. But there are a lot of things that I would have said was imposed a few weeks ago that people are finding work-arounds for.

[viggy]

I just heard about the possibility of class sizes of 10, a drive for new teachers and the possibility of classes being taught in church halls etc.

[Smunder Woman]

Jack got the clippers while I was out...

[Kleio]

Whoops! Is he gutted it’s gone a bit Pete tong?