school

My Sunday Snapshot, Confession! We are Really Missing School

February 7, 2021 by Anne Sweet 13 Comments

This is not one of my photographs, I have taken from last weeks school newsletter. It’s the Little Man when he was at school and it has made me realise just how much we are missing school.

Really Missing School

It’s been a tough few weeks and I’ve come to the conclusion that our main problem is that we are missing school. This has come to a real shock for me. I’m one of those Mum’s who countdown to school holidays, love having my kids around all day and I am very hands on with their home learning. But, it’s not all about me and my kids are unhappy, and when my kids are unhappy, I am too.

The girls have not been to school properly for nearly a year now. We tried when they went back in September but it didn’t work out. They couldn’t cope with all the new rules and felt unsafe. The school compromised with a safe place for them to go for an hour and half each day. They didn’t learn much and I complimented their education at home with Ed Place. It wasn’t great though, they missed their friends and school interactions. The Summer holidays arrived and lock down relaxed, but they were still too anxious to go out. We did have a friend around on each of the kid’s birthdays. That’s all the interaction they have had in real life.

Computers

All three children now spend most of the day on their computers. Once, computer time would be limited but now they actually get their lessons onlines. They attend classes on Team meetings and then write and submit their work online. Once they are finished they play with their friends…again through their computer screens. I don’t want to deny them this interaction even though I feel they have had enough time glued to their screens.

I try to break it up with other activities like baking, family games and even helping with the housework. It’s so difficult to keep them off their computers though.

Home School

I love having my children home and I love teaching them. I can help with practically everything they are learning (yes, even algebra.) My weak subjects are geography and physics but I’m willing to learn with them. I’ve told them this but they don’t want my help. Even when they get stuck, asking Mum just isn’t a welcome option. The Little Man is better, he will let me help him. I found out last week that even though he was attending school all day online, he was not submitting his work. So we knuckled down and got that done.

As much as I love having my kids home, and I would rather have them here and safe, it’s started to get to me not having a moment to myself. Having teenage girls, they don’t go to bed until I do, and they are here all day. Even if they spend a few hours in their bedroom in the evening, I still have to make sure they are behaving, showering, eating, going to bed at the right time. I would like a break sometime. I do miss that peace and quiet I had after the manic rush to get them off to school. I do miss not having to worry about lunch, just grabbing something when I could. Now I have an hour to make sure everyone is fed and ready for the next lessons to begin.

And as much as the girl’s complained about school, I know they are missing it now, it’s been way too long. And it looks like Star won’t be going back at all.

It’s a different story for The Little Man. He went back in September. His school was brilliant and they did really well at keeping the virus at bay. He loves school, and they spent a lot of time outdoors (As his photo above shows.) He misses his friends and teachers and even though he loves his computer he has become so bored of it.

So, that’s my confession for this week. We are really missing school!

When Your Child Needs A Little Extra Help with Their Education.

December 2, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

These are difficult times with everything being disrupted by the COVID pandemic. Children are back at school now but they still have catching up to do. A lot of children could do with a little extra help with their education. Some children are losing time because of having to self isolate, some are now being home educated at their parents choice. Every story is different, but I have been using a program which has been helping my girls and today I wanted to tell you about EdPlace.

Before I begin I do need to tell you that as a user of Edplace I am entitled to a saving on my fee if I refer you. But you can try it out for free and under no obligation to begin a paid subscription. My referral code is zhvhsb and you will get a £10 discount if you use it. I am a paid user of Edplace and I use the family option so both my girls can benefit from it.

What is EdPlace?

EdPlace is a trusted program to assist learning from year 1 to GCSE, including 11+

It helps to build your child’s confidence in learning by matching their level of progression and providing stimulating lessons to help them achieve more. Whether they are at school or home learning.

EdPlace offer a lot of learning opportunities but they do only provide the main three subjects of English, Science and Maths. They also offer revision assessments for SATS, 11+ and GCSE’s

All subjects are from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4 and are split into different segments, Topics, National Curriculum and Assessments. When you get to the GCSE subjects you can choose from examining boards. The ones on offer are AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas. If your child is working towards GCSEs at school they will know which examining board they will be using. If your child is not at school and you wish for them to do GCSEs then you may be liable to pay for the actual exams. It’s worth talking to a local school or college to see if they can arrange the exams for your child.

https://www.edplace.com/

If your child is home learning then EdPlace can offer loads of learning resources for you online. You can assign them at the click of a button and then your child can log in and do them. You can then either work alongside them or let them get on with it and check over what they have done afterwards. EdPlace scores most of the work but there are some assignments that need a more personal view and you are asked to check that your child has filled the answers in correctly. (Don’t worry, the answers are given for you!)

For example: In an English question your child might be asked to write about three things they have read in a story. Then you will need to check over what they have written and make sure they have correctly identified the three things.

Home Learning and Education Help

There are many reasons for a child to be learning at home. It might be a choice that you have made or it may be that your child is not able to attend school at this time. If your child is attending school then you may find that they are providing all the home learning they need, which is great, but sometimes they might need a little extra. Even if your child is at school full time right now there may be a reason they need a little extra learning at home. Maybe they need help catching up, or just need some extra help with revision for SATS or GCSEs.

EdPlace also offers some great resources and articles on Home Schooling

My girls are currently on a reduced timetable at school and I have one in year 9 and the other in year 11. Boo, in year 9 has fallen behind with her work and is struggling a little. She is doing half a day at school and spending and hour and a half on EdPlace each day. It’s helping her to catch up and hopefully, when she’s back at school full time she will be in line with her peers.

Star is in year 11 and doing her GCSEs. She’s also only on half days and is currently doing her mock exams. EdPlace has helped her to revise for these. Hopefully by continuing with EdPlace she will also get the extra tuition she needs to get better results on her actual exams next year. Other Exam tuition can be found with these revision resources from Becky at Family Budgeting.

Try Edplace for Free

As I mentioned before, I do have a vested interest in EdPlace, but I am also a fully paid up member which I chose because my girls needed the extra tuition it offered. You can try Edplace for free but if you do decide to try out a paid membership you can save £10 by using my referral code zhvhsb. I will save £10 as well. Does your child need a little extra help with their education?

A selection of other posts I’ve written about Education.

Word of the Week 43 – We Made It!

October 23, 2020 by Anne Sweet 6 Comments

Hello and welcome to the home of Word of the Week. A nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. The idea of the linky is to reflect back on your past week and share it with us. It’s great if you can sum it up in a word or phrase, hence giving us your Word of the Week. My phrase this week is ‘We made it!’ and you can read more about that below.

I’m not totally strict on using just a word or phrase. But please try to stick to the theme of summing up your week.There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Word of the Week and I will add posts to Mix Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

Word of the Week is open from 6am on Friday Morning to 12 noon on Monday. Plenty of time to join in!

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

MY WORD OF THE WEEK – We Made It!

We Made it, text written in blue on a pastel coloured background in blue, pink and yello.

Finally, it’s half term. It seems like the schools have been back for a very long time and each day has been a struggle. But we made it and now we are rewarded with a weeks break.

The Autumn Term is always long and difficult, we go from a happy sunny Summer Holiday to an early start and strict routine. And all the time the weather is getting worse and the days darker. It seems to be the longest struggle.

This year it’s been worse with the addition of a pandemic. The kids had an extended holiday of five months before being thrown back into that school routine. I won’t lie, we found it extremely tough.

I want to say how proud I am of my Little Man. He’s gone to school every day with a smile, worked hard, and come home each day with a smile. His teacher is very happy with his work and he even earned his pen licence for neat handwriting. The school has been great too, with a lot of care going into keeping the kids safe and separate but without distressing them. They’ve also had lots of outdoor fun and exercise including a Forest School. My Little Man has been very happy.

It hasn’t been so easy for the girls, but we have eventually come up with some kind of solution. Hopefully, things will be better next term, but I’ve signed them up to a home schooling program to keep them working in the time they are not at school.

We Made It! After today we have a whole 10 days of not worrying about school and getting up and ready in the morning. A well deserved treat after an extremely tough term.

The next holiday is Christmas!!

Now it’s your turn, what word or phrase sums up your week this week?

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My Sunday Snapshot and Ordinary Moments – Let Me In!

September 27, 2020 by Anne Sweet 9 Comments

Let me in! It’s a cry I hear several times a day. He’s in, he’s out, in again out again. It’s a good job I sit near the door, otherwise he’d just have to stay out. We don’t have a single door in our house that would be suitable for a cat flap, so with an outdoor cat like Ash I have to keep letting him in.

Yesterday he was at the back door meowing ‘let me in’ and Sabrina, our indoor cat, was lazing by the door watching the falling leaves. Ash came along and started meowing and Sabrina stretched up to the door handle. She had a very long way to go though. She’s never opened the door before, or even tried to, but I thought it was amusing that she made a half hearted attempt.

Maybe she was trying to appease Ash by showing an effort. He doesn’t look very impressed though. Look at that frown, it’s as if he’s calling her a dumb cat for even trying to open the door. Poor Sabrina.

Five minutes after I let him in he was meowing to go back out.

Ordinary Moments.

Boo and the Little Man have been to school all week. They come home, get washed and changed before coming to me for a hug and to tell me any news. It’s our new normal. The Little Man is thoroughly enjoying school, he likes being in smaller groups, especially in the playground as he didn’t always get on with all the kids. Boo is a bit quiet about school, she told me about some things she wasn’t liking and I gave her some tips to deal with them. Then she came home the next day much brighter and happier. I’m worried they are school, the virus is rife in our city at the moment and there has already been a positive case in Boo’s school. But they really are happier at school and if it’s what they need then we’ll take the risk for now. There school’s are really good though and are following all guidelines as well as implementing their own. The kids feel safe.

Star, is completely different. She has been very poorly, but I know she doesn’t want to go to school. One day was enough for her, she couldn’t take it. But she’s in her final year and needs to get her work done. We had a meeting with the school and they arranged a phased return which she seemed happy with. Then she got sick. Very sick, I had to call the GP. She has medication which appears to be helping. So, tomorrow we are going to try the phased return. Fingers crossed. The problem is, I can tell from her being on her tablet chatting all day, that none of her friends are going to school either! This doesn’t help in persuading her to go.

Apart from school there is nothing else really to report. I’ve been busy reading and crocheting. I’ve even practiced a little more knitting with Boo. I have been playing Hedgeways with the Little Man and it’s become his favourite game that not on a screen. It’s a kickstarter game so if you are looking for something new, or a great Christmas gift, do take a look and you’ll be helping out a couple of really nice guys getting their business off the ground too.

I’m joining in with Rachel and Donna for their weekly link ups.

My Sunday Snapshot and Ordinary Moments, Calm

September 13, 2020 by Anne Sweet 6 Comments

image shows a red oil burner with a rose shaped wax melt.

I still have a some of my Etsy gift vouchers left so this week I treated myself to a new oil burner. It came with some lovely little rose shaped wax melts that smell of lavender. I always associate lavender with peace and calm and that’s just what I feel I need right now.

Ordinary Moments – Calm

The kids haven’t been to school. They have had tummy bugs which has been highly unpleasant. Luckily most of the adults didn’t get sick which was a relief.

So, the girls haven’t actually been back to school yet and the Little Man has lost three days this week.

I have been in hospital having my treatment, although I have come home each evening. No worries about spreading anything in the hospital with all the COVID precautions. No visitors allowed, and I had to have my temperature taken before entering the ward. Then I was at least 2 metres from anyone else apart from the staff, and we were all masked.

Overall though, it’s been a stressful week and I’ve had so much going on in my head. This morning I wrote a (very long) brain dump blog post which will probably stay in my drafts, but it was very cathartic and now I feel calm.

It’s all about taking deep breaths and dealing with things as they happen. The kids are going back to school tomorrow and I have everything ready. I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but we’ll try our best and I’m going to try not to stress about it.

Everything else is just a blip in life. There is just too much to deal with right now and I can’t bury my head in the sand but I can do everything possible to install a feeling of calm in my home. I’m going to do this by stepping away from Social Media and focusing on the things I need to get ready for tomorrow. We will have a lovely Sunday Dinner (we are having a roast today, but it will be a late one as no-one is ready to eat at lunch time.) We will all shower and get our clothes ready for tomorrow. We will spend the evening playing games or watching television. Calm and peaceful and organised. Away from the chaos in the world.

Today we are going to keep calm.

The rest of the week will happen no matter what.

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