Remember when you were at nipper and on the last day of term you could take your board games into school? That’s the kind of theme we adopted on Day Five of homeschooling.

I suspect this may be a theme we adopt numerous times before the lockdown in over.

But Eric did complete three (yes, THREE) worksheets from him school activity pack. Here’s how we managed it:

11am: Maths

What you will need: A pen, a worksheet, and a friend with an iPhone whose son has actually done some work.

Eric loves maths. His teacher told me as much. Eric himself readily admits to it. None of this made a scrap of difference when I suggested he might want to complete one of his school maths worksheets. Step forward my knightess in shining armour, aka his friend’s mum, who had taken photographic evidence of her son doing maths and sent it to me. A soon as Eric clocked the photo he couldn’t pick up a pen fast enough. It’s the same strategy that got Eric to fill in his Skittles science worksheet. In fact, it’s the only strategy that has made Eric do any of his worksheets. But it works, so I’m running with it. After spending an hour doing something with number bonds and counting pennies, Eric skipped off to build Lego while I had a coffee and felt smug that my son had actually done something productive. Undeservedly smug, of course, because let’s face it, I played no part in any of this.

 

12:30pm: Literacy Lunch

What you will need: A food order form

This is now becoming a staple in our household: if Eric doesn’t fill in his order form then he doesn’t get lunch. My hope is that Eric will eventually start writing his own  requests. For now, and to avoid meltdowns or a lifetime of negative association between writing and/or food, I’ve printed off a shedload of forms that Eric simply reads and then ticks what he wants. (Stupidly, I had been writing a new form every day until I realised I could just photocopy one. This is what happens to one’s brain when holed up in a house with children and partners).

2pm: Freeplay/Physical Education

What you will need: A skateboard

Eric spent almost an entire afternoon playing outside on his skateboard. I say ‘almost’, because he wasted about an hour finding and then putting on his kit, which significantly reduced the amount of time he spent outside. During the hours he did eventually spend in the great outdoors, Eric managed to teach himself how to stand up on the board, push himself forward, flip up the board with his foot and crash into numerous brick walls.

8pm: Reading

What you will need: A book (little brothers are optional)

Asking Eric to read at bedtime is often like pulling teeth. But since spending ‘quality’ (I use the word loosely) time together reading, Eric is becoming increasingly enthusiastic in the bedtime book department. I reckon it was reading gravestones on Day One that did it. This evening Eric not only picked up and started making his way through a book, he even offered to read to his brother, which saved me from having to read to either of them. Bonus.

So, that’s Week One of homeschooling over and done with. How long before we can send them back to school??