Corona encouragement

Just a quick message from me to tell you in the spirit of trying to do something productive and helpful in these trying times instead of withering away with anxiety I have made some affirmation cards, please feel free to print them off, cut them up and use them for your self, stick them round the house, pop through a letterbox, tape to a lamp post, etc etc whatever you like. 

Corona Virus days 1-3 Social Distancing

On Tuesday I received the message that our weekly Forest School was cancelled due to Government advice regarding Corona Virus.  I cried.  Not long after this every single other of my home ed groups were cancelled and we were faced with the prospect of having no activities or meets and not seeing any friends.  For a person who is pretty heavily reliant on chatting with friends for my mental health, this was very very bad news. I quickly broke my Instagram lent fast in an effort to avoid feeling totally isolated and jumped online to feel part of a community. 

We have managed to pass the time pretty well over the past three days, one visit to some woods, packed lunch included, a morning at a local nature park with playground and today was our first day where we could be considered isolated as we didn't go out. We spent the day reading books, the boys played, we did some art activities, and a I spent a lot of time telling the boys they would have to wait for their next meal before more food (seriously are they never full up?).

I am trying to find some brain space to reflect on what is happening, but it is challenging as the boys seem to be picking up on a vibration or energy in their air of panic, anxiety and fear, even though hubs and I are trying to remain calm and not panicked (though inside I am pretty stressed out and have an aching jaw from clenching my teeth all night and half the day) and are therefore absolutely bonkers!

However I have been able to stretch my brain just enough to arrive at the following observations:

• This whole thing would never have happened if people didn't eat animals,
• The UK is in a particularly difficult situation as of the end of the week when schools close because we have a very strong culture of two working parent families, both by force of finances and social pressure.  This means either one half of the workforce is forced to stay off from work, or children will be looked after by at risk grandparents. 
• We have a very strong individualistic culture, so people aren't automatically thinking of others by offering to do their neighbours shopping, or help generally.  Supermarket shelves are empty because people are over buying. I don't know who the people are who are buying more than they need (though I have my suspicions which I won't go into it here at risk of offending) but it most certainly isn't the large families like us, living in tiny houses as they do not have the storage space for stashing away hundreds of loo rolls and tins of baked beans. These people who are hoarding are selfish.  The same goes for the people who are continuing to visit pubs, restaurants and nightclubs etc.  These people are putting others at risk.  Now is not the time for Keep Calm and Carry On.  At times like this, the bravest and hardest thing to do might just be to stay home. 
• A couple of weeks ago before this who thing really got serious in the UK the MPs gushed on Question Time about how we were all going to pull together and look out for each other, the "spirit of the blitz" and all that.  There are glimmers of this but overall my feeling is that no one remembers what the spirit of the Blitz is, sacrificing your own wants for the needs of others is a lost concept to most people these days. Our parents have lived through a long period of relative prosperity, peace and financial security, so there is no genetic memory of having to band together, we have inherited an attitude of expecting everything to turn out just fine and when faced with the prospect of it not all being fine, people are turning inwards not outwards. 
• Maybe something good will come from this whole disaster, it is forcing some families to spend more time together, friends and family members are looking out for each other, there are neighbours sending notes round offering help, there are small cracks of light breaking through I have hope that there are still individuals out there who think of others.   I worry of course for those who are not able to get away from toxic or abusive family members, single working parents, those who have lost their job because of this and the myriad other people who are being so negatively effected by this. 
• The world will be different afterwards.
• I am incredibly thankful that I do not have to work, that my husband is able to work from home and that I feel safe an comfortable in my home. 

In my own small way I am trying to do something positive with this whole thing.  I am not in a position to be able to look after anyone's children, visit the elderly, do supermarket runs etc because  we are having to pretty much isolate ourselves because of some health conditions in my family which puts them at risk, but I am sharing poetry on Instagram and will be sharing a few of the activities we are doing to pass the time which I hope might inspire others and put some beauty into the world

I intend on updating this journal every few days, sharing how we are managing, the problems we encounter and tricks and tips on mentally and emotionally surviving this. 

If you're interested in supporting me with my writing and art I'd love it if you visited my page on patreon where you can read more of my thoughts, musings, ideas and art. 

Learning About the Weather

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Autumn is a wonderful time of year for learning about the weather isn't it?  There is just so much of it!  We have had strong winds, rain, sunshine and drizzle this past week so it's been an ideal time to talk with my children about different types of weather.  Of course living in England makes weather discussion a frequent occurrence, so it is a natural progression for an English-born mama to make the weather a part of our every day lives.

I have helped my children learn about the weather is all sorts of ways over the years.  I began when they were babies by making sure to take them out for walks whatever the weather.  I used a pram with my first baby and I felt like being in the little cosy cocoon under a plastic cover must be a wonderful sensory experience on a rainy day, seeing the water dribbling down and hearing the pitter-patter sound of the drops hitting the cover.  As they got older jumping in puddles was essential to every wet weather walk and a toddler clad in wellies and a puddle suits can be amused for ages by splashy puddles of all shapes and sizes. A windy day would lend itself perfectly to kite flying and many hours have been spent dragging a nylon kite on  along strong round a field in attempts to keep it in the sky.  And of course we all know the wonders of a snowy winters day, with snowman building, snow angles and tobogganing.

I love to use seasonal nature walks as part of our home education and these two books have been invaluable in linking in the seasons with my planning:

This week at a lovely little science club we go to, run by a friend, we made a wind turbine and an anemometer out of plastic cups and we will be recording the weather as the week goes on. I also love to link our activities in with Bible stories there are many which lend themselves to a weather theme for example Noah's Ark in Genesis 5:32-1-:1 and Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8:23-25.

Here I have put together a selection of links to fantastic weather related activities for children of all ages and stages to take part in so you can make weather study part of your home education journey.  I have not done all the activities listed below but I have done some, hopefully they will spark your imagination as much as they have mine. 

I hope you are all able to enjoy the wild and wonderful British weather and incorporate it into your home education, and as I listen to the sound of our roof aerial banging unnervingly against it's bracket in the wind, I'll leave you with this poem by one of my favorite authors and poets, Shirley Hughes:

It's from this book by Shirley Hughes about the seasons which I absolutely love:

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