By Naomi Saunders
Naomi is a school teacher from Cornwall, and Mum to 2 beautiful little girls. Following a difficult experience feeding her second baby Naomi has become an advocate of Combination Feeding and works with MAM to raise awareness of parents right to choose their own path when it comes to feeding.
Unprecedented Times
There is no part of the country which has not been shook by the events of this week. As a primary school teacher, the news of schools closing their doors left me feeling as though I was living in the twilight zone. I know there will be many parents out there who will be feeling daunted by having their children home for the coming weeks and months. It doesn’t matter how big your house is or how much patience you have, we are all going to feel the walls closing in at some point.
I, like many teachers will be setting work for my class to access during their time away from school. Whilst I encourage you to engage with this, don’t feel under pressure to recreate their usual school week from your kitchen. If there is a time for rules to be bent, it is now. There is so much learning which can take place beyond the walls of a classroom and which doesn’t require a study book. Looking after your family’s mental health and providing reassurance to your little people is by far top of the job list and there are lots ways to get creative and keep busy at home.
Ideas to Entertain your Little Ones
- Enjoy a movie marathon, at a time like this “comfys” all day and popcorn for lunch is perfectly acceptable.
- Create a recipe using only the ingredients you can find; you may have to be creative in some of your substitutions – perfect training for university!
- Declutter that drawer you have been putting off and get your children involved in helping.
- Engage with the mass of free content which companies have kindly put online to help keep your children busy from home (https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/lovely-premium-resources)
- Joe Wicks will be hosting a P.E lesson at 9:00am every day on his YouTube channel – FREE!
- Dig out the craft bits you usually avoid, dedicate one day to mess.
- Get muddy in the garden – time is something you have more than ever right now.
- Every time your child remembers a place they miss visiting, write it down, store it in a jar – give them something to look forward too.
- Carpet picnics – if you know, you know.
- Organise a Skype or Facetime session with family members you can’t see – get everyone involved with keeping them entertained.
I like millions of others will be faced with fitting my working schedule around keeping my tiny humans busy. It just means being more creative and flexible, brain-storming and note taking during the morning coffee, and replying to emails and logging on to work after bedtime.
