Family time during lockdown

I am sure I am not alone in feeling the strangeness, the uncertainty or the challenges the lockdown period has so far presented to us all. It almost feels like we are living in a time outside of time, a limbo period with no clear end in sight, and a time where we rely on technology like never before to connect us to our friends, family and colleagues. In our small family units, we have limited physical contact with the outside world. We deeply miss our normal lives and perhaps feel we will never again take for granted what we once did. Those everyday interactions we usually have with other people, so suddenly taken away from us. Life is far simpler, quieter and less busy now. And yet we are all surviving and perhaps some of us are even thriving.

For every cloud has a silver lining; The sun has shined almost continuously on my children and I, spring has sprung and is blossoming, we are immersed in our local landscape for the first time since my children were toddlers and we are appreciating the beauty of nature very close to home with fresh eyes, observing the wild flowers and the buds unfurling and seeing the bluebells and wood anemones turn from tiny splashes of colour through to magnificent carpets covering the woodland floor. This is only possible because we are able to stop, pause, see, enjoy and return again and again to the same local beauty spots.

We have been given the gift of time, rare in our modern world where we usually hit the fast-forward button on a daily basis in order to get everything done. For me this involves taxying my children from one place to the next, to school or to their next scheduled activity, or to playdates and parties and special outings, all blurring into one. Now I can reflect and pause and really begin to appreciate nature around us. And perhaps most importantly, to truly appreciate my son and daughter, and my other loved ones.

So during the past five weeks of lockdown, we have walked endlessly in our local woods and fields, splashed in streams and made dams, identified wild flowers and made spring flower cards, scootered around our village, lit small camp fires and cooked supper on them on cool spring evenings, been on Easter egg hunts and watched films together, played board games and read together, written and told stories, baked and cooked and eaten in the garden and painted, crafted and drawn, observed ducklings hatching and swans, moorhens and mallards busy making their nests, preparing for their own new broods. I have got to grips with Zoom and Google classroom in order to enable my children to learn at home. And we are all learning together.

I have included in this post a number of photos, a flavour of this period. I also wanted to include the poem below, scribbled down one afternoon when out exploring the local woodland with my two children:

The pause button has been pressed
We are waiting, as if in slumber

Our lives reduced to the confines of our four walls, our immediate family, our garden and our local

woodland.
Yet there is beauty in simplicity
And in silence.
We grow used to a new routine,

Even as the days stretch out before us uncertain and so long,

We reach out and touch the world

Through the internet.

It is expansive and wondrous, this modern invention,

Enabling us to stay connected

To what is out there, waiting for our return.

One day we shall look back at this strange time of hibernation,
The words social isolation and distancing, Covid 19 and Corona only a memory then.
But they are ever present now, and their implications stand stark all around us.

My children draw rainbows, symbolizing hope, as we thank the universe for being healthy and alive:

We shall live through this crisis and walk stronger out the other side.

Spring is one of my favourite times of year. I would love to share the beauty of nature at its youngest and most beautiful, emerging after such a wet winter, now so dry and bright and immensely green, with all the little ones I have grown to know and cherish at playgroup. To observe their playing in the woods, hear their laughter and join in their conversations and their singing. It is what I love the most about my job and why I have been working at GEPG now for six years.

We are all missing each other and so look forward to the day we can return to playgroup and meet each other in person again. Yet throughout this period, we must look on the bright side, we must stay safe and protect lives by staying at home. Paint rainbows with our children as a symbol of hope, knowing one day we shall again marvel at a real rainbow shining brightly in the sky, whilst splashing in puddles with a whole group of children, not just our own.

Caroline Greenwood

A Month of Sundays – Our experience of staying indoors

“What day is it mum?” A constant question in our house!! Felix thinks that every day feels like Sunday, and I suppose it does for my children. We are spending most of our day together, eating our meals together, spending quality time together and reflecting on our weeks. It has been a challenge at times, especially trying to balance school work with playgroup work whilst feeling under the weather. But I do feel like we have finally got into a rhythm and an understanding with each other, now that we are 4 weeks into social distancing.

We started our home schooling week, along with a million other people, with Joe Wickes and his PE sessions. I say we, I ate my breakfast and hid in the dining room whilst the children huffed and puffed next door!! I don’t know how he manages to do all his exercises and still talk as much as he does!! These half hour sessions were great for the children; it gave them a boost to start their day and burnt off some energy; the sessions also became the sign to the children that home schooling was about to start as we did them every day and started ‘proper’ work shortly after these.

The first week of home schooling really was a learning curve for all of us, I started the week trying to replicate school and the school timetable. But I soon realised that this didn’t suit me or the children. So, by the end of the week, we had relaxed more, played more and kept loosely to the timetable. My children do need routine; they don’t cope well without structure; so, having some idea of what was coming next and what we had planned for the day was helpful to them.

After burning off some energy, our home schooling started with some artwork, with rainbows! Both Sofia and Felix created their own version of a rainbow picture, we stuck them up at the windows at the front of our house. This such a lovely gentle start to ‘school work’ and the children loved it. They will stay up in our window until we all go back to school!

One of our most favourite new discoveries was the author and illustrator, Rob Biddulph, his tutorials captured my children’s imagination and they produced some amazing artwork. We now have a well-stocked gallery wall in each bedroom and we are looking forward to watching these videos on YouTube when we get back into our home schooling again.

As well as utilizing a lot of free tutorials on YouTube, they are particularly enjoying the Chester Zoo enclosure videos, I also taught the children a few traditional games outside, we haven’t played hide and seek for such a long time as a family it has been a wonderful opportunity to revisit old games. The children also enjoyed hopscotch, rock painting, gardening and just the joy of being outside for a long time again (thank goodness for the weather!!)

It is not to say that this time has not been a challenge and the balance between work obligations and home schooling has been tricky at times; but I do think we all realise that this time is really unique and we all have to be flexible and patient with each other.

Although I have been more lax with the children’s screen time I have tried to shield them from the news and any serious conversations about what is happening in the wider world. I try to limit my use of social media and news coverage for my own mental and emotional wellbeing and I’m encouraging them to do the same.

As a family, we are recognizing that this time is a moment in history and something to remember and I want them to remember it for its positives and not the negatives. I want them to appreciate their health, their family, the sunshine and the small wins that can be achieved at home for free; and enjoy this time and see it as a gift for our family to reconnect and understand each other a little better. We are going to create a time capsule of this time so we can remember it in years to come, we have a little pack of worksheets that we are all going to complete and keep safe and open on Sofia’s birthday in 20 years’ time!

The poor dog doesn’t seem to understand why she can’t go on her weekly 4 hour walks off in the hills, she is constantly looking at the door for another walk! But the children are keeping her busy in the garden!!

We are managing to keep in contact with our friends virtually by video call and the HouseParty App! I’m not sure what we would have done without that connection! Particularly as Sofia turned 10 at the start of April, as well as Mother’s Day and Easter Sunday; being able to celebrate with people at least virtually seemed to make up for the lack of party for Sofia, that and the fact that I covered the house in balloons and banners! Our neighbours also created a WhatsApp group and I became a member of our local community group too, to help those that were self-isolating or vulnerable, another positive to come from this time is the bringing together of our friends and neighbours and encouraging a connection that wasn’t there before.

I think my lesson from this first month is to try and really enjoy this break from the norm, take advantage of this quality time with my family and cherish every moment. And when things do become challenging and overwhelming; talk to my friends, my family and neighbours; and let a celebrity take them for half an hour on YouTube whilst you have a cup of tea!!!

The source of my sanity during the lockdown!! Tea, biscuits and my dog Cookie!

I am really missing the children and families from playgroup too; I imagine it’s difficult for them to understand what is going on and why they can’t go out and play anymore. I hope you are all doing ok and are managing. Sending lots of love and well wishes to you all, and my gratitude to all the key workers in our community. As the Queen said so brilliantly “we will meet again”

Karen x