End of term burn-out

The end of the summer term is looming and it's a time of reflection for parents as we look to the long break to recharge our batteries and regroup for September. Many of us are wondering what the start of the academic year is going to look like. How will schools ensure social distancing? Will home ed groups and activities be able to start back at all and if so, in what capacity? Whether you normally home educate or your children go to school, the uncertainty seems likely to continue for a few months yet.

One thing that has saddened me over the last week is the number of parents of schoolchildren who feel that they've failed at 'home educating'. Several friends have thrown in the towel because they feel they are getting nowhere and it's just too hard. This is especially true if you are working from home or looking after littlies while also trying to keep on top of schoolwork with older children. Some people feel overwhelmed by worksheets, others don't have the technology and equipment at home to successfully complete what their teachers are sending.

First of all I would like to say that if you have kept your children safe and healthy at home during a time of global pandemic, then you have succeeded in our collective goal, whether your family has completed endless worksheets or not. We are coming to the end of a long lockdown and we all feel burnt out in one way or another. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone. The feelings of failure and inadequacy come to us all at some time or another, even if we have chosen to home educate and not had it forced upon us by circumstances.

It's particularly hard to see success when you are caught up in the day-to-day routine of keeping your home running, your children happy and your work productive. I'd like to invite you to give yourself a virtual parents' evening, maybe with a large glass of wine in hand!! Take a step back and think what report you would give of your child. Can you think of a skill they have now that they didn't have at the start of lockdown? This doesn't have to be something academic. It could be a life skill or an emotional development. While this is their achievement, would they have accomplished it without your help and support? Together, as a team, you have succeeded at this one thing. Whatever input you have been able to give, your child has made progress. Try to hold on to that rather than focusing on how hard 'home schooling' has been.

This brings me to another point, which is that what we have all experienced in the last few months is not home education. I would describe it as lockdown learning. I would not as a home educator normally keep my children at home 24/7 and attempt to teach them every subject we'd like to cover myself. I would not isolate them from friends and family and expect them to be in a good place to achieve academically. The successes that we have had have been despite these circumstances. Yours have too. We should all feel proud.