Of all the amazing successes the Be Bold team have been responsible for this month, the ability to educate nearly a classroom full of children while delivering for clients must certainly top the lot.
Here Be Bold Media’s PR Manager Mel Boulter, with a few words from her eight-year-old daughter, Hannah, gives some insight into her working week. To all the professionals turned home-educators out there, we salute you.
It wasnāt that long ago that home-schooling was something other people did. Other people who were braver, more tolerant, more capable and generally just better at that sort of thing than I am.
Then 2020 came along and changed all that.
We were suddenly teachers, albeit at the kitchen table, and became a nation of (mostly) reluctant educators. The jokes about āold mathsā and ānew mathsā stopped being a joke.
Our home, our childrenās safe place, also became their classroom and their playground and we had to assume not only the role of parent and chief snack provider, but primary school teacher too.
Weāre now back at it in 2021. And it is hard. Really hard.
Iām used to metaphorically spinning lots of plates. Here at Be Bold it is what we do and weāre proud that we donāt drop them. But add educating primary school children into that mix and some are definitely wobbling.
At least once I day Iām tempted to throw the towel in on home educating. Today it was when my daughterās lesson said she needed a pencil, paper and Cuisenaire rods. Who knows what Cuisenaire rods* are, let alone has them to hand?
I asked my eight-year-old daughter if she would like to write about how she felt to add to this blog and here is what she said…
āHome-schooling is not that great in my opinion, but it is not all bad. PE can be really fun and so can reading. Most of the time I just want to go back to school as home-schooling is nowhere near as good as actually going to school.
āI am feeling sad because I canāt see my friends in person and I normally see them 5 days a week when I go to school. Iām also feeling happy because I get to see my family all day and I can help my sister with most of her work.ā
So, sheās happy and sad and itās nowhere near as good but it can be fun. Couldnāt have summed it up better myself. This is a mixed up, upside down, inside out time in all our lives.
What I need to remember is that itās not failing if Iām struggling to be a parent, a teacher and work all at the same time. What I know, and keep telling myself, is that I canāt do everything. And thatās okay too.
*If you are interested Cuisenaire rodsāÆare mathematics learning aids for students that provide an interactive, hands-on way to explore mathematics and learn mathematical concepts, such as the four basic arithmetical operations, working with fractions and finding divisors.
