Remember last year, when we all naively thought that the first lockdown would be the first and last? Hahaha! Well, as it appears to be continuing with no end in sight, it’s time to reignite my lockdown learning series.

It’s harder this time round, a lot more so. The school are providing plenty of work for the boys, and to be fair, it’s accessible and it’s engaging and they are doing alright with it, but we have felt it difficult to get into the swing of it at times. We are in a better position this time because rather than one laptop between four of us, we all have one, so the kids can all work remotely, and there are two of us at home.

However, the fun has gone out of it a little. I guess that maybe last year, it was a bit of a novelty. The curriculum was suspended so we made our own up which was fun. The weather was glorious so we spent a lot more time outside. This time it is more intense, and the weather is, well, shit.

However, it is what it is and there’s nothing anyone can do about it, other than plough on and find little moments of happiness. We do a lot of singing and dancing, lots of chasing each other up the stairs and just trying to be a bit daft. We have also taken an active role in volunteering, which is really good for the kids and us. It keeps us busy and also shows the boys how they can help to be a part of their local community, which I think is more essential than ever.

So, what have the boys been doing?

Harrison has been doing lots about time and pendulums, and to be honest, it’s been really interesting learning it with him. He’s been solving time word problems and has planned and carried out a test into pendulums and how they work, as well as research projects and report writing around Galileo. He’s also ploughed his way through a David Walliams book and is listening to audiobooks at night, which I think is great.

Alex has been learning about shapes, parallel and perpendicular lines, and angles. I have to admit shapes are not my strong point but we have muddled through it together and he’s really enjoyed learning how to use a protractor. His topic is focused on the jungle, and he’s written some cracking poetry!

Benjamin’s work has been based around the book ‘Harry and his bucket of dinosaurs’. He’s designed a Benjisuarus, labelled dinosaurs, and done lots of superb reading, as well as practising his doubling and halving. He also helped daddy bake a cake and decorated it all by himself – he won first place in his class bake off!