Hello and welcome to this weeks update.
I am please to report that this week seems a little calmer and we have settled into more of a routine, mainly thanks to Eliza who came up with a planner with her Dad and sticker charts, so the kids can earn a treat when all this is over.
Monday 30th March
Kian introduced Isaac to Call of Duty Warzone and as it is multi-platform, he has been playing with Callan and his Dad online too. We tried to play whilst doing PE with Joe, but found it too tricky, so I am pleased to report that PE won!
Sebby has been struggling with his work, but we discovered that some of the online platforms he uses at school, he can play against friends, so we arranged a zoom chat and he really enjoyed seeing his friends and competing against them online.
Once all their work is completed for the day, the kids enjoy a big Super Smash game before dinner.
My husband had an interview with Tesco today and I am pleased to report he is joining me as a temp, but we will be working opposite shifts so there is someone home with the kids.
Tuesday 31st March
Hubby left us to complete his work induction, so we got to work on the wall opposite our house.
We downloaded a science@home project by Winchester Science Centre and the kids have been designing their own rockets, which then turned into a scene from Star Wars.
The wall has been attracting lots of attention and it is lovely to see other children adding to it as they walk past.
Wednesday 1st April
Being a blogger I always seem to have a steady stream of cardboard boxes come through the house and the kids love to play with them.
We continued our space project and Sebby, with Isaac’s help, made an escape pod for his rocket, which subsequently turned into a jail……..then a tortoise shell.
Isaac then used the flaps from the box to make a stop animation video which is brilliant!
My husband started work at Tesco, he is working 6am-3pm whereas I am working from 4pm-10pm. One thing that I have noticed is that we have our regulars that come in every evening without fail, buying one or two non-essential items which is frustrating when it has been advised to try and limit shopping visits.
Thursday 2nd April
Now that my husband is working in the morning, I am on solo teacher duties and the kids really were not feeling it today.
We managed to get some English done and then I decided we needed some fresh air, so we headed onto the heath for a walk.
At work we installed some direction arrows onto the floor, to help with the flow of customers and social distancing. We are already limiting people to one per household, but asking them to follow the arrows as well is definitely a challenge for some.
Friday 3rd April
An interesting morning, I had just got out of the shower when Sebby came upstairs screaming that he had hurt his little finger by banging it on the sofa. He wouldn’t let me touch it and it was soon rather swollen so we phoned our local minor injuries unit. They think he may have either badly bruised it or had broken it, so we had to strap it to the finger next door and keep an eye on it.
Eliza finally got the post she has been waiting for, her Blue Peter Music Badge, which she applied for about six weeks ago after learning to play the recorder.
Eliza and Sebby joined in a Beavers / Cubs crafternoon meeting on Zoom and made some fabulous cloud rainbows, which are now proudly on display in our porch.
We have had screens installed at work on all the checkouts and customer service desk to help protect both the staff and customers as much as we can.
Saturday 4th April
Sebby’s finger is now a fetching shade of blue, but is less painful and has good circulation so we are keeping it strapped up.
Work was a lot busier than it has been since I started, but we are thinking it is because it has been payday for a lot of people and the weather is predicted to be lovely . Trying to social distance is frustrating when working, especially on the shop floor because people will still lean over you to get the product they want instead of waiting for you to move or saying “excuse me”. There are definitely two types of customer, those who are wearing every type of personal protection equipment they can find and others that don’t seem to care at all.
At lot of products are now back in stock, with good availability so I spent the evening replacing POS which had limited the number of items people could buy.
Sunday 5th April
A full day of work for me, we had the quietest NHS hour I have seen (9-10am) since I started, but the shop remained steady all day, with lots of people buying things for the first barbecue of the year.
The kids enjoyed a run on the Heath with their dad.
On the drive home, I was really surprised by the amount of people out and about. There is a rumour that they are going to strengthen the lockdown before Easter weekend next week, as so many people are out enjoying the sunshine. We will see……..
How was your week?
Love seeing what your kids did with the cardboard boxes, so very creative. My younger one used to love boxes, and often played with the boxes more than with the actual toys. Using imagination, you can turn them into anything. The rocket wall is great, and the planner idea is great too.
Glad to hear your husband got a job at Tesco.
Keep safe!
I am glad things are calmer for you. The planner and sticker charts sound like a good idea.
Congrats to your hubby with the job.
The wall looks fab and the rockets too!
Aww! Poor Sebby. I hope his finger is better soon. x
So good to hear your husband got work and at least now there is one of you at home with the children, hope you manage to get some time together also. Good to see the supermarkets are enforcing the social distancing. Love what the kids did with the cardboard boxes. I hope Sebby’s finger is better soon, keep well
sadly my husband missed his phone call from asda for a night shift, and apparently they only go through their list and if you miss the call then tough.
I feel in a supermarket you are more at risk than we are in hospital, as we know who are infected and we all have the knowledge and facilities to wash wash wash unlike some of the shoppers who may not be as ocd about it as we are at my work
No doubt those first barbecues are for over the Easter holidays
Gosh you have done so much in a week! I love the science wall especially, what a fab idea! Supermarkets here are the same, although people arent listening to the 2mtr rule as soon as they get in.,I have had a couple of arguments with people!
Looks like you have all been keeping yourselves busy. I’m using all of this time to spend more time writing my travel blog
It looks like you and the kids had a pretty busy week. It’s nice that you are still able to go outside. I am stuck in Spain and here the lockdown is very strict, you are only allowed to get out of the house to go to the nearest supermarket.
It sounds like a busy week but I am glad things are getting calmer for you. My kids have been having fun with cardboard boxes too!
When will this coronavirus thing will get over please. 🙁 it is killing people and the ones that did not get killed so far are struggling in life. I run a travel business in a Turkish town called Marmaris, it was never so quite in our town. At this time of the year all our marmaris excursions used to be fully booked and now, we do not even have a clue when the season will start or if we will even survive
I can’t believe you have managed to fit so many wonderful activities, well done on the blue peter badge and the scout craft looked fantastic as the cardboard creations!
What a weird week this is. We find ours work better when they’re online with their friends too – especially as it gives me a small break sometimes!! Good luck and stay safe xx
Congrats to your husband for getting a job, you guys are troopers looking after your kids and then feeding the nation at work. Home schooling must be tough but know you’re doing your best x
I can’t believe the amount of people I see out on the news, I won’t be surprised if they change the boundaries of lockdown. Hope Sebbys finger is better now!
We have had our improvements at work with screens and floor stickers etc, its been an up and down week with people and social distancing, that you would expect in retail lol, overall seems an ok week! at least the weather was nice and the kids got a little bit.
That is great news about your hubby and the job. A blue Peter badge is on my bucket list. It would be awesome. Well done Eliza. My kids love cardboard boxes too. Hope Sebby’s finger is ok. x
I’m so pleased your husband managed to get some temporary work, it must be a great relief to you all.
I love this post. clearly you are trying to be positive and having been really creative with the kids activities too. stay safe xx
We have got really laid back with home learning, think I will ask the kids to create us a timetable though so that we can have little bursts of educational activity weaved through the all important play.
Ouch to the finger!! Glad it is less painful now though.
How lovely to get a Blue Peter badge…she looks so pleased.
I have a feeling the lockdown will get stricter as too many people are not listening.
That’s great news that your husband has managed to get a job at Tesco too. The cardboard box animation is fantastic! How lovely that other children are making their mark on the wall too. Poor Sebby’s finger looks very painful. I hope it’s feeling a bit better now.
Poor Sebby, I hope his finger is much better now. Love the photos of the children playing with the cardboard boxes – they look like they are having a wonderful time and what a brilliant way to use their imagination. Well done to Eliza on getting her Blue Peter Music badge. #project366
Oh poor Sebby hope his finger is well on the mend now. Thats great news your husband has a job in Tesco too. One less thing to worry about! Love the rocket wall and the cardboard boxes. We are saving the big ones here in the hope that we eventually manage to move at some point! Stay safe x
Hope Sebby’s finger gets better soon. We always have cardboard boxes around too. Looks like they are getting well geared up at your work.
Sounds like a really good and positive week! Congrats on your husband getting a job at Tesco, must be nice with some positive news! I can imagine that it is a challenge being home with the children and that they can`t spend time with their friends. Seems like you made a really good routine which always helps x
Glad things are calmer. Homeschooling is not easy when it is not what you are used to, and I can say that as a “proper” homeschooler who has been at it for nearly two years. Online programs have been a saving grace for us too.
We have to go supermarket shopping this week and I am dreading it.
Wow, nice planners! My sibling plays COD online as well. It must be nice for him to talk to his friends. Congrats on your husband for getting a job. Sebby and Isaac are adorable. True, half the people are serious about the lockdown and the other half are the complete opposite
Glad things have calmed down a bit. We love PE with Joe although it is hard work! I might let the kids loose with some boxes… #project366