Lockdown has been one long nightmare which at the moment seems to be never ending, nobody has the answers we are seeking and all of a sudden parent are home-schooling children while trying to work or maintain the home, adding pressure to an already boiling pot. We now have a whole generation that have not fully accessed education for such a long time, children are becoming isolated from their peers, they cannot nip to the park or over the road to call for their friends, so what do I do when I know my children need a break from their work and a break from the hundredth day of lockdown? Well we do a whole range of things one of our favourites has to be walking our dogs, the docks and the old line is a lovely walk especially when the sun is setting the views overlooking our beautiful town are amazing and I have some fabulous shots of the town hall silhouetted against the evening sky. Sometimes we can forget what a beautiful place we live in. Ormsgill quarry is another favourite of ours although it takes us a good hour to walk up there my children love walking up on to the top of the quarry and looking out on to barrow and Walney again, another beautiful sight at dusk plus there is always a friendly fellow dog walker to say hi to and I myself have to stop for a little sit down when we get to the top. I tell my family it’s so we can let the dogs run around but really it’s my age lol and finally a big favourite is Furness abbey and the nature trail. My children love running about with their dogs just being children without the worry of COVID-19 and when they will see their friends next.

I have also found that weekly zoom calls with their friendship groups have really helped my children especially my daughter who is too young to access social media so is unable to contact her close friends, she loves this and calls it her meetings lol.

I also like to let my daughter take a break from her home-schooling once in a while, but she will bake with her big sister making sure to measure and add her ingredients ……. maths without knowing she is doing maths. Genius Leanne 😊

I also like to extend my own self-care to my children making sure each one has 1-1 time with me and has a chance to express any concerns they have, it has amazed me how resilient they are. This is a must especially in a house with four children as the arguments can come from nowhere and be over something as simple as socks. The key for me is not beating myself up if that piece of work is not in on time or they have not completed any work at all that day as there mental wellbeing is as important as their education. I have heard so many stories of children learning to bake, knit and of children using pallets to make garden furniture. That is amazing in a world full of technology we have children learning fantastic life skills may these go with them into later life when we return to the fast pace lives we all had pre COVID-19.

By Leanne