‘I have taken maths lessons outside with chalk... we’ve tried science in the garden’
Gayle Alexander (42), a virtual assistant, lives in Donacloney with her husband, Mark (42), who works in corporate development, and their two sons, Hayden (7) and Finn (5).
Both Gayle and Mark have been working from home during lockdown.
Gayle’s job is part time, which has helped free up some hours for home-schooling her boys and coming up with ways to keep them amused.
Both sport-loving kids, using up their energy each day has been among the biggest challenges.
Gayle explains: “Luckily, I am working part time, so I can fit my work around the boys.
“The home-schooling is quite full on as they do need a lot of attention and supervision and they are both at different levels.
“We have been starting the day with Joe Wicks at 9am to try and use up some of their energy as they can be a bit hyper first thing. However, lately it has only been me doing the exercises and the boys watching!
“School work starts at 9.30am and we try to work through until around 2pm, which is their normal school day.”
Keeping the children’s attention during lessons and then entertaining them for the rest of the afternoon has meant a steady stream of inventive new ideas from mum Gayle.
These have included setting up an obstacle course in the garden using household objects; putting a tent in the garden as an alternative school room/dining room and den; taking maths lessons into the street with chalk and painting rainbows on stones to leave for people in the village to find and keep.
Gail explains: “It has been a bit of a struggle, especially in the last week, trying to keep them entertained and using up their energy, as they are both very sporty and have lots of energy!
“I have taken maths outside with chalk, writing numbers on the road for the boys to jump on and learn odd and even numbers.
“We’ve some scorch marks in the garden from trying science experiments, which have been a bit hit and miss.
“We tried to create lava using baking soda, washing powder and food colouring.
“We’ve been baking together to pass the time and had picnic lunches in the tent. We do their reading lessons each night with a Zoom call to their grandparents.
“I’ve had to be inventive and it is hard. We had a lot of cardboard boxes, which the boys have used to make a space rocket, and we set up an obstacle course in the back garden with their little chairs and cones and washing baskets, which they had to pick up and carry on their backs like turtles.”
This week’s project has been painting stones with rainbows, which Gayle plans to get the boys to leave around their village for locals to find.
She adds: “It hasn’t been easy juggling cleaning the house with cooking, home-schooling, working and keeping the boys active and entertained.
“Their school, Edenderry Primary, has been very supportive and I have been lucky that I only work part-time.
“The boys have coped really well.
“But they miss seeing their grandparents and we are all looking forward to when family can get back together again,” she adds.