Covid threw our plans for children into disarray, says mum
FOR North Down mum Nicola Mccracken and husband Mike, being thrown into the unknown this time last year was “bizarre”.
With two children at Moneyrea Primary School, the couple vowed that home schooling would be on a 5050 basis.
“We made the decision that we were going to be in this together,” said Nicola, mum to Caitlin (9) and Christopher (8). “We both work, the kids were in different years and we wanted to try to make the best of it.”
Nicola said that, like parents everywhere, being thrown into home school was “daunting”.
She added: “There was a big difference between the first lockdown and the second one this year.
“Last year there was little guidance from anyone, the schools themselves didn’t know what was expected of them. It was a case of visiting the school website and trying to find out what we needed to know, in between juggling our own jobs.
“I was lucky as I’m self employed so was able to make my work fit around everything else. But that often meant I had to work on in the evenings. We both did what we felt we needed to do.”
Nicola said they put pressure on themselves.
She continued: “You don’t want your child to be the one who is most behind when they go back to class.”
While the schools, and parents, were much better prepared for the second lockdown when it arrived after Christmas, Nicola wasn’t quite so prepared for what Covid threw at her family.
“I got Covid, my husband got Covid and my parents got Covid — all in January, just when schools were off again,” she said.
“I had to go and stay with my parents in Moira and we couldn’t keep up with the home schooling the way we would have liked. I guess every family had their own issues to solve though. I dread to think what would have happened if we had more kids, in different years or in post primary. Our two were at different levels. One was able to work well alone, the other needed one-to-one help.
“We tried not to put too much pressure on ourselves, and especially on the kids, but there’s always that fear that you’re not doing as much as you need to.”
Nicola said that, from January, their school started sending out home schooling packs every Friday.
“That gave us more of a focus,” she added. “Schools were much better prepared second time round, but the best place for our kids to learn is at school.
“There was a great sense of relief when they went back to their classes.
“And even though they’re off for Easter now, that feeling of relief — that there’s a break from the school work — is great.
“What’s important now is that all schools allow their pupils to come back gradually.
“January was pretty much a write-off for us as a family but schools will now have to spend a little time finding out what level their pupils are at before the real learning starts again.”