Not me though. Louis my grandson has always lived in a three generation house. Me, his Gangy, Mum. Me and Mum share the caring using our different strengths (Mum was a carer before, I worked in a school). So starting in March last year I did the Homeschooling. I loved it, loved having him at home, loved seeing his little face as I taught him. But please don't get me wrong....it was hard, Louis has moderate learning disabilities, he has aphasia, he has some hearing loss. A lot of things are very difficult for Lou to grasp; number bonds to 10, letter format and the biggest one concentration. He finds it hard to stay on task, explain himself, and he needs (and always gets) praise for completing the smallest thing. I don't mind that, we all need to be cheerleaders for the kids in our lives. But I'm not here to moan about homeschooling during lockdown, I'm here to celebrate it!
You see you can teach at your own child's (grandchild's) pace, you can switch it around, it can 100% paper based one day, tablet based the next. Because you aren't confined to a timetable you can start and finish when you want, you can go slow, go quick, see what's not working in real time. The pressure is off because the child isn't set against others in a classroom.
So why if I enjoyed homeschooling is Louis going back to school today?
Because school is what he needs, I'm not a teacher and with his special needs (speech and language therapy, occupational therapy etc) he doesn't get what he needs at home. I do believe school is about more than education, it's about friends, fun, and all that.
It's also a place for Louis to learn more than he can at home; how to be a friend, respect, play, rules and most of all working together.
So I hope he enjoys being back, I'll miss him, but he won't miss out.
No comments:
Post a Comment