This day I love.......: learning

All items mentioned in this post I have paid for myself. Sudocrem contacted me to put a post together and have been compensated to do so.

Upon collecting the girls from school on Friday I decided that this weekend would remain as normal as possible. Our normal routines. Apart from my lack of work in the studio, I think I have achieved it. We have done homework as we normally would, tidied our rooms and cleaned out our various animals. Now comes the difficult part, getting ready for school.

Normally on a Sunday afternoon we make sure that we have everything ready for the school week ahead and this Sunday I am trying to do the same. I have asked the girls what they want to learn about. Do they want to have a day per subject or mix and match our days ahead. We have cleared the dining room table and set it up ready for tomorrow. In fact I am rather excited by the 9am start with Joe Wicks and his P.E. lesson.

We have decided to make the most of this time together, bonus time if you will. First on our list is to learn a new skill and we have decided together that we will learn sign language. All of us. I have found the following on Facebook and so 1pm every weekday we will tune in and do this together.

As the weeks go on we shall learn other skills maybe first aid, maybe another language I haven't decided yet but I want to make the most of this time.

I am also very conscious that there is no set curriculum to follow and so I have absolutely no idea what my children should be learning at this time. Given this lack of pathway I have decided to read more, watch documentaries with the kids and just practice the games and apps that support Maths and English, rather than muddling through and stressing over set guidance when I cannot find any.

I wrote on Facebook a few weeks ago that we recently started using Gousto [I have paid for my own boxes and the link if you subscribe will credit my account with £15, however this is the same for any customer who refers a customer and nothing specific to me] to deliver 4 of our meals a week. I am glad we did this as it has meant I can at least guarantee for now that we have 4 meals a week. We have also sourced a local fruit and veg shop to deliver a box a week meaning we also should have fruit and veg available each week too. Other than basics like bread, milk and egg plus various household goods we should be ok without having to go out of the house.

My children's biggest concern is that the Easter bunny won't come if we are in lock down. I had a word with him though and seemingly he went out last week to make sure that he can deliver over Easter.

We have asked our friends to stay in touch and be penpals, meaning the kids then get to practise their writing skills and also have something to look forward to in the post [whilst we still have deliveries happening].

Let's not forget that in with all the above we are all singing various songs lasting for 20 seconds to wash our hands thoroughly. All this hand washing has caused mine and my children's hands to dry out so we have resorted to Sudocrem to help soothe them. It was my go to when the children were little and so I have resorted to it once again to help soothe our sore hands

Here's a little routine we follow at home from Sudocrem

1. Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you’ve been in a public

place or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water not readily available use a

hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol.

2. Dry hands - wet hands transfer more germs than dry hands so ensure you dry hands properly

preferably using a paper towel rather than a drier.

3. Carry a pot of My Little Sudocrem (22g) to soothe hands whilst on-the-go.

Today might be Mother's Day but I am spending it trying to get ready for the new normal. A new routine starting tomorrow. I am hoping it works as we have no idea how long it will be for.

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My husband and I both have degrees in engineering, which means we both have a love and passion for maths and science. Our minds seem to work in a logical fashion and we enjoy the challenge that numbers bring. Our eldest daughter seems to also have an analytical mind and can spot patterns and sequences very quickly.

When I received an email from Numberbundle I actually got incredibly excited. Numberbundle are mathematical activity boxes which support both the Early years foundations stage and National Curriculum for children 3 -7. The boxes cost £21 for a single box or can be a monthly subscription and cost £16.99 per month. Each month the boxes take on a different topic from the national curriculum and cover a range of activities. The activities include cookery, arts, crafts, games, puzzles, cross stitch, outdoor play, science and story. I was very keen to see the boxes and see what the girls thought of them

First impressions on the boxes were great, both girls wanted to open the boxes up straight away and have a look inside. Inside the boxes there is a card explaining the activities and the topic they are supporting. Then cards for each of the activities, including full instructions and finally some of the materials you may need for each activity. Although not all materials are included those that are not are easy to source, such as glue, water and newspaper.

The girls had different boxes each suited to their specific age group, my youngest is Early years and my eldest is Year 1. Inside my youngest Numberbundle box the topic was big and small, the topic for my eldest was money. The girls looked through the enclosed activities and we picked one to do.

The great thing about the cards is that they not only contain full, clear instructions of the activity and how to do it, but they also contain discussion points. This gives me as a parent an idea of the topic that is taught at school and ways in which I can incorporate this into daily life. For the girls, they did not realise they were doing maths based activities, and instead simply had fun with the activities they had chosen.

My eldest wanted to make a papermache money box pig. We used this to discuss tearing paper into halves and quarters, used the legs to count and work out how many legs we would need. Calculate how many more money boxes we could make with the material we had left and calculate the fraction of water to glue for our mixture.

My youngest chose to do the playdough mat activity. We had already made some playdough, but there was a recipe to make playdough included. We used the playdough mats to make ears, tails and wings and discuss which animal had the bigger ears, the elephant or the mouse? Did my youngest have bigger or smaller ears? Whilst she could do some of the activity independently, making the ears for example, we discussed bigger and smaller together as she played.

I really love how Numberbundle encourages discussion around each activity in a fun way, so the girls did not feel like they were learning but instead just playing. It has helped me as a parent gain a better understanding of the activities the girls do at school, which means I can support their learning at home. Numberbundle are also a great way to engage with your children as they do each activity so you can do things together, as well as supporting independent learning also.

I am giving away a Numberbundle box worth £21 to one reader, giveaway is via the Gleam widget below and ends on the 12th March 2016 at midnight GMT. Full terms and conditions are on the widget.

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