We are living through strange times; big things are happening to small people. I have a five-year-old son and I am six months pregnant. My pregnancy counts as ‘high risk’, so I have been self-isolating since before lockdown began.
Among all the scariness that abounds, I have been enjoying homeschooling, but there are always heart-wrenching moments.
My little boy likes to pretend we are at his real school. He tells me what he would be doing at each point in the day. When school was real, not imaginary, I would drop him in the playground at the start of the day and he would play with his friends. Now we get up, go through our old going-to-school routine and then he goes out into the garden with a football. We have drawn the face of his best friend on the football and he pretends they are playing.
Watching him through the window brings tears to my eyes. His pretend world is very real, he comes in (sorry he lines up – a line of one) happy and telling me about the games he and his friend played, but it is very clear: life at the moment is not the same as it once was.
Home-school: love it or hate it?
Among my friendship circle, one widely extended through Twitter and Facebook (come and join it), I am seeing a board range of experience of homeschooling.
Some parents report their children are thriving without the stress of school, others are breaking under the pressure of change and their parents are desperate to find ways to help them. Whether you are thriving or just surviving during this time, it is good to have help from the plethora of online resources including SNJ's own list.
In the initial days of lockdown, when just how big and strange this time might be, loomed across my mind like some monster from a nightmare, I noticed just how many individuals and organisations were leaping to help. So many people are giving away their resources for free through this time. I began to keep a track of some I hoped to use with my son, and some I thought might be of use to friends.
To help, I set up an extra page on my own website and now update it daily. It includes sensory-based resources for sensory souls. Looking at it makes my heart smile. In this dark time, so much kindness shines. I recommend taking a peek, just to think “people are nice” or to hunt for something that you might be able to use. And if you know of a resource you think would suit – especially if it is one that would be useful for students with additional learning needs – please let me know!
Jo's sensory and coronavirus resources
SNJ coronavirus resources
- SNJ's Distance education resources for children and young people with SEND
- Coronavirus Lockdown with kids: Setting a steady pace for home learning
- SEND Law and coronavirus
- Latest Coronavirus information relevant for SEND families
- Calming Coronavirus anxiety in children (and everyone else)- Angela Kelly
- Why the Coronavirus lockdown affects disabled people disproportionately. Barristers Steve Broach and Alice Irving explain why the new adjustment for outdoor exercise was the right thing to do.
- Care in a time of coronavirus (ii): Using health direct payments to pay family members for care
- Care in a time of Coronavirus: Using direct payments to pay family members for care -Steve Broach
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Joanna is a qualified teacher who has taught in mainstream and special school connecting with pupils of all ages and abilities. Joanna has also worked in a consultancy capacity to support schools to further their provision for children with additional learning needs. Since setting up The Sensory Projects Joanna's work has expanded, and she regularly works with adult care providers, heritage settings and families. Joanna draws on experience from her own life as well as insight from the research world and her professional background to inform her work. Joanna has family members with physical disabilities and neurodiverse conditions and has also been a foster carer for children with complex disabilities. Joanna is autistic and this enables her to take in huge amounts of information on a particular topic, Joanna uses her ability to focus on the sensory world to inform her work. Joanna is currently studying for a doctorate in Identity and Belonging for People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.
- Using a different lens for neurodivergent children: Don’t treat them as younger, give them the tools to achieve - July 17, 2022
- Exploring the “subtle spectrum” of autistic discovery - August 24, 2021
- Ambitious and inclusive sensory story-telling - October 29, 2020
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