My thoughts and feelings about the return to school/nursery in the coronavirus pandemic – Mummascribbles

159 days ago, Zach went to school in what (unbeknown to us), would be his last physical appearance in his Year 2 classroom. Myself and Oscar were already self-isolating with a horrible cough and that evening, Boris announced that anyone within a household who had members isolating, would have to also isolate. So that was that. We kept him home, he didn’t get to say goodbye to his friends or teachers, and a few days later, schools closed.

5 months is a bloody long time to be off school. It is a bloody long time to be practically stuck indoors. It is a bloody long time to not see your friends, and it is a bloody long time to be around your little brother! He has overall, dealt with it amazingly. Yes it has been hard. Home-learning started out really well but started to fizzle out a few weeks before the Summer holidays, and we have all wound each other up at times, but having both boys at home for this length of time, will probably never happen again, and so I have tried to make the most of it while we have had it.

In little over 2 weeks though, it is time for Zach to go back to school and move into Year 3, and for Oscar to move into Nursery. Am I ready for this to happen? Well, yes and no!

Why yes?

I need a flipping break! The other half has been working from home throughout this whole pandemic and looks to be doing so for a considerably long period of time, if not permanently. Having him home has been lovely, but he is working and he is very busy – forever in online meetings or focusing on whatever task he has. So for the most part, I have been doing this whole pandemic parenting thing by myself. He has helped of course – he has come down to break up arguments, he has been out on regular dog walks with us, and he will take a break every now and then and give the kids some focus. But I think he would agree that it has been me that has kept this household together over the last five months. I have done all of the schooling, 90% of the entertaining, and 99% of the fight breaking up! To say it has been exhausting would be an understatement! I am most definitely ready for there to be a period of 3 hours per day in which there are no children in the house. When I can work, or hoover, or sit and drink a cup of tea and enjoy a Nakd bar without having to share my stash out with them. I know it will seem quiet and I will probably miss them, but I am ready to have some time to myself again.

Also, they need it. They really, really need it. They need to see their friends. They need to be with and have fun with other kids. They have seen their cousins the same age once, but that is it. I know Zach is desperate for some social interaction with people his age and I know he cannot wait to get back to school.

Why no?

Well, I mean, the virus is still out there. Yes there is a lot less of it but it is still there. We have been so super cautious. Probably over cautious and it has meant the boys have had the most boring Summer holidays ever in existence, but we just wanted to keep them safe.

Did we take them to the beach? No!

Did we go to an amusement park? No!

Did we get their hair cut as soon as the barbers opened? No! (and we still haven’t!).

We did visit Paradise Wildlife Park which the kids thoroughly enjoyed, but we just found the whole event really stressful. Nobody cared about social distancing – nobody really seems to care about social distancing at all! And that is what has put us off of doing anything that should be really fun, because I know we will spend the whole time trying to keep them out of the way of people.

So the fact that we have been this careful for five months, and now we have to send them back to school and nursery where they are going to be mixing with a whole other group of kids – well, I am a bit worried to say the least! I know they need to go back, but that won’t stop me worrying that they will be catching germs. Any germs…not just corona germs. I don’t want them to catch any illness right now!

I’m also worried about Oscar going to nursery. If you don’t know, he took a reeeeeally long time to settle into pre-school, and while he does speak of it and his friends fondly, I am not sure if the new restrictions will make it worse again. For the first week, I get to go to a stay and play session with him for 45 minutes, but after that, I have to wave him goodbye at the top gate while he is taken down to the nursery garden by a member of staff. I am not sure how he will deal with that. That said, he is so ready for a bigger challenge. For the most part, this kid works at reception aged ability, so I know having some focus at nursery will really benefit him!

Also, they are going to miss each other. I mean, they drive each other crazy but they won’t ever have this amount of time together again. I know that not having Zach at home in the afternoons will be a struggle for Oscar until he gets a bit more used to it.

And finally, I am totally not ready for the return to school runs! It has been 5 months of lazy mornings and no rushing around. It has been lush! I am not ready for the early morning, cold walks! And walks there will be. In that first week, I have to drop Zach off at 9.10am and Oscar’s stay and play session starts at 10am. I can’t take Oscar on that first trip though, because there is nowhere to wait around for 50 minutes. So I will have to take Zach, go back home, and then take Oscar. And then from the second week, I have to drop Oscar off at 8.30, Zach off at 9.10, pick Oscar up at 11.35, and then Zach up at 3.20. I do have to say, I am looking forward to getting fit again though, and will hopefully see myself shrinking down a bit faster with all of that alongside the dog walks and at home exercise!

Ultimately, I know they need to go back. I know that a return to normal life is the best thing for them. They have had to suffer the affects of this virus on life for far too long. It felt like as everything was re-opening, nothing was happening for the kids. They had nothing to do, nowhere to go. We have pretty much spent our days walking the dog at the park or forest, and otherwise we have been at home. But that does not mean I will feel comfortable with the return to school in the coming weeks. It is going to take a while to get used to this new type of normal.

How are you feeling about the return to school? Or are you somewhere else in the UK that has already gone back?