Indoors.

Hello, my home ed friends. I hope you have been coping well and enjoying more time at home if you usually juggle between going to work and home education, or if you are used to being an outdoor activity family. If you are like us and spend most of your time indoors anyway, it can still feel like you're being closed in and schmooshed like a car crusher. I'm not much of an outdoorsy type of person, and the weather contributes to whether I go out or not. I reject rain and snow and happily spend days, sometimes a couple of weeks, indoors. But I understand that it can be hard to get through weeks of feeling trapped indoors and quickly run out of ideas for learning and entertainment.

My boy is very much an indoor person. He hates leaving the house, full stop. My oldest girl likes to go out now and then but is glad to get home at the end of the day. My middle girl, though, loves going out for any reason whatsoever. Popping out for loo roll or walking the dog, she'll be there ready to go. It's a good trait to have. I wish I were so enthusiastic.

Well, in the land of learning, it hasn't changed much in our house. We are pretty laid back nowadays, and the only change is our oldest daughter doing college work online. I may have already spoken about this. It's exam-based, and like all teenagers, she hates it. I can't blame her. I remember exams being so stressful, the pressure to pass was incredible. I did terribly and didn't even manage a 3 C's average pass.

I think schools put too much pressure on kids to pass: and pass well at 16, 17, 18 years old. Most kids have no, or little, idea of what they want to do for a career, and as the generations go, the pressure seems worse than ever. Learning is for life, and even though you have to pay to return to education as an adult, there are options like mature apprenticeships schemes and grants for learning with the open university. If you are creative, YouTube offers so many tutorials to improve your skills. Maybe you could eventually sell your crafts and creations professionally and have your own business. So your children's careers don't have to depend on their grades at 16, they can always re-sit them or choose a college course that will allow then to re-do them alongside the course they have chosen. There are lots of options today. Some college courses start with entry-level and so don't even require grades. Check out several colleges. Many colleges often have different grade requirements for the same course.

If your child/children are worried about exams, it is perfectly normal. With the change in the way they are now learning, it could be even harder for kids to deal with. So take it slow and try to be encouraging and supportive. Grades don't define you, and as I've talked about today, there are other options. It has been decided that I should embark on taking my English and Maths GCSE again. This is at no cost to myself and whilst learning via the magic of the interweb I may not even have to leave home, which I am super happy about. I hope that I can just take one at a time though. Juggling home ed, job-searching/self-employed option, and being an all-round general D.I.Y-er, with help from my mum: I guess that makes me more D.I.Y.W.H.F.M.M-er, I'm going to have to find time to study for GCSE's. Ughhh. If you're wondering how I've got this for free, the Government now give free English and Maths GCSE courses for anyone 19+ who do not have a C grade pass in these subjects or anyone who has never taken their GCSE's. It's been going for quite a while now, but still, not many people have heard about this offer. I have been told I may have to attend this course at a learning centre, but with the pandemic, I am hoping it will continue to be online. I'm looking forward to doing my English but dreading the maths. It's been a long time since school, and even with home ed with the kids, I'm going to find it difficult. My 41-year-old brain isn't as clever as my 16-year-old brain. And I can't exactly use Grammarly for Maths!

For now, stay safe and be happy.