23.03.2020
The first day of ‘Home Schooling’ would best be described as non academic. Helen and I have both had great difficulty in persuading Rupert to focus on anything that involves a pencil pen or brush. As a result the now commonly found rainbow pictures that denote a household with a schoolchild in isn’t something that we can proudly say was done by Rupert. Instead Helen managed to get approximately 10 minutes at the table with him at about 5pm and two pieces of artwork were produced. You’ll see the two examples below and I’ll let you decide which was done by Rupert and which was done by Helen.
Despite having what Helen and I call a gnat like attention span, Rupert has a thirst for speed, but currently struggles a little with coordination and as such whilst he is confident on a balance bike he is as yet unable to ride a pedal bike. I’ve tried with stabilisers but it all seems too much at the moment. In my efforts to try and get his feet going in the right direction I bought a ‘Tag Along’ bike attachment late last year. It’s been a great success and today saw us go on our biggest ride yet. Approximately 2 miles down the side of the Derwent to the centre of Derby (avoiding areas that I could see were still quite busy despite all the advice given to avoid contact) with his all time favourite fluffy companion Jiffy Jaff in the side pouch of my backpack. On route we stopped at Darley Park and blasted several ‘Stomp Rockets’ into blue sky (a remarkable thing in itself given the cold grey that we’ve all suffered for so long). Rupert has for a while now had a keen interest in picking flowers, some of them made it home but one dandelion did get blasted in the stomp launcher! We sat by the river for a few minutes, ate some of the sandwiches I’d prepared earlier and then made our way back dashing through flocks of pigeons as Rupert laughed and roared with joy. I pray that we can keep a modicum of freedom though the actions of an irresponsible few may cost us all. Tonights announcement from our Prime Minister wasn’t unexpected, I won’t miss any unnecessary materialistic shopping if I’m honest. Right now it seems that the simple sound of fun and laughter from my little boy is enough to at least keep a smile on my face.
I attempted on a number of occasions to engage some kind of learning activity during the afternoon once we arrived back, I got a little stressed by it, but was advised by Helen to not worry too much. We shan’t give up trying but will just have to take keen advantage of the limited times when he’s receptive to putting pen to paper.
Helen suggested a Jurassic themed day of activities for tomorrow. Lets see if this old dinosaur can keep up with the hatchling!
