If you’re in the UK, then congratulations, you’ve officially made it through the first year of lockdowns and restrictions. And oh boy, what a rollercoaster it has been. A year ago, we were drawing rainbows to display in our front windows, we found joy in nature, and the simple pleasures of a long walk outdoors. But, I think it’s safe to say that unlike our window displays, it has not all been sunshine and rainbows. For a lot of people, the past year has meant loss, pain, exhaustion, or just plain irritation; more storm clouds than sunny skies. I find myself looking back on everything that has shaped the past year, and I’m so proud of how we’ve coped – and I do mean every single one of us. Whether your coping strategy was pyjama days and TV, or long walks and routines, you have found a way to persevere and that is often the hardest part; functioning when the world stops being functional.
In the early days of lockdown, I know that we spent a lot of time outside in the garden or exploring local woodland walks. Even now, I still feel a little guilty at times, because we were enjoying our time together, in our safe little bubble. We were closed away from the world in this inexplicable new life we’d been thrown. But, as the weeks went on, I couldn’t avoid learning by replacing it with exercise – eventually, I was going to have to take on the task of home-schooling, and I’m not ashamed to say, I felt overwhelmed by the idea; how could I be their teacher as well as their mum?
As a former Nursery Manager, with a degree in education, it wasn’t that I was unqualified to teach them; in fact, I had more abilities than many did in that situation. But that didn’t make it easy to find the balance, how much fun is too much? If they’re laughing, are they really learning? It was so hard to find out where to draw that line, that is until I discovered Reading Eggs.
Reading Eggs is an educational app that provides resources for children aged 2-13 years. Developed by a team of primary educators with over 30 years of experience, it was the next best thing to school itself. Pressure and stresses, begone!
A program that has been designed to help children engage with learning, whilst also building skills, it nurtures a love of reading from an early age – I wasn’t surprised to see that many parents had also started using Reading Eggs to help with home-schooling during lockdown.
Cole had a fairly comprehensive schedule provided by his school to keep him busy at home, leaving more time for me to help Carter get the best start in education he can. We struggled through more than a few phonics lessons, and a few hairs may have turned grey during the endless cycles of “just one more page, please!”. I’m not ashamed to say I begged, bribed, pleaded, and plain ol’ cried over it at times. Reading eggs turned out to be an invaluable resource. It wasn’t long before Carter and I switched roles – soon it was him begging for just one more page instead!
The app made learning fun again – it gave books that modern day spin that is so invaluable to our kids. Yes, nothing will ever beat a beaten-up paperback for me, but technology has changed how learning happens, and surely, it’s got to be easier to roll with it, right? With this app, he was having so much fun learning again, he didn’t even associate it with “hard work” anymore – oh what a difficult balance to strike!
Carter loved using the flashcards and reading books, and I was really amazed at how quickly he started picking up new letters, words and sounds in such a short period of time. He is now back at nursery, the house feels quiet and empty, but hearing his teacher report back that he has returned with much more confidence than before this whole journey began, well that makes it all worth it. After so much progress, you bet that I’ll be using the app on weekends as our new go-to game!
Watching Carter’s attitude towards learning change with the app has brought me more joy that I thought possible. I was barely keeping my head above water as their teacher – mother, nurse, cook, cleaner, chauffeur, yes; but teacher, absolutely not. I know I’m not alone in that feeling, lockdown has broken a lot of our spirits. But it’s true, learning at home really can be effortless and entertaining – no more fights or tantrums about learning, just quiet, blissful learning. Thank you Reading Eggs, from one tired, stressed-out parent, you truly did give me a much better year than I could’ve dreamed of.
Don’t believe me? Want to find out for yourselves how awesome it is? Then follow this link to try it free for the next 30 days: https://readingeggs.co.uk/lauren
