As our current lock down enters a fourth week many of us may be starting to feel like a marathon runner who has ‘hit the wall’. In general, hitting the wall happens to those engaged in endurance sports and occurs when energy stores become depleted. This condition is typically accompanied by feelings of fatigue and negativity. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that energy levels are high when the exercise begins, by maintaining glucose levels during exercise, or by reducing exercise intensity.

Parenting and teaching, especially during a pandemic, can be likened to participating in an endurance sport. With remote learning now underway in households throughout our community we acknowledge, like the marathon runner, the difficulties that may be involved, but we wish to offer some tips to support our parents to go the distance.

 ensuring that energy levels are high

• Prepare for home learning by creating a routine and setting aside a designated working space.
• Listen to the signals of your child and respond when they need a break. 
• Accept the need for an increase of screen time and focus on effectively managing the remaining hours of the day by setting aside unplugged time for exercise, family meals, sleep and downtime.

maintaining glucose levels

• Try to create realistic blocks of working time. Most children can only work for 20 minutes before needing a break. Parents of younger children should also not feel pressured to re-create a six-hour school day, this is impossible. For younger students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2, two to two-and-a-half hours a day, up to three for some older kids is probably enough.
• Parents must pick their battles and prioritise which tasks need a child’s attention the most. If your child really struggles with reading, for example, make sure that is the one task you focus on.
• Pre-preparing snacks and bookmarking key web pages may help the day run more smoothly, especially if parents are juggling the demands of working from home.
• Parents are encouraged to be open about their needs and to communicate with the school whenever they need additional help.
• Sitting still for long periods of time is not good for children. Developmentally, children need to have the experience of learning by doing and learning through play. Supplementing schoolwork with Lego challenges, drawing activities, building a cubby, gardening, cooking, having a conversation, visiting the park, going for a walk are highly encouraged and are acceptable alternate activities. Remember that playing is learning.

by reducing exercise intensity

• Give yourself and your child permission to stop whenever you / they are too tired or overwhelmed. If they’re struggling or you’re struggling, or they’re having trouble with a concept, put that aside and do something else. 
• Please support the critical parent-teacher partnership during remote learning. In the classroom, teachers can see when students are struggling or need work adjusted or adapted, now we must rely on feedback from parents to tell us when this may be the case.
• Please know that 'doing what works' during this time is a valid strategy.

And at the beginning of each new day, like families and teachers everywhere, we pick ourselves up, adapt and strive to move forward, just like a marathon runner who moves toward a finish line that is not clearly visible. 

Last week I had the privilege of watching a TED talk delivered by 7-year-old, Molly Wright. Molly very eloquently reinforced the importance of parent connection and the impact this has on child development. Although aimed at parents with very young children, the messages can be easily translated to apply to parenting children of all ages. I strongly recommend viewing as the messages certainly help to put our current situation into perspective. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/molly_wright_how_every_child_can_thrive_by_five?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

I am very grateful to our Year 6 Leaders who have created a motivational video that will be shared with all students on Thursday morning as part of the remote morning message. Thank you, Year 6 Leaders, for reminding us of the many positives that can be found during these challenging times. As the quote on our Remote Learning Page states - "...at the end of all of this, your child's mental health will be more important than their academic skills. And how they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during those weeks is long gone. So keep that in mind, every single day."

Let Christ guide our way and bring us fullness of life in the days ahead. 

Tina Murray

Principal