This week’s blog is from Susie Pratten, who many of you will know from Pre-School - and she has been the face of much of our hastily compiled Home Learning content, prior to furlough. Here she writes on how she has been finding life as a furloughed member of our staff.

Well - what crazy, unsettling times! Maybe you feel like you are in a strange little bubble; I know I do. 

It’s certainly been a time of acceptance and adjustment. In the Pratten household, we have settled into some kind of routine and my conviction that everyone is different and functions in different ways certainly rings true, as every family’s routine seems - quite rightly - different to another’s.

Now, let me make it clear, just because I have been a teacher for well over 20 years, it definitely does not mean that I can teach my own children! The reasons for this are numerous, to name but a few…

Firstly, they are teenagers. Need I say more?! I am apparently the most embarrassing person on earth, and any attempts at fun ways to galvanise them to work are met with sighs and weak smiles, at best! 

Also, the jump from specializing in the Early Years curriculum to the lofty heights of the secondary and A level syllabus, is proving to be a tall order for me. 

Finally, my patience level with my own children - I am afraid to say - is significantly lower than with my usual pre-school charges, with whom I can sing, dance, play, make and negotiate for hours. Of course, my boys are missing their team sports, resulting in lots of testosterone and excess energy, but my efforts to get them to join in with Joe Wicks did not go down well; “Mum, I am not bouncing around the kitchen like a kangaroo!!” 

On a serious note, I am lucky that they generally get along and are actually ‘quite nice’ so we have had very few cross words. I hope I don’t regret saying that! We have actually joined forces to prevent the dog interrupting my husbands’ numerous video calls.  He is a very sneaky dog so that is no mean feat.

Aside from trying to support my children’s education I have been doing lots of running, which has made me feel good about myself but in actuality has been a necessity due to the extreme amount of baking I have been undertaking! 

Colleagues at the Manor House are fully aware of my love of baking, but I have now taken it to another level!  I have been trying to perfect my bread making, thanks to a kind neighbour who managed to source yeast for me, and experiment with lots of different cakes.

The ‘swiss roll’ was unfortunately more of a ‘swiss fold’, I would definitely have been marked down in a ‘technical bake’, but we have found a few new family favourites, all under the guise of keeping my family fed!!

I have also reignited a love of jigsaw puzzles, much to the distress of my husband who, due to his fastidious nature, finds them far too messy!!

I had a week at home prior to the beginning of furlough, which was spent making videos for the pre-schoolers to hopefully provide some continuity, and it was something of a surprising delight.  I say surprising, because videoing myself does not come naturally and the balancing of books and stands and ordering the household “not to watch” is all rather stressful. But, telling stories and thinking of activities for them certainly does come naturally and I hope they are proving useful! 

Whatever I am doing at this moment in time, my thoughts are with your children, with whom I am so lucky to work.  I hope you are all safe and well and I look forward to when we can all meet again.

Love to you all,

Susie