For many of us with children, school closures increased the challenge a little more. While it has given us more time to spend with our children, it has also made it difficult to manage everything, all at once. From home-schooling and extra-curricular activities, to multiple kitchen-runs and more, it has certainly made it a roller-coaster of a year.
This has been hard to adjust to, for both the children and their parents. Home can be full of distractions and getting the children to focus on their schoolwork under normal circumstances can be tricky, let alone in the middle of a pandemic! We can’t blame you for fretting over how to do algebra, how to invert fractions or how photosynthesis works. In fact, it’s amazing what all mums and caregivers have managed to do over the past year, with many stepping in as part-time educators.
A lot of us have also had to juggle working from home (a new challenge in itself) alongside home-schooling our children. A double-whammy of things to juggle as parents have had to find time for their own work as well as their children’s education. It’s a busy schedule to keep on top of and is a testament to the hard work and patience of mothers and caregivers across the nation. With the schools having reopened, this burden will be lifted for many parents, making it possibly the best Mother’s Day gift they’ve ever received!
Whilst it might have been hard at times, there’s been some happy and uplifting moments. Whether that’s young ones accidentally gate-crashing a Zoom meeting, or funny questions and moments in the garden having lunch together, our children have helped to really lighten-up the day.
We asked some of the Calor mums to share their lockdown experiences and it is really inspiring to see how they not only made it work, but also found positivity in little things to keep them going! None of which would’ve been possible without the help and support of their partners or families.
Katie Munn, Head of Marketing and mother of 2 lovely girls, comments:
“Balancing family life with two young daughters and a full-time job is always a juggling act but even more so in the past year with lockdowns and significant disruption to schooling and childcare. It’s been a challenge that my support network has been somewhat depleted and not being able to ask friends or family members for help. By hook or by crook I have made it work and it’s certainly had its challenges and stresses, but it’s been hugely helped by my husband and me working as a team and supporting each other.”
Donna Nixon, Internal Communications Manager and mother of 2 wonderful boys, adds:
“I cannot deny I found home schooling very hard in the first lockdown. Thankfully my husband was available, so it was a tag team effort. We found setting a structure to the day, so writing down times they would do work, have breaks and lunch time, helped at first.
“We also learnt very quickly that it was better to put the boys in separate rooms and that our youngest needed more support (as you would expect). The school was much more prepared for the last lockdown which really helped.”
Victoria Walsh, Senior Finance Business Partner and mother of 2 amazing girls, further adds:
“What has been lovely about working from home has been the times when I have been able to get more involved in the girls’ schoolwork, and seeing exactly what type of things they have been getting up to in their lessons – this insight is usually reserved for the twice-yearly parents’ evenings.”
“In more “normal” times my youngest daughter would have been at breakfast and after-school club so to be able to have those moments with her as she has chatted about her day has been a real pleasure and something I will actively look to continue when we do come back into the office.”
It’s a shame that Mother’s Day both this year and last year have fallen during lockdown, but we hope all the mums out there still manage to enjoy their special day. Here’s to all the relentless mothers and their resilience, wishing you all a very Happy Mother’s Day!
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