Since lockdown I think it’s fair to say that we are learning a whole heap of new things about ourselves, our families and the wider community.  Have we discovered that we have capabilities that we were not previously aware of for example?  The only way we can do this as a result of the STAY AT HOME policy is not to think about what we are now unable to do; but to instead consider the abundance of opportunities that are now presenting themselves to us, allowing us to be even more capable than we had ever imagined.

Have you experienced a renewed interest in something such as NATURE, HEALTH, MEDITATION?  Are you now a forensics expert because you’ve watched 3000 episodes of CSI? Do you have a better relationship with your brother, sister, next door neighbour? Can you do 50 more keepie uppies with a football because you’ve been spending much more time practicing or did you read your first novel that you genuinely LOVED!

The one common blessing that many of us have more of as a result of the school closure is TIME.  Are we going to watch the clock ticking or are we going to choose to use the minutes to achieve something remarkable?  You might have already started and I am looking forward to hearing about your gains (and I’m not talking about the weight variety as I too have eaten too many biscuits as well)!

Each week we will be featuring a real life story about how you became “More Able Today Than Yesterday’ during lockdown!  I’d like parents, students, staff, relatives and friends to share their mini or mega gains.  I’d like to know what you achieved; what motivated you to achieve it and how you went about it practically! Did it improve your confidence, your relationships, your understanding of yourself or others?  Hopefully we will be able to inspire one another to lift the roof off our capability ceiling!

To start us off here’s a few things I’ve learned since staying at home:

Mini and mega gains

1. When a gorgeous hedgehog visited our garden I fed him a saucer of milk.  I was CURIOUS about this beautiful creature so I looked up a few facts about him (I named him Jeff).  Google told me that I should not have fed Jeff milk as it upsets his stomach!  I will NEVER offer a hedgehog milk again!  Jeff didn’t look too displeased but my learnings from this experience are that mistakes can certainly make the learning experience more memorable.  It also reinforced the fact that CURIOSITY causes us to find out more information about a given subject, thus improving our knowledge of it. To summarise:  MILK = BAD FOR JEFF! (unless you’re called Jeff and you are not a hedgehog!)

2. I canNOT run a faster 5k than my 10 year old son Ray, BUT if I run WITH him then I will smash any previous running records that I’ve ever had for myself and be very close to a near death experience at the same time.  To summarise: if I want to get fitter I should run with Ray!

3. If I sing the RE homework to my youngest son Reggie, it makes him laugh and engages him for 20 minutes longer than the version without the singing. He doesn’t care if it’s not in tune he just likes me to yell MOSES at the top of my voice, waving my arms expressively as I do!

If I read each paragraph of the Victorian Era homework alternating different accents with him we get through it together, laughing and remembering how the invention of the post box sounded so much more interesting when delivered with an Irish accent!  To summarise: I need to do the learning with Reggie in a way that he wants to receive it.  It has taught me to be more flexible in my approach to this home learning phenomenon. I am also becoming better at mimicking accents because I now practice this on a daily basis.  At last they do not all sound the same when I attempt them!  I also learned that Moses was a very busy guy!

4. My dad is 76 and has learned how to use What’sApp video calls.  I often speak to his forehead as he rarely points the camera at his entire face but he has learned a new skill and he’s ancient!  We now talk more every day and it is magical!  To summarise: If my tech adverse dad can learn a new skill – anyone can!

Now it’s your turn.  Please send me your stories.  Your gains can be mini or mega or both – they ALL count!  They can be heartwarming, momentous, funny, significant, insignificant or worthy of a call to the Guinness Book of Records!  Parents and carers please don’t be shy, tell us your stories too!

I shall look forward to hearing from ALL of you.  I use the ALL in the previous sentence to be optimistic, hopeful and slightly persistent in requesting your input!  You don’t want another essay from me next week!  Let us embrace the variety of this segment!

Please send your stories to me at [email protected]

Take care of yourselves

Mrs Wright

Hedgehog Expert