This week I was delighted to receive an article from a year 8 parent, responding to my plea to share mini and mega gains during this lockdown period.  So it is with great pleasure that her article is shared with you all here.

A message from Kajal Shah

As parents we try and teach the children about being strong, developing positive attitudes, growth mindset and resilience. And these are the qualities that have been most tested (for both adults and children) during these uncertain times.

During the early days of lock down, I was amazed by the amount of resources everyone was sharing via Whats app & social media to help each other.

Ranging from online educational resources (the likes of BBC Bite size) and virtual museums to live YouTube cooking channels (Wagamama’s Wok from Home) and Netflix must watch list!

The whole ‘Stay at home’ concept was as exciting as it was nerve wrecking. But here’s what I’ve learnt so far:

Parents cannot replace teachers when it comes to home schooling and kids will not listen to parents as they do to teachers….the earlier I accepted this the better!

Lesson learnt: My kid’s mental health during these unprecedented times is far more important than their academic skills.

Now we are certainly not a family of artists but my daughter & I decided to embark on some art projects, Resin Art to be precise and I did surprise myself. Learning along from You tube videos, we did some

rather impressive mini projects and moved on to trying it on canvas….which failed miserably but that’s made me more determined to try it out again.

Lesson learnt: It is better to try and fail than never to try at all

Since last summer my daughter had been wanting to start a You Tube cooking channel which never quite materialized. And inspired by the sudden surge of ‘Home Masterchefs’ we decided to give it a go.

And wow I am so proud of her, she now has her own YouTube channel! The challenge now is to keep persevering.

Lesson learnt: You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.

I have always been a keen darts player but lately my son has been playing daily and now dare I say he beats me to it!

Lesson learnt: Practice makes us perfect.

I would like to say a big thanks to all the teachers, support staff and senior leaders at BMS for doing such a wonderful job!

Stay safe and healthy.

Best wishes,