Brought to you by Victoria Taylor
Sitting down on Tuesday evening after finally getting my two-year-old to bed, I poured myself a glass of wine and turned on the television. As I scrolled through my list of recordings, I hovered over an episode of Topsy and Tim. Should I tune in to find out how the twins would react upon hearing they were sharing a room again after the birth of their baby brother? It was then that I realised, I had a problem.
My two-year-old had taken over my life.
It had started gradually, going for walks with the sole purpose of jumping in muddy puddles, singing songs about rainbows loudly in the garden, shouting “Motorbike!” every time I heard the revving of an engine, and it finally accumulated in a Facebook status questioning the motives behind the narrative of ‘Waffle the Wonder Dog’.
Initially when we were first told about school closures, I had been relieved to hear that I wouldn’t be needed in school; it meant I could stay home and do my bit from the comfort of my own sofa. I’d imagined video calls and endless emails from the kids, reading and tweeting – all whilst my little boy amused himself with cars and his train set. Bliss. Then I started receiving emails from nursery helpfully suggesting some activities to do; homemade playdough, cutting and sticking activities, jolly phonics and the panic really began to set in, I wasn’t sure I was cut out for staying at home after all. I prepared myself in the best way I could but knew deep down that this was not going to be quite what I had imagined.
What I was not prepared for was how much this experience with my toddler could teach me, not just about myself as a parent but about myself as a teacher. If there is one thing that ‘lockdown’ has given us, it is time – something that was distinctly lacking in my life before.
Suddenly leaving the house isn’t such a big rush any more, and more time can be spent letting my son check wellies are on the right foot and letting him zip up his own coat which might take hours. The phrase ‘Theo do it’ has become something which rings out every time we get ready to go for walk and it might take time, it might take a demonstration, or me doing it for him first and then unbuttoning it so he can do it himself, but ultimately he can do it. Theodore is teaching me patience, to wait for something to be done, rather than jumping to sort the problem out before giving it a chance to work. He is willing to find the joy and imagination in things I haven’t seen before. When he found himself in a homemade racing car without a wheel, he went and got his plate and imagined that was one. I certainly wouldn’t have thought of that. His love for language and exploring new words is exciting and when I hear that dinner is ‘delicious’, I take pride in his newly acquired vocabulary.
In lots of ways, Theo has become the essence of KC for me at home. He dreams big, works hard and stays humble…most of the time. He is reminding me why I fell in love with teaching in the first place, he reminds me of the joy I get through accomplishment, the imagination it takes to plan a lesson or look at a text from an alternative perspective, and how precious words and vocabulary are to everyday life.
When I get back to school, whenever that will be (and let’s hope it is sooner rather than later) I’m going not going to let this time be forgotten. We are in unprecedented times and these circumstances are not what I imagined for 2020. However, in true KC style I am not going to waste a single second of this time, I am going to learn some lessons from my toddler and come back with true KC spirit.
Kingsthorpe College 