Will Dig Life

As children who haven't been back to regular school in 6 months are preparing to return, we are preparing to -- continue as we are. But, even for home educators, September is usually a month of new things. Groups that took a break in the summer come back, new interests mean new groups to attend... But not in 2020. Six months of almost total social distancing has been a long time for all of us. For kids who are only a few years old, it's an eternity! And I do believe it's time we found ways to safely engage with the outside world again. But, what is safe ? As kids go back to school, I fully expect the virus to soar again. And with winter coming, that adds to it too. So what I decide to do today may be subject to change. The good thing is, over the months Covid has been with us, there's been a lot of research on the disease and the way we protect ourselves has evolved too. Whereas at the beginning we were socially distancing not only from people but even from surfaces peo

Many of our friends are beginning to meet up again. A friend is having a baby shower (in a park) next week. A local charity is arranging socially-distanced trips out for families. The local home education group is having a resources sale. But we stay away. It's not that we don't miss our friends - we do! The kids ask for certain friends almost daily. And us adults, we have to say no to those social engagements like baby showers. We just don't think it's safe, not for ourselves so much, but particularly for the kids' grandparents. They must be our priority at this time. For three months they couldn't see their grandchildren and everyone suffered! Now we are able to see them again, we must take the responsibility for any germs we may bring to them. In practice, this means we continue to spend a lot of time going out to parks and nature reserves. Archie's owner now feels more able to get out, so we have lost him, but the upside of that is that this gives us a b