When the coronavirus lockdown caused the closure of schools and home-schooling became the new normal, Lorisa Talbot, 40, came up with a creative idea to separate home from work.
The mum-of-three turned her unused caravan into a dedicated classroom for her three children, Freya, nine, Ryan, six, and Harry, five, adding in books, games and puzzles to keep them entertained and educated.
And the DIY job didn’t cost her a penny.
Lorisa, from Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, wrote on Facebook: ‘So with school closed for the foreseeable future, we’ve decided to turn our touring caravan into a temporary classroom.
‘The kids seem pretty excited to start on Monday as apparently they don’t have to work as hard as at school.’
The family had previously holidayed in the caravan in Austria, Germany and Belgium – and were planning a trip this summer to Lake Garda via Switzerland, which has of course been postponed.
Lorisa decided to take her three children out of school before they formally shut when the crisis was getting worse.
Lorisa said: ‘I had been following the news in Spain and Italy very closely and decided to take my children out of school a week before they officially closed as I was terrified of what was happening over there.
‘I assumed the same would happen (lockdown) here and thought it might be for quite a long time.
‘Our caravan was sitting on the drive unused and it seemed like the perfect space to use as a temporary classroom for the children.’
The caravan classroom means the kids’ school supplies don’t get scattered all around the house.
Instead their games and books – all carefully selected by the children as the things they wanted to bring inside their classroom – have been organised in boxes and folders onboard.
Despite having all the essentials for an authentic ‘school day experience’, Lorisa is keen to keep the caravan not as a strict, traditional classroom but as a space to learn through fun.
Thankfully, the kids love it.
She said: ‘The children love their new ‘school’ and have really been enjoying the time we spend inside.
‘Their real school has been providing us with a full week’s worth of work each Sunday, for which I’m very grateful, but in all honesty we’ve not managed to get through all of it.
‘We do a bit of reading and writing, board games and lots of nature projects like Nick Bakers Worm World.’
Lorisa has set out a daily ‘school’ routine with maths, English and literacy lessons in the mornings after an hour doing PE with Joe Wicks.
Then in the afternoon the family does more fun activities, such as forest school, arts and crafts, and playing boardgames.
Lorisa hopes the weather will remain pleasant so the family can keep enjoying time outdoors in the garden and getting in their daily exercise.
As much as the family are making the most of their unique set up, Lorisa said the children are already looking forward to getting back to real school – and have had lots of questions about the pandemic.
She said: ‘I’ve tried to be honest with them as much as I can about coronavirus without scaring them to much.
‘They know if we stay home and stick to the rules things will hopefully get back to normal.
‘They’ve also asked a lot of questions about the NHS and I’ve explained to them how lucky we are in this country to have our NHS.
‘They now take great pride in clapping for them every Thursday evening – we even let them stay up late to do so!’
How are you spending the lockdown? Get in touch to share your story by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/09/mum-turns-unused-caravan-classroom-homeschool-three-children-coronavirus-lockdown-12533395/?ITO=squid
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