Life under lockdown: Plan activities, conflict resolution and ‘sanity breaks’

SINGAPORE – Siblings Nathan and Phoebe Foong have been waking up for school, where they stand to attention for the National Anthem during assembly, before heading to the canteen.

Their parents, Elvin and Esther Foong, devised "Naph School", an amalgam of the first two letters of the children's names, after the family were asked to self-isolate under a leave of absence (LOA) request.

The family's LOA was issued after their trip to visit Mrs Foong's father in Johor during the recent March school holidays. Nathan, nine, and Phoebe, seven, will return to school on April 2.

According to the Education Ministry, less than 10 per cent of students and staff across all schools are on LOA or stay-home notice (SHN), which aim to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They are both 14-day self-isolation measures, typically following overseas travel.

Some families with young children are concerned about supporting their offspring's learning away from school.

Some, like the Foongs, are finding that the enforced time at home can be bittersweet, bonding the family together, while laying bare other fissures and flaws.

Mr and Mrs Foong run a tight ship at Naph School, where the "school day", which has regular breaks, ends around 2.30pm, after which the kids have scheduled activities, such as a nap and screen time, until dinner at 6.30pm.

The menu at "Naph Canteen", which comprises a single table on the balcony of their flat, offers breakfast and lunch sets at $1.20 each, as well as 60-cent snacks like small buns and yogurt. Drinks are 40 cents per half-cup, though the kids get a credit of 10 cents if they finish a bottle of water, which is free.

Mrs Foong, 35, says she and her husband started Naph School because they wanted the children to have a similar structure to their days.

"The more formally you treat it, the more the children will see how serious you are," says Mrs Foong. She and her husband, 38, run their own business, The Treasure Box SG, which provides resources based on their Christian faith such as storybooks and activity kits for families.

But recreating school at home has its downside.

Mrs Foong says: "Especially in the area of our children's behaviour and learning abilities, parents may be confronted with situations that make us realise that our children are not who we thought they are, or that they are not meeting our expectations and standards of who and how they should be."

The proximity of self-isolation "amplifies" the areas that need improvement, which can be a painful realisation, she says.

For instance, they realised from running Naph Canteen that Phoebe, who is in Primary 1, has difficulty counting and understanding dollars and cents.