Katie Piper reveals she's 'loving life' in 'grown-up lockdown' now her daughters are back at school

Katie Piper has been isolating with her husband, Richard Sutton, and daughters, Penelope, three, and Belle, six, since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown 10 weeks ago.

But, this week, her girls both went back to school, and she's now revealed exclusively to GoodToKnow that she and Richard are very happy to get the house back to themselves.

Speaking to us about how she felt sending them back to school, Katie Piper told us, "The first day I felt a little bit bad because we've been so close and together, and also a bit worried, but the school have got some brilliant procedures in place.

"When I read the email, and saw what the school are doing, I thought, 'To be honest, it sounds more hygienic than our own house,' and the girls came out on Monday so happy, so that was good for them.

"I think, like everybody, lockdown has been a roller coaster, but now my kids have gone back to school, I'm having a very grown up lockdown and loving life!"

Katie - who has been homeschooling her kids throughout lockdown - continued, "I think there's been more positives than negatives with lockdown. For me, being self employed and freelance, I'll probably never get such a long period of time with my children again. So in that sense, it has been a gift, but of course, I've got to be honest, they have been quite an annoying!"

Having taught her own kids for 10 weeks, Katie will now be teaching others on CBeebies' Celebrity Supply Teacher. Her chosen subject is wellbeing - something she's very passionate about and instills in Belle and Penelope.

In her TV lesson, she will teach children a tapping relaxation method, where you tap your neck, collarbone or wrist, and it sends calming messages to your central nervous system.

"We do that in the evening when Belle's in bed, settling down, trying to unwind from a busy day," Katie tells us.

Katie will also be teaching kids positive affirmations, as well as a lesson on gratitude.

She said, "The way I ask my class to do it in the CBeebies lesson is, at mealtimes, start conversations around privilege and gratitude, and actually pick someone in the family each week to be the scribe to write a list of positives down and then pop it all in a jar.

"And when you have had a difficult day, or when you're struggling, you can pull something out of the jar and you gain perspective. You could be reminded of when you did feel good, and when you did feel happy, and how that's still there, and it hasn't gone away. You just need to dig a bit deeper to find it."

Celebrity Supply Teacher CBBC Mon-Friday at 9.25am until July 3^rd with Katie’s episode on June 23^rd, also on BBC iPlayer.