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I never thought I’d be in a position where my children’s learning was mostly down to me. I’ve always been good at following the teacher’s lead and getting the homework done, but anything more than that has seemed beyond me.
That was until the schools closed and the lockdown started.
Now I’m responsible for their education. I’m aware that I’m not a teacher and no one is expecting me to fill their shoes. I’m also acutely aware that any gaps in their learning at this point will be my fault. It’s hard not to cave under the pressure, and it’s even harder to maintain a balance.
Thankfully, I have a very reassuring mum on the other end of the phone and she just so happens to be a retired teacher. She’s given me some pointers on how to handle education at home.
Help the Kids Stay on Top of Their Learning
We’re in a really weird position where what we’re doing isn’t really homeschooling. We’re in a forced environment that no one has prepared for with no access to socialising or other outside activities. We have to do the best with the tools we’ve got available.
With the help of my mum (and a very steep learning curve I’ve been thrust into), I think I’ve managed to gain some sort of balance.
These are my tips for helping your child stay on top of their learning.
Hire in Help
Remote tutoring is something to consider if your child is at a crucial stage in their education and you’re feeling entirely overwhelmed. Both of my kids are at primary school, so thankfully I feel pretty confident talking them through and marking the suggested work. If I had a child at KS3 or above, I’d be looking at using a remote tutoring. Tutor House are offering online courses and remote tutoring for you children and they’ve even launched an emergency online school since the lockdown.
Utilise Free Resources
Lots of education websites have started to offer free trial periods. This allows parents to sample the website’s services before committing to a subscription. Shop around these services that offer worksheets and use free trials wisely – there’s no point in doubling up when you can stagger it for a steady flow of work.
Do the Homework Set
This one should be obvious, but if you’ve been experimenting with different educational services, you might inadvertently neglect the work your child’s school has set. To prevent this, do the work set by the school first, then move on to other resources.
Check Out Blogs
There are loads of homeschool blogs out there, head over to Pinterest to discover new ones and give you inspiration. Although everyone’s current learning from home situation is different to true homeschooling, there will be lots of great ideas for fun projects to do at home and in the garden. Don’t get too carried away with the teaching aspect, making sure your child learns through play just as important as getting them to complete worksheets.
Remember to give your child plenty of breaks around all the learning you do at home. Overloading them with learning can make them quickly lose interest. When it comes to learning from home, it’s important to try and create as much variety as possible.
I like to set them a few pieces of homework each week. One of these is a translation exercise, another is a numeracy activity and the last two are slowly taken from a list. For example a project type task and a creative piece of work based on a theme. In the past few weeks, the kids have either produced stories or medium length articles which are based on classic novels, plays and unknown poems during my lessons. They also do a fair bit of guided online research and background reading from time to time. One week I even had them divide into pairs to write a additional short scene for Much Ado about Nothing that sees Hero become a mom of one after her wedding night.