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School is a fast-paced environment. Even children in an early-years setting can miss a lot if they’re ill for a day. If your child misses school for a week (or longer) it can be incredibly difficult for them to catch up – even with the support of their teachers.
After all the changes 2020 has brought about, lots of children missed huge chunks of school. Most schools were able to send work home to complete, but those missing weeks (or months in some cases) are unlikely to have been as productive as time spent in the classroom.
There are a few ways to help your children catch up. No one wants their kids to fall behind and struggle in class, so this list should be helpful to most parents thanks to these strange times we’ve all shared.
Hire an Online Tutor
With all the changes in place in recent months, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to have a tutor round to your house any time soon. Instead, why not look into online tutoring? You’ll have all the benefits of a tutor who comes to your house, but you won’t have to worry about whether or not they’re allowed in your home from week to week.
They’ll help with any pain points, look for specific gaps in knowledge and support you and your child through the learning journey. Check tutors cover your area, as not all tutors are able to, the best bet is to put your location into a search e.g. Spanish tutor in Portland Oregon.
Ask the Teacher for Help in Specific Areas
With different children needing to take time off from week to week, the teacher may have a bank of generic work to do at home with your child. While this is very handy, if your child is struggling in a specific area, you might not know about it.
If you want to make sure your child is exactly where they should be, you can ask the teacher if there’s anything specific you should work on at home. It could be the case that your child mostly missed work they have caught up on, but certain areas need a little extra care.
Check the Curriculum Yourself
Teachers are understandably stretched and incredibly busy. If you are unable to speak to a teacher soon after absence, you might want to look at the checklist yourself. With primary-aged children, the framework is easy to understand and you should be able to spot the things your child should know.
I think it becomes a little more difficult to understand for secondary school because you might find you have gaps in your own knowledge! (I know I do!)
Buy Resources to Complete at Home
If you’re confident in your ability to educate, then you might want to buy some resources to work through at home with your children. I find my children listen to me for no more than 5 minutes and often walk off when they’re supposed to be working. I’ve bought a few resources myself (there are lots out there) but it’s a little harder to create continuity at school. If you choose this way, you might have to go through the whole lot with them to ensure you’ve covered everything. I’ve found kids to be unreliable narrators when you’re trying to establish what they’ve already been taught!
Whatever you choose, we’re all in this together and everyone know you’re doing your best. We all are!
You might like these phonics resources my good friend Accidental Hipster Teacher contributed to my site: