With schools closed once again due to the covid-19 pandemic, parents are back to educating their kids at home. The prospect of this is no doubt daunting for some, but if you are a parent in this position it is important to remember you’re not a qualified teacher and can only do your best! If you’re wondering where to start, then fear not, we’ve come up with some top tips to make the best of your child’s home-schooling experience!
1. Routine is vital
Settling your child into a good, consistent routine is vital for successful home-schooling. You should try and keep the structure of the day as close to your child’s school timetable as possible, even if the time is being used for something less academic like baking a cake.
2. Keep Active
Setting aside some time to exercise with your child is a great way of breaking up the day and letting off some steam. Running around the garden for a bit can work wonders and if it’s too cold outside you could always exercise indoors with some help from Joe Wicks.
3. Avoid Social Media
Hard as it may be, we are advised to minimise children’s screen time. Looking at social media can result in children comparing themselves to others, causing feelings of anxiety and heightened feelings of isolation.
4. Stick to a study area
It’s a good idea to study in the same space every day for consistency. It could be a small desk or fold-out table, all that matters is that your child has the necessary materials they need and there aren’t too many distractions nearby. Of course, it also helps concentration levels if the study area is kept as quiet as possible.
5. Listen to your children
One of the advantages of home-schooling is that your child can truly learn at their own pace. If they understand a lesson quickly, there’s no reason to spend longer on it than necessary. If a child needs more time to understand something, then this can be accommodated as well. You should also feel free to adapt your home–schooling to your child’s interests. Remember they will be back to the school curriculum at some point so you could take the opportunity to explore something your child is particularly fascinated by.
6. Don’t be too hard on yourself
As home–schooling will make you realise, teaching can be a stressful job. Don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t expect miracles. You’re probably not a qualified teacher, so doing your best is enough. Nobody expects you to teach your child the whole curriculum, just focus on prioritising the core subjects.
7. Non-academic Lessons
Learning to bake and cook may not sound like a vital part of the curriculum but it’s a real life skill and involves applied maths! Everyday skills can be just as valuable as those taught in the classroom and can give your children some variety in their lessons.
8. Resources
There are some great online resources to support your home–schooling.
We’ve picked out some of the best:
BBC Bitesize covers material tailored to the National Curriculum across all subjects and age groups. Best of all, the material is presented in small, bitesize chunks that are easy to digest! Some mobile providers are even giving free access to this site and not charging for roaming data.
These video lessons from BBC presenters make complex subjects more accessible.
Although a US based site, Kahn Academy has a lot of great content that is just as applicable to the UK. This is particularly true of their science and maths lessons.
Duolingo is great for modern languages and has quick, bite-sized lessons designed especially for kids.
We hope you’ve found these tips useful. Now it’s time to hit the books!