Homeschool Advice

Katie B
May 27, 2020
2 min read

Six tips to help you continue your homeschooling as lockdown continues for many children. Some schools have expressed that they may not return until September for the next academic year so it will be increasingly important to maintain some formal learning.

1) Keep in touch with teachers who can help you keep your children on track. They can point you in the right direction and also provide some tasks or resources for topics your child may need more practice on.

Ask the teacher for assistance with the schedule in case there's work they'll need to complete. Teachers can also provide more resources to help if your child needs more practice on a topic — Keep in touch with teachers

2) Plan the day and get your child involved with how the day will go. This can mean that there's less resistance to doing the work as they will feel they're in 'control' and it will teach them some responsibility.

Give them options. Ask them what they feel about doing tasks in certain ways. Give them time to adjust to the schedule. Mix in more academic with less academic tasks depending on what your child prefers to encourage their learning — Plan the day with your child

3) Involve the family in homeschooling - this will mean that one person doesn't have all the stress (and joy) from teaching. You can also involve your children in your normal routine tasks to teach them valuable life skills.

Homeschooling involves integrating your child's educational schedule with your family's regular routine. This may mean teaching your children about cooking at lunchtime. You can also involve older children by asking them to explain to a younger child - this will help them solidify their knowledge and give you a moment to do something else! — Involve the family

4) Be flexible! Learning something new can be hard and just as your patience will not be the same day-to-day, nor will your child's focus. Keep your schedule vague so that tasks can be varied and you can switch things up if you need to.

Learning can be difficult, new and frustrating. Their focus can also vary considerably day-to-day. It's a good idea to keep the schedule a little vague - like having "academic time" or "creative time" so the task can be tailored for your child — Be flexible

5) Breaks are important especially as so much schoolwork now require using computers. Screen breaks are vital to keeping healthy but a break from academic learning can also help refocus your children. It is also important to break up the harder tasks so that frustration levels remain low.

It's a simple advice - and you can't underestimate the power of breaks. Add it to your schedule and make it fun - or be spontaneous and flexible and take it when you can. Make sure that these are screen breaks to give the eyes a break too. — Take breaks

6) Nobody knows everything! Therefore there is no shame in seeking help from teachers, other parents, online or tutors to help especially for topics that you may not have looked at since you were at school. Tutors offer 1-to-1 lessons which can help fill in those gaps without being tied into a long-term arrangement.

We understand that there may be topics you haven't thought about since you were at school! It can be hard to teach those subjects, especially to older children. That's why tutors are here to help fill those gaps and provide a more personal learning experience with 1-to-1 lessons — Nobody knows everything