Parents with children — especially younger children in class — are feeling the time crunch at home as they struggle to balance work, homeschooling and household responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some tips for homeschooling during the pandemic.
1. Plan a routine together
Try to establish a routine that factors in age-appropriate education programmes which will be followed online, on the tv or through the radio. Also, think about play time and time for reading. Utilize daily activities as learning opportunities for your children. Remember to come up with these plans together where possible.
Although establishing a routine and structure is critically important for youngsters and children , in these times you’ll notice your children need some level of flexibility. Switch up your activities. If your child is seeming restless and agitated when you’re trying to follow a web learning programme with them, flip to a more active option. Do not forget that planning and doing housework together safely is great for development of fine and gross motor functions. Try and stay as attuned to their needs as possible.
2. Have open conversations
Practice open communication with your children. Remember that your child may have different reactions to worry , so be patient and understanding. Start by inviting your child to speak up about the difficulty . Assess how much they already know and follow their lead. Discuss good hygiene practices. You can use everyday moments to reinforce the importance of things like regular and thorough handwashing. Make sure you’re in a safe environment encourage your child to speak freely. Think of activities like drawing and story telling.
3. Take your time
Begin with shorter learning sessions and make them progressively longer. If you want to have a 30- or 45-minute session, start with 10 minutes and build up from there. For each session, combine online or screen time with offline activities or exercises.
4. Protect children online
Online programs and other digital tools help children to keep learning, take part in play and keep in touch with their friends. But keep in mind increased accessed to online platforms can risk your children’s safety, protection and privacy. Discuss the web together with your children in order that they know how it works, what they have to remember of, and what appropriate behavior seems like on the platforms they use, such as video calls.
Don’t forget that there’s no need for youngsters or children to share pictures of themselves or other personal information to access digital learning.
5. Stay in-tuned together with your children’s education facility
Find out the way to stay in-tuned together with your children’s teacher or school to remain informed, ask questions and obtain more guidance. Parent groups or community groups also can be an honest thanks to support one another together with your home schooling.
This is a very stressful time. If you need to put on a movie to get through the day, that’s absolutely fine. Homayoun says, “You do not have to home school if it’s really going to cause severe emotional distress for everybody involved. And I think that’s really important for parents to listen to right away because we all feel so much personal pressure.”
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
