Photo by Jessica Lewis
As millions of parents navigate their way through school closures, distance learning can put pressure on those who are new to homeschooling or parents working from home.
Aside from hiring online tutors, there’s a lot that homeschooling parents can do to keep up with their children’s studies and make sure that their kids don’t fall behind. Here are five tips for parents homeschooling their children:
Take it easy
Many parents are concerned that they’re not qualified enough to teach their kids during this lockdown, or that kids will forget what they’ve learned so far, or that they need to have structured routines and replicate a classroom.
But, as any experienced homeschooler will tell you, the process is anything but structured. That’s the beauty of home learning. If the idea of a routine stresses you out, you don’t have to have one.
But, if a routine helps you feel more capable, create one, but don’t be hard on yourself if some days don’t go to plan. The important thing is to do what works for your family and realize that you’re doing your best.
Keep a positive mindset
Like most parents, you probably feel like a fish out of water, trying to juggle home school with working from home. As with anything, attitude is everything.
Instead of thinking about what could go wrong, try to make this a time to remember. Share valuable knowledge with your kids and unique soft skills that you wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance to.
This includes things like baking, sewing, gardening, decorating, etc. This is an opportunity for your kids to engage in their physical environment and new topics that they don’t normally get a chance to explore.
Create a reward system
Inspire your children to come to the party by developing a reward system. You could reward them for completing each aspect of their curriculum as well as their chores.
Get creative with the rewards and include things like the ability to pick their favorite film for movie night, allowing them to sleep late, dance parties, etc.
Most importantly, the rewards should be things that your kids will truly enjoy and can safely be done during a lockdown.
Create daily themes
Unlike regular school, your kids don’t have to wear a uniform or go through the same boring routine during a lockdown.
So, why not make their home school even more exciting by incorporating special themes where they can dress up, do make-up, and even play different characters?
You can create themes like Superhero Day, Pajama Day, Magical Creature Day, or even Harry Potter Day! Whatever you and your family enjoy can become a special theme for the day that allows you to take your mind off things.
Make use of your resources
The good news is that most schools offer support in the form of online curriculums and resources that are delivered to parents on a daily basis through email and even WhatsApp.
This makes it easier to establish structure and can be used in conjunction with other online homeschool resources created to simplify the homeschool experience for kids and parents alike.
Parents can feel incompetent and inadequate when faced with the realities of homeschooling. But, just because you haven’t been formally instructed in how to be a teacher doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare your child for the world. Make time for fun. It is important to have a well-balanced routine of instruction and playtime. Click here for 10 hobbies you can acquire during a lockdown.
The most important thing to keep in mind when homeschooling is to engage your child in the love of learning and the world around them. Don’t try to recreate school at home. Keep things fun and do the best you can to go through the curriculum and utilize the resources at your disposal.
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