Many of us are being thrown into the wonderful world of homeschooling by the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Whilst some of our kids will still be going to school as parents are NHS workers, for example, the majority will be at home, as schools across the UK are closing. How can you cope for a week without school? How about maybe 12 weeks or longer?
Download Resources
There are amazing places doing fantastic things and offering resources for free. You can join education website Twinkl for free at the moment and download resources at your leisure. With primary and secondary school subjects being covered, get these things downloaded so your children have work to do and can continue their learning. There are also some educational apps which have been reduced in price or made free in order to allow people to use them at home during this difficult time. Have a look at what’s available. We downloaded Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia for free which will entertain and educate.
Books Are You Friend
There’s nothing like settling down with a good book. Books of all shapes and sizes are your friend right now. Let your kids who can read enjoy working their way through a David Walliams book or one of the Harry Potter novels. Sit with younger children and read with them. You can all sit around and have story time together, like we perhaps would do at bedtime, but any time during the day. You could even come up with your own stories and write your own book. Let their imaginations run wild.
Enjoy The Outside
If you have outdoor space like a yard or a garden, make the most of it if the weather allows. Even if self isolating we can use our outdoor spaces as long as we keep distance from others. Let them explore the garden, make mud pies, kick a ball around, play catch, ride their bikes. Kids aren’t indoors working the full day at school, they have plenty of break times to run off energy. They need this normality too when you’re homeschooling.
Get Online
There are some fantastic things to watch and engage with online. Joe Wicks is doing a live PE lessons for kids every weekday morning at 9am on his YouTune channel. What better way than kickstarting your day with The Body Coach? Some baby groups are connecting with one another online, and churches are live streaming their services, including their kids work. Set up an email address for your kids and get them to write to loved ones. It’ll help their typing skills and also be exciting when they get replies.
Don’t Worry
When it boils down, try not to worry. It’s difficult to say that when I have three kids at home myself but worry will only make things worse. Our children know something is wrong, they sense the oddness and stress. They understand there is a different routine going on. Also don’t worry too much about their education. This is going to impact us all in many ways. Don’t stress too much about homeschooling. Hold them tight and enjoy extra time with them.
