Coping With Forced Home-Schooling

For parents who have been home-schooling their kids, self-isolation doesn’t change the everyday routine. However, if you lack experience in the home-schooling department, you will need some time to adjust to the new situation. For a lot of parents who have not relocated their office at home, managing workdays and schooldays in the same space can be challenging.

But, if you begin to think of your kids as temporary coworkers during the day, you’ll rapidly find new ways of dealing with the situation in a positive way for everyone. Here are some tips to get you started and ensure you can help your child carry on with their education needs as productively as possible.



Know where to find the right answer

While most schools have been trying to develop an online education system to help kids carry on with their progress and learn every day as usual, a digital classroom isn’t like a real classroom. Your child may have questions they don’t have time to ask the teacher. As a result, you become the first person they are going to ask. While some problems are easy to answer, others such as the number of valence electrons in phosphorus can be a little too much. After all, you are not a trained teacher, and therefore, it can be helpful to know where to look for the right answers, including correction books for homework and the online education community.

Schedule breaks regularly

Everybody needs breaks. Remember that kids at school have regular breaks during the day. You have breaks too when you’re in the office. Every time you go to make a coffee or chat with your colleagues even for a few minutes, it’s the opportunity to recharge your batteries. You need to introduce a similar routine at home. Let your kid have a play with their toys every 90 to 120 minutes, and use the time to relax with a nice cup of coffee. One golden rule that needs to be followed at all times: Games are allowed, but clutter must go! You can create a dedicated play area and have easy storage options for toys.

Reach out to other parents

Online classrooms help kids to maintain a sense of class community. But for parents who arrange to work together to look after their kids, such as driving all the kids to school or looking after each other’s children for those who work late, self-isolation can tear your friendly group apart. Additionally, kids who are used to doing their homework together can find it hard to work on their own. So why not create a digital homework room by organizing video chats with other families? You can catch up with other parents and let kids work together.

Don’t be shy, ask the teacher

While you are not replacing teachers, you get to experience a different side of your child. A lot of parents don’t know how to best support their children’s learning pace, and that’s where a teacher can be your best ally. You can reach out to your kid’s teacher for tips and advice on how to manage home-schooling and homework.

In these demanding times, home-schooling presents a new challenge for busy parents. But don’t be afraid to embrace it to the fullest. You can build a closer bond with your child and support their education. Besides, who knows, you might find it enjoyable!

2 comments

  1. The schools my niece and nephews attend send home schedules at the beginning of the year that tells parents what homework should be done for times when kids will be out more than a few days, like for extended snow days. With this, they are also sending texts, etc., letting parents know further instructions. And, parents and kids can email their teachers questions.

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  2. For a child, education is important and continuing that now is crucial. Maintaining that is a challenge, and it demonstrates just how undervalued our teachers really are! Thanks for sharing!

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