Tips for teaching the kids at home
As schools have now closed, many families will now need to take on the task of schooling at home. This can be overwhelming for parents who haven’t had any teaching experience, but rest assured you can get through it with these handy tips!
Set up a learning space
Dedicate a specific area in the house for where your child will be able to focus on learning. A learning space should help nurture your child’s creativity, keep them focussed and increase their motivation.
You can find some learning space inspiration online but keep in mind every child has their own ways of learning, so what works for one may not work for another. So, feel free to allow different places for your child to learn, whether lying on the ground or sitting at a table.
Stick to routine
Children need normality, familiarity and structure. Because of this, it is important to stick to a routine so that they do not just see this as an extended holiday but as normal school learning.
Rather than disrupting your child’s routine, a great idea is to aim for a regular school-style structure, and then be flexible depending on how your child is progressing. Be sure to keep checking in with your child to see how they are going, offering help as they need it.
Help but don’t get in the way
If your child is finding a particular task difficult, be available to make suggestions and answer questions, but try to let them do things themselves as much as possible. If you don’t know the answer, work with your child to discover a solution. It is important that you help your child without robbing them of their opportunity to learn for themselves.
Think about the technology you will need
Some schools will have online educational platforms available to support student learning. Be sure to pay attention to information shared by the school on how this online learning will be facilitated so you can download the recommended apps and programs.
If these programs are not free, check with the school if they have a shared licence that you can use. Make sure you download these programs from the official developers, as some other sites may expose your computer to malware.
Stay active
Children spend a lot of time moving around at school, so it’s important to make sure they are still engaging in these activities at home. If it’s practical, spend some time outside riding, jogging or walking. You might even consider getting the kids to help you work on a project in the garden.
Teaching your children at home may seem overwhelming at first, but it is also the perfect opportunity to spend more time as a family. With how stressful the world is right now, it’s important to remember to enjoy each other as much as possible, so we recommend you try and make the most of it!
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