Home Schooling Blog
This time last year, little did I think that twelve months later I would be on lockdown and home schooling my two boys aged 8 and 11!
I’ll be completely honest; my initial thoughts were nothing short of SHEER TERROR!! How could I, the mum who shamelessly has to google maths homework (ahem, aimed at 8 year olds), possibly do this AND work from home!
Fortunately, my saving grace is I am (obsessively) organised and so my husband and I devised a timetable to try and maintain the boy’s ‘normal’ routine. Of course, every child is different, but I knew it would be near impossible to get my boys focussed again if they lost their structure for the next few weeks/months… especially with temptation in every room at home!
We are now on week two and have found by structuring their days with simple tasks, the boys are confident to complete their work predominately unaided, freeing us up to get on with our work. Learning through play has been key in keeping them engaged without having to be micromanaged and the Joe Wicks PE workouts have been great in bringing us together as a family to keep active
(admittedly, these feel like torture but are SO much fun – I mean, when else is it socially acceptable for a 36 year old to fire webs around their living room like Spider-Man!).
Preparation has also made a real difference. We now set aside time on a Sunday to download activities from our school website and print them for the week allowing the boys to work without interruption and websites like Mathletics and Spelling Shed have proven to be a popular go to for them.
Naturally some days have gone better than others; we have found it is important to maintain a level of flexibility and a little and often approach – if the boys complete their work quicker than the time allocated, they get an extended break until their next activity (trust me, you will be amazed at what they can produce in fifteen minutes!).
We are all in this together – there is no right or wrong way to get through it… and one thing ALL our children will learn during this time is what a bloomin’ brilliant country we live in!
Keep safe – we can do this!!
To download the timetable click here. https://www.mrgreenhomes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Home-Schooling-Timetable-Example.pdf
