Advice for parents on managing their child's learning
by Frank Milner, President of global tutoring brand, Tutor Doctor.
With the ‘Easter break’ officially over, the reality of home-schooling is upon us once more. And for those parents juggling learning at home with working from home, it’s an especially challenging time. Here are a few pointers to help manage your time, balance the day and keep the peace.
1. Establish a routine. Probably one of the most powerful things you can implement, and you’ll notice a difference immediately. A paper version pinned to the wall or the fridge is a great visual tool but remember it doesn’t have to be as a regimented as a usual school day. Set a time for your child to wake up, a time to have breakfast and a time to properly ‘start’ the day. Work in one to two-hour time blocks with breaks to avoid overwhelm and meltdowns – from all parties! Create a specific learning area if you can too – that way, it’ll be easier to switch off at “home” time.
2. Make learning fun. You can be clever and get children learning without even knowing it. What’s more, you can even get them practicing some valuable life skills whilst they’re at it. Simple things such as doing the laundry or setting the table, right up to managing the family budget or cooking dinner. Getting them involved is a great way of doing something together, that’s actually useful, and teaches them some worthwhile life lessons along the way.
3. Utilise the resources available. Every day, more and more resources are becoming available for parents to tap into. Sir David Attenborough hosts lessons about the natural world whilst the Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker, teaches History on BBC Bitesize. This is a perfect opportunity for some independent learning and gives you a valuable ‘working slot’.
Some free resources to try:
• BBC Bitesize: you’ll find daily lessons for home-schooling in maths and English for every year, as well as regular lessons in science, history, geography and more
• Audible: all children’s audiobooks are available for free while schools are closed
• Virtual Tours: go on a tour of 12 famous museums around the globe from the comfort of your own home
• YouTube: Learn @ Home with YouTube – you’ll find daily live streams for different topics, including trigonometry, dance and maths
• STEM Learning: with resources from subject experts, there’s a range of resources for children of all ages.
4. Don’t forget to communicate. During lockdown, the communication that’s key to a child’s learning gets cut off. Whereas they were once able to discuss work with teachers and peers, being at home means that those conversations don’t happen. At the end of each day – get them to explain their processes and tell you what skills they’ve been using. They will then begin to think about their learning in a different light, giving them a better chance of absorbing and retaining information as they really understand what they’re doing.
Social media could easily lead us to believe that we’ve got to be working out with Joe Wicks every morning and cooking with Jamie Oliver every evening after a successful day at home-school – but let’s be realistic. Some days you might just about manage to read a couple of chapters of a book together or practice a few maths problems. And that’s just fine. Celebrate the little achievements and remember that a smile is more valuable than a frown right now.
For more information, visit: www.tutordoctor.co.uk