6 Homeschooling ideas during lockdown that work for you and your children

We understand that many parents in the UK are facing the challenge of Homeschooling, so we want to share 6 ideas that can make your homeschooling experience more fun!

1. Get Blood Pumping Early

It’s important to stay fit and active when learning, even from home. The British fitness Guru Joe Wicks hosts a fun P.E lesson for kids ever Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am on his YouTube channel, The Body Coach TV. Within that 30 minutes section, you will be able to wake everything up and be ready for the day.

www.youtube.com/c/TheBodyCoachTV

2. Be brave, use tech to your advantage

Your kids are digital natives, try to feel good about giving them some screen time as part of their learning. There are loads of education website and APPS on the market which make learning fun, all while improving their digital literacy and individual work ethic. 

3. Focus on the core subjects (Maths & English) and more reading

Chances are you’re not a teacher, so set yourself some realistic goals. Prioritising maths and English is better than trying to get through an entire curriculum on top of your own work. There are lots of other engaging ways to work your way through the rest of the curriculum in due course – watching an episode of Horrible Histories might be the history lesson your children crave! It is best to do maths and English in the morning. Other subjects or outdoor learning in the afternoon. This is because your little one’s mind is clearer and more able to deal with complex ideas in the morning, a skill we must lose by the time we reach adulthood! If you have a garden, it is good for the sport and PE-type subjects.

4. Be realistic, and don’t be your own harshest critic

Learning at home is difficult. Teaching at home is arguably even more difficult. Establish a routine from the outset, but if it doesn’t work out, don’t put your kid and yourself down! Remember this is new to you and it’s new to your children. Kid's have shorter attention spans than their parents. The best way to structure your day is to set a clock for 25 minutes per task, then a 10-minute break together.

5. Honesty is the best policy

Be upfront with your children. Chances are kids are going to be confused as to why they’re now enrolled at the school of mum and dad, and even more, confused at why they can’t see friends like they normally would. Explain why these changes are necessary and will go a long way. Try to touch base with your child’s teacher if you need advice. They are trained professionals and always know how to deal with any learning-related difficulties you may be experiencing.

6. Empower your children.

Have fun with it, it will help engage and empower your children. You’ve essentially set up a new school in a matter of days, so why not let your children choose its name or design a new school badge? Gold stars for creativity. If you print out 10 exercises but your child is only able to complete 8 of those every day, it is not a problem. Get a big file to store the worksheet up, let you and your kid see how many pages you have done, and what are those pages that left. Like the teacher said, don’t worry about not able to finish all the worksheets in one go as some of them are challenging. If you have time during the weekend you may work through them together with your kid.