Kids, you really can learn in lockdown
Regardless of whether you live in a one-bed flat or a four-bed home, there are ways to create a space for studying, finds Kylie Klein-Nixon.
Acorner of the lounge, a special mat, one side of the bed, the kitchen table – any of these could be your child’s school room for the next four weeks.
You might already have your home office set up. But what about the kiddos? Where should they work, and how will you fit that around your job?
Firstly, it’s important parents remember that, even in isolation, they are not alone.
Teachers don’t expect parents to homeschool their children, says ‘‘A’’, an Auckland primary school teacher who asked not to be identified, but they will need to be active and involved in what their kids are doing – especially if their kids are used to a lot of social contact.
During the last couple of weeks, teachers have ‘‘almost done nothing but prepare’’ kids for schools closing.
Last week, all schools completed a survey on devices and internet access for the Ministry of Education, so any child 5 and older who doesn’t have access to one or both will get them.
While kids need a quiet space to complete online work provided by their schools, shutting them away to work online is strongly advised against – that goes for children of all ages.
If space is tight, the kitchen table is fine. Perhaps clear a shelf or cupboard for school books, papers and equipment.
‘‘A’’ says parents working from home will likely be worried about two things: fitting this around their own work and excessive screen time for their children.
‘‘We will provide work via a distance learning portal for children to work on, but this won’t be loads of worksheets. It’ll be ‘discuss with. . .’, ‘create. . .’, ‘think about. . .’.
‘‘We also stress that parents need to spend time with kids doing those things that are learning without teaching, like playing board games, cooking and crafting. ‘‘The biggest thing is noone knows what this will look like. I just say it’ll be organic, one day at a time.’’ It’s crucial to fit your child’s schooling around your work, not the other way around, says web developer Jenifer Parker, who has been homeschooling her 11-year-old son Hawk for about a year-anda-half while also working from home. If you prioritise your work and time online meetings with their screen time, the time you spend with your child will be much less stressful.
‘‘The main thing is to give yourself, your partner, your kids, the dog, your next door neighbour a whole lot of grace, because the first week is going to be the What The Hell week, right?
‘‘You’ll be lucky if everyone’s eaten and their pants are on the right way. That’s just how it is.’’
She says a lot of people think of homeschooling as making home like school, but while some homeschoolers do structure their days that way, you don’t need to.
What kids spend 45 minutes doing in class will take only 15 minutes at home.
‘‘Then it gets reinforced because they find their passion in the intervening time. With Hawk now, he spent all day Saturday writing . . . he was so keen. So we might do a grammar lesson for 20 minutes on a Tuesday, but he’s reinforcing it on his own.’’
Parker says being flexible is key. Match screen time with periods when you’ll need to be focused on work, during online meetings, for example. Make sure they have a quiet space to do that away from you. At other times, when they need more support, share your work space with them.
The first week is going to be the ‘What The Hell’ week. You’ll be lucky if everyone’s eaten and their pants are on the right way.
‘‘There are times in my working day when I can more easily support what he’s doing and I can just shift between my work and answering his questions if I need to.
‘‘That’s the first thing – what are my work needs and then what can I align him to that allows me to work.’’
Primary school teacher ‘‘A’’ says that’s excellent advice and parents should ‘‘mentally prepare themselves to dig deep for patience’’.
‘‘Kids are in school six hours because they share the time with 25 other kids. In a home situation, learning time will be less as it is more intense.’’
About two hours a day of lessons is enough. After that, the learning can be more experiencebased.
‘‘If every parent just teaches their kids how to make their own lunch, then what a win when normality resumes.
‘‘Lunch-making will probably take a while but why stop at a sandwich?’’
Five things your child might need Printer paper, pens, glue/tape and scissors
That’s the minimum for art or crafting. Coloured pens, crayons, paints and other art supplies are a bonus. You might not even need tape or glue: there are hundreds of origami guides on YouTube, ranging from easy to very complex. If you’re crafting, lay out a sheet or mat that you don’t mind getting messy so they can really go for it.
Space
If you can create a space that’s just for their learning time, then do so – it doesn’t need to be a whole room, just a mat in one corner of the lounge, a sheet on the floor in the living room, or one side of your bed, for reading or screen time.
Older children will likely have a study space set up in their rooms already. Let them work in there, but keep an eye on them – they will be feeling isolation from their mates keenly.
A place to let off steam
No child can sit still for too long, they will need to get up and move about. Wellness Mama Blog even suggests a mini trampoline for burning off energy between projects.
If your kids are little, you could even devise an indoor obstacle course or one around your garden if you have outdoor space.
Be prepared to go for a lot of walks. Parks and playgrounds are out of bounds, so you’ll need to stay with them out of doors unless it’s in your own garden.
Storage
During the lockdown it’s likely that lines between work time and home time will be blurred. If you don’t have a study or spare room you’re working in, that you can close the door on at the end of the day, it might be a good idea to have a storage box or cupboard for housing school tablets, workbooks and papers at the end of the day.
This is a particularly good idea if you’re working from the kitchen table or in the living room.
Books
If you’re limiting screen time to the two or three hours a day, and you’re able, make sure there are a lot of books around for them to pick up once they’re bored enough to try them.
Not everyone will have access to a lot of books. It might be possible to share with friends but remember that there’s some proof the novel coronavirus can live on cardboard and paper for up to three days.
As that may be the case, you’ll need to clean with soap and water (not always the best for paper products), or keep them in a closed box for at least three days before touching them.