A return to learning lessons in our homes
PARENTS are getting into the swing of homeschooling children once again.
With the UK entering a third national lockdown, school pupils – along with college and university students – will be learning remotely from home until at least the end of February half term.
It therefore falls to parents to keep a watchful eye on their children, to ensure schoolwork is completed on time.
When the schools closed last year, many parents picked up a few tips and tricks to help their children along the way.
Now, they have shared their ideas with The News, in a bid to help other parents through the next few weeks.
A number of parents suggested using Twinkl, a website with resources for English, maths science and more.
Chris Elmes said: ‘Make sure they read from a book everyday and concentrate on teaching them life skills, depending on their age.
‘Skills like writing a proper letter, balancing a budget, keeping track of their money, to have a discussion without losing their temper and so one – invaluable skills that they won't learn anywhere else.’
Lindsey Wilmshurst added: ‘Be patient and don’t feel like a failure when it doesn’t go to plan. We are not experts. We are not teachers.
‘We can just try our best and know our children are the safest they can be.’
Sasha Miles suggested planning ahead the night before and writing out a timetable.
She said: ‘I have two children to teach and we work all the work around each other – for example my Year R daughter is to look at Little Red Riding Hood so my Year 2 daughter is writing about the book, writing a missing letter and writing her own version of the story whilst the year R colours pretty pictures.’
For many pupils, school lessons are taking place via apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, so they can still connect with their teachers.
To cope with their own workload, parents suggested that alcoholic beverages, such as wine or gin, can help mums and dads through the trickier days.
Incentives such as more time to play or watch TV have also been put into practice.