Seven top home schooling tips with most useful sites
As teens are set to continue their studies from home for now, with exam changes meaning more emphasis will rest on classwork when it comes to assessment, additional support to learning has never felt more vital.
Recent national research reveals that over six million British parents agree their child’s motivation to work has dropped with the rise of COVID-19 - and almost three million have seen a decline in their child’s progression.
To help your teen learn at home, MyTutor CEO Bertie Hubbard offers these top tips ...
1 Set up a space. The first thing to organise is a desk in a quiet corner. Here your teen can keep their laptop, textbooks etc. Schools normally provide items such as flashcards, exercise books and planners, so be ready to supply these if needed.
2 Contact teachers to find out what children should be learning in coming weeks. Schools have different ways of communicating with pupils and parents, so whether it’s email, Google classroom or an app, keep watch. Your teen can contact teachers themselves to let them know any specific queries or worries they have.
3 Maintain healthy screen and social media habits. Teens spend a lot of time on apps speaking with friends. While some communication will be positive for their mental health, the opposite is true when social media fuels feelings of isolation and anxiety. Set ground rules for how phones are used during the day, and keep an eye on your child’s mood.
4 Help them structure days. Without the structure of the school day, and peer support, motivation and energy can take a dive. Help your child set up a timetable that covers subjects they need. Divide up periods of study with active breaks. Make sure your child moves, goes outside, eats meals and has offline conversations.
5 Find online learning resources. Look up the subject specifications for the exam boards your child is studying and bookmark online resources that can help you out. There are many free online study resources to use.
6 Keep an extra eye on their mental health. This has been a challenging nine months for teens and parents, and it’s important to look for signs that your child is struggling. Despondency and withdrawal or anger and raised levels of irritability can all point to stress. Make sure they have time to relax, and check in with how they’re feeling. There are great support services such as Kooth and YoungMinds.
7 Find personalised support. Self-study is a hard skill to master and secondary school pupils may struggle. It’s worth finding an online tutor to help your child fill gaps in their knowledge.
Check out these five free online learning hubs ...
1 MyTutor Videos https:// bit.ly/2Lr4Jfo MyTutor has hundreds of recorded group tutorials and explainer videos which can be accessed when needed.
2 MyTutor Answers https://bit.ly/3ojXu7N Over 1000 answers to GCSE, A Level iB questions, all written by expert tutors.
3 S-Cool s-cool.co.uk S-Cool is a useful platform which caters to a variety of Key Stages - and has resources for 27 GCSE and A Level subjects which range from revisions tips, example questions and topic summaries.
4 SaveMyExams https:// www.savemyexams.co.uk/ Example questions, past papers, model answers and revision guides which can help teens put learnt material into an exam context.
5 EdPlace https://www. edplace.com/ For younger students from primary to GCSE, EdPlace has interactive activities aligned to school curriculums, which can help test knowledge in a fun way.