What you need to teach your child at home

Parents who want to keep their children home need to focus on literacy

Many parents seem reluctant to send their children back to school.

Those with children in public schools especially believe that not all precautions will be taken and that young children will be unable to follow what seem to be complex Covid-19 protocols.

Many parents have said the children can catch up on time lost, but that they would never be able to live with the consequences of their child being infected and dying. For some parents, it’s choosing life.

We need to respect the right of parents to choose. Those who don’t send their children back to school will have to commit to teaching them. This is difficult if parents work from home.

There are also not enough devices in households for every child to carry on with online learning. Navigating this can be hard, sometimes impossible. This is compounded by internet connectivity. Much learning material is accessible online, some of it free, but it requires internet access. Many households don’t have devices or the internet. Nevertheless, there are some basic prerequisites for home-schooling. To make it work you need:

● A smart device, ideally a tablet or laptop;

● Stable internet access, ideally ADSL, LTE or fibre;

● Time. Try to negotiate working hours with your employer. I recommend mornings for teaching and learning;

● A printer. Although not absolutely necessary, it can save you a lot of time, especially with younger children who have to do a lot of writing.

Once in place, parents need to be structured in what they will teach. They need a good understanding of the outcomes.

The curriculum assessment policy statement (CAPS) is accessible on the department of education website and shows what children should be able to do by the end of a term.

Parents can link the learning outcomes with the activities their children need to do, or concepts they need to learn. For example, by end of term two in grade 1 maths, a child should be able to describe and order numbers from smallest to greatest and greatest to smallest. There are activities parents can use to help a child with this. Once a parent knows the outcome, it is easier to search for activities to teach the child to reach that outcome.

This arrangement is only for the most privileged, but that should not stop families everywhere from caring and supporting their children’s education from home.

A home-learning support guide has been produced by the C-19 People’s Coalition with contributions from the

Nal’ibali reading-forenjoyment campaign. It shares information about the virus, support and ideas for helping children up to 13 years.

It suggests activities that many homes can implement. An abbreviated version will appear in eight languages at the end of June in the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment story supplement.

Parents who want to keep their children home need to focus on developing the children’s literacy. Reading underpins all school learning. Follow the CAPS outcome guidelines and look for activities that support the mechanical skills of learning to read. Just enjoying a good story together will show your children that reading is satisfying and enjoyable. This will prompt them to want to read themselves.

If home schooling is the best option for you and your family, make sure you register this with the department of education and visit its website for details on the portfolio of evidence that you will need to put together.

I am aware that many South Africans do not have access to the basic requirements for home schooling. There is not a worse time for us to be exposed to the inequalities of our society. But I would urge parents to do what is best for them and their families, and to remember the power they have as their children’s first teachers, and the power of stories.