Homeschooling during a pandemic

Lockdown 5.0: 5 tips on surviving home-schooling.

We’ve all been there before, in fact for us Melbournians we have been there on four other occassions. For some reason though, this lockdown has got me feeling anxious. I’m wondering how am I going to keep the house chugging along in the right direction. Whilst navigating home-schooling, boredom and 2 grumpy adults!

Now don’t get me wrong, as a family we co-exist pretty well (most of the time). But with competing schedules and different learning styles, I can guarentee, that by 3pm tomorrow I’ll be ready to throw in the towel.

So i’ve decided to reflect on how you can support your kids through home-schooling. Plus how you can stay sane at the same time! Starting with these interesting facts.

Fact #1: The average attention span of a 6 year old is 12-18mins?

Fact #2: For someone in grade 6 it can stretch to around. 24-36mins?

This certainly explains why some kids loose interest really quickly and why older kids can stay focused on a task for longer.

Therefore if you happen to have a child in prep or grade 1 use this to your advantage. Just like they would in the class room. Set up a timer and after 15mins has passed stop the task regardless. This will show your child that you only expect them to focus for the time they are capable of. They will then hopefully reward you by being more willing to try as they know the task won’t go on for ever.

Here are 5 other home-schooling hacks that have worked for me and I hope they work for you too.

• Have a schedule. As funny as it might sound, it really does help your kids understand what the plan is for the day. They are used to seeing it at school. They use it as a gauge to understand when their breaks are going to be and when the activities they enjoy are scheduled.

• Be willing to flip the schedule upside down. This may be the only time in your kids life that you can set the schedule to play to their strengths. I now know my eldest likes to do his maths and other logical tasks first. He seems to ease into the day better. And although I must admit, at first I resisted, as I wanted all of my kids working on similar tasks at the same time, I decided to go with the flow and he is now more content and we are all less frustrated.

• Schedule your work time into their day as well. Each family dynamic is different and my husband and I have the opportunity to undertake our work from home. So to manage expectations our kids also know when we need to work and when we are available to help. We are fortunate enough that we can start early, work past five and alternate during the day re who is going to help with the various tasks. It does mean we are in ‘ON’ mode for longer, which has other negative repercussions but I’ll get to that later. 

• Dad is more fun than Mum. We have found that mixing up who teaches what, really does help us all get through the day. So if you are fortunate enough to have more than one adult working from home, give it a go, and trust me, it is so good for the soul. In our house, my husband takes charge for approx. 1hour a day. He usually focuses on the same subject, ticking that consistency box. He is also in charge of making lunch and getting them outside for a round of exercise.  This then allows me to get another good chunk of work done and we all feel better!

• Much of what your child does can be done independently. Well at least for those with kids in grade 2 and up. I always try and start by asking myself – What would my kid do if he was at school and it certainly wouldn’t be ask for help! So rather than looking over their shoulder, or sitting next to them, I walk away and leave them to have a go. My kids now know not to yell out mum until they have had a crack at the entire work sheet.

When all else fails – head outside and get some fresh air. Our kids mental health is more important right now and being physically active will keep their brains agile and able to catch up when they do return to the class room. It may also be just the circuit – break they need to return to their desk and complete another task.

Or you might like to set up a rewards system. Our boys get the ipad (or since the last school holidays the PS4) if they have completed all their tasks.

However if you are a tactile person or your kids happen to be than I really love this idea.

Create Warm Fuzzy Jars for each of your children; whenever they do something kind or helpful, they can place a pom-pom ball in their jar to represent the warm fuzzy feeling they gave to another person. When their jar is full, they get to choose a special or fun activity to do—with either parent, both parents, their sibling, or the whole family.

Surviving home-schooling: Starts with the way you look after YOU!

If you are anything like me, your brain probably feels like mush, as you try to not only remember, but somehow order the 90 thousand tasks you have secretly told yourself you will achieve today in addition to home-schooling! Or maybe the task of home-schooling has started to weigh you down. We can all start each day with the best of intent, but one small hiccup or comment from said angelic child, can quickly deflate you.

1. Be Kind to Yourself. These are extraordinary times. We are asking ourselves to work, teach, keep house, keep calm, be vigilant and make sure everyone washes their hands all the time and keeps 1.5m away from everyone else.

As parents, we need to remember its ok to ask for support and help. Just like we want our kids to do when their struggling. This is not the time to beat ourselves up for not being the “best” parent but rather to give ourselves grace as we parent through a global pandemic crisis.

2. Deep breaths in and out. Remember it is ok to put your needs first. Especially if the day has taken a turn in the wrong direction. Take the advice you would likely give your friends. Fully unplug and reboot – if it works for your computer, it can work for you as well.

And remember, these really are unprecedented times. Each of us will have our own hurdles and walls to climb. Some will be similar to the person next door and some will be different. It may be true that we can’t control what is happening around the world, but we can control the way we respond to what’s happening. We can choose to be gentle – gentle with our kids, ourselves, and our community.

That is it from me today, I hope you have a calm and restful day, one that brings you joy. One free from anxiety and as Positivity and Happiness are Contagious… Start your own Happiness ripple today!