Coronavirus Homeschooling
Hey, hope you are all keeping well.
As parents everywhere grapple with what it means to have their kids home full time, I thought I would share what I am doing with mine. Hopefully it helps you, whether you take some or all of it, or whether it simply helps you feel better about what you have decided to do.
Every family and parent is different and we parent and guide our kids our way. There is no one size fits all as you need to adapt to your housing situation, number of kids, work schedules etc.
Perhaps you’ve decided to take the opportunity to teach your children your trade, or one of your hobbies or passions, how you budget or in other ways involve them in your lives.
I have decided to go for a more traditional schedule for a number of reasons:
I am a single parent with four kids of different ages. I have a primary 2, primary 4, primary 6 and first year secondary student. They are used to routine and structure at school and it helps them feel safe to know what’s coming and what’s expected.
I also found when I was (briefly) homeschooling them when they were younger that it felt like school was 24/7. With a schedule it means we have a clear start and end time for all of us (and it helps my sanity lol)
This is our schedule:
10am - Daily mile walk
10:20am - math - book work
11 am - snack break - backyard play
11:20am - writing/english - book work
12pm - Prayer/meditation
12:05pm - creative play/arts/crafts
12:30pm - lunch and play
1:30pm - quiet reading - reading passports
1:45pm - Math or reading/spelling online games - Sumdog, IDL, Top Marks Hit the Button, Comma Castle etc
2:15pm - Science/chores
2:45pm - Arts/crafts/sport
3pm - End of school day/Myanna practices Trombone
Devices and games that aren’t school related and movies/youtube etc are kept for outside the school times.
My kids go to their dad’s on a Friday so for us, school is five hours a day, four days a week.
How I transition from the school day
I end the school day with bringing out their after school snack as normal and giving them all a cuddle that helps us transition and let go of any tension the school day brought - and today there has been a lot of tension!
Today
Myanna used the ‘Once Upon A Time’ card game prompts to begin a creative writing project.
Our science experiment was a chat about fire and the three things a fire needs. We then took a tea light, lit it and each hypothesised about how long it would take to use all the oxygen in different sized glasses. We then covered the tea light with a small glass, a large glass and a 1 litre jug and timed how long it would take for the flame to go out. The kids then wrote up the experiment in their journals.
Myanna then wanted to see if it was true that you could blow a candle out and relight it by lighting the trail of smoke. Her face lit up when it worked and she realised it was true.
For a craft project today, Myanna found a project in a book and gathered all the supplies ready to do it another day. TJ experimented with slime. Josh and Ethan made paper aeroplanes and did some drawing/colouring.
On a personal note
I had Josh in tears first thing in the morning as he was so embarrassed to think the other kids would see his work and make fun of him, TJ had a moment when he said he just needed a break (early in the day) and I took him aside and he just cried in my arms and Ethan was having a hard time concentrating all day and kept picking fights with the others. I reassured them that it’s just a transition and a change and it’s ok to cry and we will get through this together.
It will get easier
The first day/week is the hardest and then once they know what to expect, it settles down.
From when the kids wake up at 7 and then go to bed about 9, they have 5 hours of school schedule and 9 hours of ‘free play’ and normal home stuff. For me, that 5 hours of routine provides some device free time, some mental stimulation and some boundaries that helps all of us to stay mentally and physically healthy through this time. Consistency is a challenge for me and I am not naturally good at schedules so sticking to this as long as needed is my personal goal.
May you find a rhythm that works for you and your kids, may you have the help and resources you need when you need them and may this be a time you come through stronger as a family.
Love,
Sofia.
