In this post – coronavirus school closure tips for parents we’ve got you covered, read through our 9 essential top tips. Governments around the world have closed schools to slow the spread of COVID-19 known generally as coronavirus. As parents you’re now faced with another hat to wear: Home Educator.
Keep Calm and Carry On – 1
Don’t panic or worry. It’s natural for you to be concerned whether you are doing your best, could you have done better? For many it will be several years or even decades since we’ve ever had to think about working out the answer to 23 * 34 using an approved method ( let alone know what the approved methods are ).
We’re at the end of week 1 educating our 4 little treasures. It’s not been easy, however, it’s not actually been difficult either.
Unless you’re a teacher you may feel out of your depth but always remember… children are so versatile and are more receptive to change than adults which as I’m sure some will agree can become stuck in their ways.
Set a Routine – 2
Set that alarm and make sure you get yourself up. Kids love and respond better to routine. Ensure you get everyone up, dressed and ready for home school with a prompt start. Choose a time to fit in with your routine/committments. For us we chose to start at 9am in keeping with usual school starting time.
Don’t think you can let your kids loaf in bed until the afternoon and then expect to muster them pronto to an unannounced learning session in 5 minutes. You’ll head for a family showdown.
Let-It-Go – 3
It is inevitable that there will come times that you will reach an impasse. This could be poor behaviour, resistance or lack of focus to rename some. The truth is you’re facing a hard task and you’ll likely have other matters or worries on your mind which make the perfect ingredients needed to over react.
If your poppets realise they can make you explode and bring lessons to an end they’ll have you hook line and sinker everytime.
Take a breath, compose yourself and move on. Keep making progress. Avoid digging in.
You’re doing Great – 4
Before your home education session begins clear your mind. This is a time for learning not worrying about shopping or calling David to order spuds.
Cast everything else aside and quit worrying that you’re not going great, you’re not holding things together. Work to a set schedule where you’ll focus solely on being the best.
You are great! In fact… you are awesome!
Turn off Gadgets – 5
Don’t allow electronic gadgets anywhere near your home learning space. Switch off the TV/XBOX/YouTube playing away in the background.
Cherubs with gadgets in hand will set learning out of hand.
The only exception is where school is sending work home online such as Google Classroom in which case use of technology is fine. In this case arrange the seating so you can see the screen to ensure Google Classroom does not migrate to TikTok.
Clear Space – 6
Try and allocate a set area. Don’t overthink this – your kitchen table will suffice perfectly.
Having a set area will help set the mood when it’s time to learn. If this is a dual use area then just set aside an extra five minutes ahead of time to clear the space prior to starting.
Stay Hydrated – 7
Keep young minds watered. Dehydration can affect learning flow. Have some water bottles loaded and ready.
Timetable – 8
Not to be confused with times tables we strongly recommend to plan ahead and set a weekly timetable. Think about each learning day and balance out learning sessions and subjects across the week. Secondary pupils may benefit from trying to maintain their school timetable as they will likely have more work sent home from school than primary school children.
Flow it out – 9
Allow yourself flexiability and be guilt free about changing the timetable if the need arises. If you’ve decided on a foreign language lesson and your sprechen sie Deutsch isn’t happening it’s fine to delegate subjects out to resources such as YouTube as fitting. If one lesson consists of open discussions of life experiences and you miss a history slot it’s cool. Remember your children learn more from you than you realise – parents are their childrens greatest inspiration.
Go with the flow… surprise yourself.
Relax – Bonus Tip
Government school closures is unchartered waters for parents and equally a surprise for children aswell. We’re used to the odd day/week of closures due to bad weather but closures due to a global pandemic are a once in a lifetime event.
If one day doesn’t happen, relax. Take the opportunity to hang out with your offspring and build up bonding time. Tomorrow is another day and you can crack on with lessons fresh faced.
Summary – coronavirus school closure tips
COVID-19 aka coronavirus school closure tips for parents – will hopefully make a difference in your home education experience. Stay positive you can do this!