The COVID-19 pandemic has forced most parents to home school their kids. Homeschooling is something most parents never thought they’d have to do, and now, it’s all we can think about. It turns out teaching is pretty damn hard. Getting your child to sit down, concentrate and do some solid work is a big ask for most parents! Your home is meant to be a safe, secure sanctuary for the family to relax, and all of a sudden it’s got to be a school too. That’s rough.
Despite the hardships of homeschooling, there are some simple tricks which can alleviate your stress as a parent. They won’t make the nightmare disappear completely, but perhaps give you slightly fewer worries the next time you sit down to work with your child.
- Online Resources
Thank God for the internet, right? There is no end of resources to help your child work on their subjects with ease and clarity. Plus, many of these resources are free to access for all parents. Sites such as Student Treasures Publishing, found at https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/fourth-grade/, have incredible worksheets for your child to complete. That means that you don’t have to think about what to teach them or whether you’re doing the right thing – all it requires is some parental supervision.
Knowing you’re doing right by your child is so important. Online resources can help set your mind at ease.
- Creating Routine
In all this madness, your child might find the transition between school and home quite stressful. Being taught by their parents might be confusing, and make them resist the lessons you try to put in place. One amazing tool for alleviating anxiety is routine. If you implement a schoolwork routine with your child, they will be able to rationalise it better in their mind.
For example, if you tell your child that that 9 am to 12 pm are ‘school hours’, they can know what to expect when they get up in the morning. This helps them feel calm in knowing how their day will pan out.
- Letting It Be
During a pandemic, we can’t all be expected to be perfect and work at our full productivity level. The same goes for your kids! Although we do our best to shelter our kids from the world, they are very intuitive, and knowing there’s danger out in the world can make them feel scared and worried. This can affect their schoolwork – it’s just a fact of life.
Understandably, there’s pressure from schools to keep going with your child’s work. But often, the most important thing is to keep your family together and healthy, including focusing on mental health. If your child is struggling to concentrate, help them as much as you can, but try not to worry about it! Letting the situation be as it is doesn’t make you a bad parent, it makes you a considerate one. Your child will learn many things during this wild time – and schoolwork doesn’t have to be the main source.
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