Homeschooling through Isolation

Yesterday the government announced all schools would be closing on Friday afternoon.  We had already received an email from the school which recommends DD1 continues to follow the school day whilst at home:

"Encourage your child to follow as normal a ‘school day’ routine as possible. They should aim to stick to their normal timetable. This would include learning sessions of 50 minutes as follows: 

08:50-09:40

09:40-10:30

Take a break

10:50-11:40

11:40-12:30

Break for lunch

13:10-13:30 – Reading time

13:30-14:20

14:20-15:10"

Now, you may be thinking that having home educated both my girls, sticking to a timetable like this would be easy for me - WRONG!  There is a reason why we are home educators, not home schoolers!  Already DD1 has commented "yeah right, like that's gonna happen"!

The scientist in me wants to see if the oft repeated (even by me) fact is true: Following a teacher's plan (or in this case, work set by school), you can complete it all in 2 hours a day.  Indeed, I've even shared Monkey Mum's calculation in a previous blog.  Given DD1 has already shown her reluctance to follow a timetable at home, I will try and encourage her to get all the school work out the way in the morning.  Given DD1 is a preteen with the attitude of a teen, and has inherited being stubborn and a know-it-all from me, this will be a difficult task for me.

Now some people, especially those who are used to the routine of school, will do well with structure, so I'm not suggesting you chuck it out the window immediately.  Schools still need to deliver the education, and schools should be detailing how they will do that, whether by online tasks, or online videos, sending books home or by other means.  Parents shouldn't feel like they are suddenly responsible for their child's education (though legally that responsibility has never left them, even if they outsource the education to a school).

Perhaps start with the structure and routine, but don't panic if it goes by the wayside.  Such strict timetables are really good when you need to control 30 kids at once, teaching them different subjects at different times.  With this homeschooling malarkey (again, for clarity, I'm using "homeschooling" to mean following a curriculum at home, in this case provided by the school, whereas "home education" is what I did with my girls), you'll only have a few kids at home, so can be much freer.  The caveat to that is if you have limited resources at home, for example, you only have one computer/laptop, but 3 kids who all have online work to do for school.  In this scenario, it makes sense to have a timetable where each child can get their work done online for a time.  And this scenario also shows how silly it would be for you to follow the school's timetable and need to have each child online for the whole day at the same time.

Take the chance to do things that you wouldn't normally do, too.  If both parents are having to work at home (again, this can limit internet time if there's only one device!) this may be harder, but try and enjoy your time together as a family.  Imagine you are on holiday, so play board games or card games together, or watch a movie during the day.  Do some cooking or baking, encouraging your children to get involved. If you can, use technology to limit the isolation you feel, by allowing your children to play online together with friends so they don't feel so alone.  Go into the garden and sow seeds or make up planters, in the hope of getting fruit and veg in the warmer weather.  And even being stuck in the home/garden there are exercises you can do: Body Groove, 7 min Workout, and lots of content on YouTube for various yoga, Pilates and other exercise routines.

This last paragraph (above) is more what home education is like.  It is about following your child's needs, interests, rhythms and natural curiosity as they navigate the world around them.  (In reality, home education rarely stays at home, and we are going to feel as stir-crazy as the next person without our usual science classes, social meets, Minecraft club, Lego Robotics club, dance classes, gymnastics classes, singing classes etc.)  However, I am hopeful that through this crisis, some people who had been curious or leaning towards home ed, may feel a bit braver and actually take that step, in which case have a read to see what you should be thinking about first.