Kids are having to spend a lot more time at home at the moment. For some, it’s worse than others. For those who have underlying health conditions, or those who are living in particular areas which are hard hit by the virus, they are having a more difficult time. It makes life as a parent a lot harder, but not so hard that you can’t succeed. Some parents choose to homeschool their children anyway. Others might have no choice but to do so. It might not even be about homeschooling, but having to keep your children happy when they can’t go out and pursue their hobbies and meet with their friends can be a challenge. These tips will help you and send you on your way to helping you and your little ones succeed in these times.
Ensure the Home Is Set Up As Best Possible
This isn’t always easy. Especially if you have a smaller home. The key is to differentiate work and play areas for your kids. If you can, try to get them to work on schoolwork in a different place than the one they usually play or relax in. Some people have looked into how to rent a property that’s more suitable, however, in most cases you can make it work in your current home. Does your child have a little desk to work from, or even a table? These are the key questions you need to answer when considering their working setup.
Burn Energy
You’ll know they need to burn energy, kids always do! But without school and friends to run around with, it’s can be hard to get it done. A walk in the morning is a good way to approach the day with them and it will allow you to get a bit of exercise in too. It will also mean that the initial bit of energy is burnt off, setting them up to be ready for schoolwork. You’ll likely have to do this again, maybe even get them running in the garden and doing some exercise. Exercise videos on YouTube are a great way to get them doing this. The best thing about these videos is that you can tweak the difficulty level. So if they start growing or not burning off enough energy, this is a great way to up the burn.
Don’t Look Down On Games
Kids love video games and it’s true that they can play a bit too many of them. However, with children now isolated a bit more than usual video games can be a great idea. They’re good for the brain and can help your children’s reflexes and problem solving skills. They can also play with their friends and catch up with those they haven’t really seen or spoken to in a while. Try to keep things fair if you’ve only got one console between them. You also need to ensure that your children don’t spend all of their time on the thing. If you don’t have a console and are looking to buy one, be wary because there are some new consoles about to be released. Expensive, but worth going for if you were going to buy one of the older ones anyway. Another thing to keep in mind is their safety when they are gaming. Kidas monitors your child’s online conversations to notify you if there is any cyberbullying or predator attacks.
Pursue Their Interests
You need to try and keep them on hand with schoolwork, but try not to be too rigid. Let them explore their own interests. You can do this by buying them books where their interests lay, or by letting them watch documentaries. You can also merge subjects. For example, maths can be quite easily utilized by merging it with hobbies and interests of your children. This is a great tool if you’re having trouble getting them to do the work and you’ll find some great tips online catered to your child’s age.
Keep In Touch With Teachers
Teachers can be busy people, but the likelihood is that they are setting work for your child. Try to keep up with them. Get the work marked as best you can and ensure the feedback is enacted upon by your child. You don’t want to get to the point where you’re pestering the teacher but knowing where your children are at in terms of their school ability is important. They need to work on their shortcomings and you can only find those by looking at work which has been marked.
