Schooling at Home during Covid-19 ~~ Part 1

It’s been around a month since we have all been home with our children.  In the beginning, it may have been fun – you are ALL set to help teach them at home.  However, as the weeks dragged on, the wonderful teachers out there started using a variety of methods to continue learning.

Regardless of what you received from the school, you are probably not sure what to do and many people are looking to the home school community.  While there are many insights to be gleaned from them, home schooling does not look like “crisis schooling”, and I’ll address that in an upcoming post.  Nonetheless, let’s look at different methods of teaching that can be done in your home, so you can adapt to what works best for your children.  

School-at-home:

From listening to our clients, this method is what many people are trying to replicate.  This method, as the name implies, sets up your home learning environment to mimic your child’s classroom.  There’s a dedicated area that has a whiteboard, a desk or table for each student, maybe some posters.  Most likely there’s agenda of what to do each hour to ensure that no education is lost during this time.  Who benefits the most:  a child who thrives on structure, although this type of child probably set up the system themselves (I know I did when I was in school 😊 )

Unschooling:

On the other end of the spectrum, this method focuses on “child-lead” learning.  Many think that this means the child doesn’t do anything all day except watch TV or play video games.  However, it really means that you give your child as many opportunities to introduce new topics and when they show interest, you provide the tools for them to learn more.  This is an excellent way to teach during the crisis with so many organizations having free online lessons.  Some of my favorites can be found at another post https://read2day.com/online-resources-to-add-excitement-to-your-time-at-home Who benefits the most: a child who doesn’t like “school” or thinks school is boring. 

Eclectic Home Schooling:

This method is a mix of the first two, and what I use with my own children.  We do some worksheets/formal schooling, but most of what we do are based on their interests.  Then I “sneak” in the “boring” things, but they never know it.  Who benefits the most:  a child who needs some structure but still enjoys learning different things.

No matter what you do, it will help your child keep up their education and keep learning.  This crisis is a perfect opportunity to learn that learning does not only exist in a classroom but rather is all around us. 

If you would like help in this journey, Reading Escapades & Math Explorers is now offering Quarantine Schooling Helpers – the best of our tutors who can assist you in helping your child be the best they can be.  Contact us  today about this new service