Whether you’re working with your child’s school on remote learning or simply trying to figure out homeschooling by yourself, and if you are feeling overwhelmed with the whole education thing right now. You’re not alone! We are in this together. This change is overwhelming for kids too. Here are my top 5 tips to teach your kids at home effectively during this time of uncertainty, learned from my own experience of homeschooling my 4 years old for last two months.
My top 5 tips for making homeschooling effective and fun for working moms
☘️Don’t force it – I am guilty of making this mistake. Learning new skills at home with me, was a big change for Swaru and it took me some time to realize this. I have learned to respect her feelings now. Ultimately, her happiness and eagerness to learn is more important than learning sounds of “b, d, f g..”
☘️Be their friends, even better be their students! – Swaru has never seen me in her “teacher” role, and I don’t want to be one! Many times, I pretend to be her student and ask her to teach me – and she does everything I want her to do so diligently and proudly 🙂 Win-win! #momwin
☘️Keep it under 30 minutes per session – Learning happens more effectively when performed in chunks with breaks in between. So keep these sessions under 30 minutes. Swaru’s attention span is at most 20 minutes. Making her sit in one place for 30 minutes is my own stretch goal 😛
☘️Make sure they are well-fed before the session beging- It’s difficult to concentrate when you are hungry, So make sure to give them a quick snack before starting these sessions to avoid distractions due to empty stomach. Our go to snack these days is the organic food pouches from @peterrabbitorganics
☘️Have a life! Trust me, they have ample time to learn about phonics. What’s more important is their mental health and physical well-being. In our house, it’s okay to skip reading sessions but we don’t miss our outdoor playtime! I am sure you have seen this in our stories, bike rides and dance sessions are part of our daily non-negotiables!
Things we don’t quite follow but are highly recommended by teachers / parents
Here are 2 things that are highly recommend by other parents / teachers but we don’t follow them at our home –
Create a schedule – I am sure you have heard this many times by now – that kids love schedules We are not able to create a schedule that works every day because this really depends on the meetings that me and my husband has – so we have kept it simple – whenever I am free, I sit with her – sometimes in the morning, sometimes in afternoon and somedays in the evening. It’s still working out fine without a set schedule.
Create a dedicated learning space – Another thing that’s not constant is the place we use – we rotate among study / activity table, dining table, kitchen countertops and sofa too. Swaru thrives on variety – she is a complete Vata child! So we keep changing things – both spaces and workbooks too.
My top 5 recommendations for workbooks & Printable Resources for ages 3 to 5
Reading Egg Workbooks
Brain Quest Books – for preschooler, Pre-K and Kindergartens
Bob Books
Online resources for FREE Worksheets
Keeping My Kiddo Busy – a website by Kindergarten teacher that offers a lot of free activities and also full 9 month curriculums for preschoolers, Pre-K and Kindergartens.
Relaxed Homeschool – Jenny has a FREE 25 pages ABC Workbook – perfect for preschoolers and also lot of other FREE and paid worksheets for keeping your little ones busy.
ABCDEE Learning – A website by a teacher and a mom of 2 has lots of FREE worksheets!
Hope you find these helpful.
Love,
💖Radhika
PS here is another post I shared earlier with lots of free resources, some newsletters for weekly activities – from stories to STEM challenges. If you find this helpful, don’t forget to leave me a note ❤️