Home Schooling

I'm full of admiration for them, Rosehaha. I had my first experience of helping two of my DGS with the work they'd been sent this week. I had trouble getting to grips with Y1 Science - DH and I even managed to get a multi-choice answer wrong. Fortunately DGS3 was more savvy!

Like so many others, my DGS's parents are all coping with demanding full-time jobs as well as, for some of them, looking after pre-schoolers, and then trying to keep up with the schoolwork in addition. Two of them are working well above their full-time hours in the evening as they're in key industries. It's hard for them, and they'd certainly appreciate the sentiments in that headteacher's letter.

That sounds so upsetting tanith. I hope they get it sorted out without too much trouble.

Dadima
What a breath of fresh air!

Top Heads there! I agree with them.

My GD 16 and GCSEs on the horizon had a very rocky start but managed to get to grips with it only to be told by her English teacher on a virtual parents eve call that she hadn’t submitted any work? although they could see she logged into her lessons. GD was devastated as she thought she had done everything correctly. So she and Mum are trying to figure out what she’s done wrong. Surely it would of helped if they could tell her the work wasn’t coming in.
I hope this doesn’t make my GD doubt everything again.? as she struggles at the best of times.

Daddima, we received a similar lovely email off my sons headteacher. Apparently there is a lot of showing off from some parents who find it all easy and the email was designed to reassure those who are ringing in the school worrying The head also had to send out an email reminding complaining parents that teachers were living through the pandemic too, some of them also had children and some of them were unwell and/or having to isolate.

I don't feel like a hero, I am doing what others are doing, I'm just getting through it. My son is responsible enough to sign into his registration and do his work whilst I am caring for my daughter who is home unexpectedly again from her care placement. It is what it is and people have to get through it all in whichever way they can. I imagine like with everything, some people will be finding it easier than others, some will be living their own hell and then there will be a mix of everything in between.

I’m hearing and seeing so much about ‘home schooling’ and parents stressing about how they are going to ‘teach’ their children. They’re not helped by the ‘uberparents’ posting on social media how much they’re doing with their children. I’d hope more schools would echo this fellow, who, to me, has got it right. It is a long read, but he talks a lot of sense.

Message from Mr. Hellett Headteacher at Sacred Heart School, Hastings

Dear Parents and Carers,
Lots of people are feeling stressed, overwhelmed and under pressure by everything that's happening. This includes the work being sent home for your child. I wanted to just give my perspective on it all as a Headteacher and I hope this can help with that somewhat.

A few points to note first:

1) This is not homeschooling. This is an unprecedented emergency situation impacting on the whole world. Let's keep perspective. Homeschooling is a choice, where you considered, you plan for it and you are your child's school teacher in whatever form you choose. This is, at best, distance learning. In reality, it's everyone trying to separate their bums from their elbows, because none of us know what we're doing and what's right and wrong here.

2) You are, and always have been, your child's primary educator. If you decide that your child isn't going to engage with anything sent home and is going to spend the entire period playing in the dirt, or baking, or watching TV, then that is your choice. That is your right. There is nothing to stress or feel guilty about.

3) Schools don't know what they're doing either. They had no notice, no preparation time , and we were NOT told to 'continue to plan lessons as normal and just send them home' – that’s NOT possible. If it were, we'd all be out of a job!

4) It is absolutely not possible to facilitate distance learning with a primary aged child and work from home at the same time. The very idea is nonsense. If you're trying to do that, stop now. You can certainly have activities where your child learns, but your focus is your job, and survival. Again, unprecedented. Stop trying to be superheroes.

So, a few FAQs:
- My school has sent home lots of physical work. Pages and pages, hours and hours. How am I supposed to get through it all?!

You're not, don't try. Your child's teacher spent a couple of hours in utter panic gathering things to send home so they could say they did their best and there wasn't a lot of complaints that enough didn't go home. It's not a competition, or a race, it’s unlikely the teacher will even manage to look at it all.

- My school keeps sending home links and emails with more work. How do I make it stop? Ahhhhhh!

See above. These are suggestions and ideas because the school is worried they're not offering enough. Use them if they suit you, don't if they don't suit. If you're getting stressed, stop opening the emails. No one will know!

- Someone in my child's class has everything done and we've barely started. Will they fall behind?

Even if everything were equal in terms of support, time and number of children (which it’s not) all children learn at different rates. In the class there's a wide range of levels in all subjects, there's different paces and there are many children working on differentiated levels of work. It's almost impossible for teachers to differentiate at the moment, so you don’t have to do it either.

Your child will not fall behind. This is all revision and reminder work. If children could all learn new concepts without specific teaching, we wouldn't need teachers. They will cover all of this again, multiple times.

I’m not doing any work with my kids. All they're doing is building Lego, cooking and playing outside.

All of this is learning -very valuable learning. Give yourself and them a break.

- How can I get three different lots of work done with 3 different kids of different ages?

You can't, stop trying. If they're old enough, try to get them to do little bits independently. Otherwise try to do something they can all engage with, reading a story together, some free writing, baking etc.

- So what's the bare minimum you'd expect?

For me, survival mode. I won't pretend that may be true of all teachers, but you know what?, if they can't have perspective in a time like this then I wouldn't overly worry about their opinion anyway.

My ideal for the children in our school?

- A bit of reading every day (independent or to them or via audiobook etc)

- Some free writing now and then. If they'll keep a diary or something, great. If not, would they draw a comic?

-

- Practical hands on maths. Be that via cooking, cleaning, outside or some maths games, physical or digital.

- Some fine motor work. Lego, cutting, playdough, tidying up small toys.

- Physical exercise everyday

- Some art/music where possible through the week. Doesn't need to be guided.

-Stretch goal, if old enough getting them to independently work on a project is great for keeping brains ticking over. Get them researching in a book or online and putting together something to present to you or family.

- If younger, lots of imaginative free play, the more independent the better.

You are doing enough. You are loving your kids and supporting them through a difficult time. Look after yourself. Minimising stress is absolutely vital in a time like this for mental health. Don't let this be something that stresses you. Only you can control that by accepting it is in your circle of control, you are the primary educator and this is all your call.
--

We are helping out home schooling a 7 year old and a 12 year old, I am learning a lot, but the PE is killing me ?

We have had two days homeschooling GC (year 1) whilst taking care of a 1 yr old. Nothing but praise for the teachers and online learning, including zoom lesson with 3 teachers and 16 pupils.

We are in the grips of a worldwide pandemic a bit of give and take is necessary from all sectors.

I was in touch with a young woman I used to teach with at the weekend and asked her how it was going. She told me that on Monday and Tuesday next week she will zoom teach six period days (that’s all day with 50 minutes lunch) followed by a three hour parents consultation evening. All in front of a screen from her kitchen table. She has a two year old daughter too. On the flip side my son was on homeschooling duty yesterday and said how complicated it is as all the worksheets are uploaded in different areas of different apps! And he’s very tech savvy ! Thank god I’ve retired.

Our younger daughter is teaching in school, 24 children of key workers in her class.Son in law in school teaching too.

We have looked after DD1’s two children for two days this week. A one year old and a five year old.I have done the homeschooling.I have no idea how parents are expected to work from home,homeschool and look after younger children.

The amount of time it takes to do the schoolwork properly is a job in itself and we are very lucky as at the moment DGD is keen to do the work.

I agree, I think all parents juggling work,home,school are heroes Rosiehaha.

DD gets it both ways; two children at home and her husband has been teaching from home since March. She spends a lot of time working from home as they have to have a rota at work because only a few people are allowed in together. It means alot of her work is done early in the morning or last thing at night when the boys are in bed.

Now they know how much hard work it is for the teachers! It is difficult, especially if the children are unwilling.

The media make it sound like teachers are working from home most of the time. My DiL is in school 4 days, albeit teaching fewer (small) children while still producing work for those at home. Effectively she's doing 2 jobs at the same time.