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As children learn from home, parents are effectively running two schedules – work and school. Some children may not be able to get through all the work their school assigns in the time they have, which can leave parents feeling guilty.
It’s important for parents to note they are not replacement teachers, nor is it possible to hold down a full time job while helping their children learn full time. Something’s got to give.
These are unusual times and schools themselves don’t expect children to cover all the content they provide, especially when it comes to children in primary school.
In a newsletter to parents one Principal wrote:
Some days your children will submit outstanding work and other days they
will submit nothing at all. I want you to know that this is OK. Our students very
rarely work at the same level or at the same pace, so try not to compare yourselves with other families.
We want to do everything we can to help our child learn. If they can’t get through all the work, this can affect their self-esteem and their work ethic.
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO TRY
💡Keep it focused. If your child can’t get through the work everyday then contact their teacher and ask what the essential work is that they must complete, and what is the work that they have more time with or is optional. This will help to keep your child focused on what needs to get done.
💡Decide if your child is not getting though the work because there is too much to do, or because they are unsure how to do it. If the instructions are confusing then its a good idea to reach out to one of their classmates online and ask them to explain it. Try this before approaching the teacher.
💡If your child is finding it hard to concentrate at home, set a timer, 15 minutes school work then 5 minutes rest, then 15 minutes schoolwork etc. As they achieve this, increase the time on schoolwork to 17 minutes then 19 minutes.
💡Schools are often giving too much work. It is their way of safeguarding you. This will work itself out naturally over time as teachers get a better sense of how much work can be completed at home. Remember this is new for teachers too.
💡If staying on task with school work is a problem make sure that your child does other educational activities like:
✅reading
✅making puppet shows
✅creating an eBook using Powerpoint (using images
and text)
✅conducting science experiments
✅writing a song
