Over the last 18 months, we have become more used to the idea of homeschooling. During the pandemic, we have seen the kids go through various incarnations of home learning. It started with full homeschooling, then a return to school, followed by blended learning, and then one of the kids was home when the others weren’t when one of her classmates tested positive. Thankfully, it seems as if we are coming out of the other side of this thing, but we can never be sure that an outbreak or another variant will put us right back to square one. Keeping this in mind, it’s still important to be on top of having the perfect environment set up at home.
Quiet & Distraction-Free Area
Trying to get kids to do schoolwork is difficult enough in a positive environment, but throw in distractions, and it’s a near-impossible task. Many modern distractions, such as social media, can be distracting to all of us. But technology is not all bad, and there are vast amounts of educational materials available online. In addition to keeping the screen time to a minimum, you should ensure TVs, radios, and other noisy distractions be kept to a minimum. Where possible, a separate room should be used if you are lucky enough to have a spare room. If you must use existing space, such as the kitchen table, make sure it is cleared, and ready for its repurposed use before lessons begin.
Good Internet Connection
What makes home-schooling possible these days is the prevalence of high-speed internet connections. Good broadband allows the use of video conferencing to communicate with teachers and classmates. And also to view video and multimedia educational resources from home. It’s easy to test your internet speed, and if necessary, choose a better provider.
Adequate Storage Space
Given that most of us are likely to be working with temporary spaces, it is key to ensure we have adequate storage space for all the school supplies when not in use. You can pick up some great bookshelves for classrooms online, and the good thing about these is they are intended for school use, so will be an appropriate size for books and learning tools.
A Proper Schedule
Being organized is the most effective tip I could give anyone for getting the kids working from home. A proper schedule will ensure the best chance of getting everything done and allows you to see where schooling fits around your schedule. The school will probably set a list of work, but for us, we had to decide when each task was to be completed. We found it useful to start the day with a walk and set break times that coincided with the regular school schedule. I know other families worked from the middle of the day into the evening due to their parent’s work commitments.
Stationery Supplies
We were shocked that we kept finding ourselves short of school stationery. Initially, we thought we were prepared with pencils, rulers, and notebooks. But almost daily we were asked for this type of paint, a protractor, or something else!
