Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, parents all over the world have unwittingly found themselves having to play the role of parent AND teacher, while still trying to juggle a job, writing their own book or running a business.
While the remote learning brought about by the pandemic and subsequent school closures is not traditional homeschooling as such, the challenges of balancing education and work can still be the same. Whether you are a seasoned homeschooler or have been thrown into remote learning because of school closures, here are some tips to help you achieve that balance - or try to, anyway!
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Be realistic
What you want your homeschooling experience to be like and what it is actually like are two different things. Depending on whether you follow unschooling, remote learning, or a strict at-home curriculum, the reality is often very different from the Instagram daydreams. There will be days where no one wants to engage, where the lessons or activities that you have planned fall apart, and when you feel like dropping everything and running. This happens whether you are working or not, but when you are trying to balance a job, those days are even more likely. Just roll with it and look at your experience as a whole rather than a day.
Don’t try and reinvent the wheel
This goes for everyone involved in education - whether that is a home educating parents or a teacher. It can be tempting to come up with completely new and original activities and tasks for every single element of learning, but that just is not the case. Don’t try and reinvent the wheel. By doing that, you are more likely to end up burning out and that is no good for you or your child or children. Instead, look to see what resources are already out there to support you and your child - there are already plenty of free writing worksheets for first-grade students.
Get dressed
When you do not have to leave the house to do the school run or go to work, it can be tempting to slob about in your pj’s or onesies all day, and while once in a while that can be fun for you and your children, it is not necessary the best thing for motivation. Remember, you have a job to do and your children have learning to do. Getting up, showering, brushing teeth, and being ready to face the day is a great way to motivate everyone. It also helps to create a boundary between work and school life and home life, which can already be difficult if you are schooling and working from home.
Try to minimize the multitasking
As a society, we have been conditioned to think that multi-tasking is something positive and shows efficiency and productivity when actually, it can be the opposite. Research has shown that when we focus on one task at a time, we get it done faster and better. It is better to spend an hour focusing on your own work without interruption and then an hour focusing on schoolwork than do four hours trying to do both at the same time.
