[sad] AIBU to HATE HATE HATE homeschooling?

[MrsNWT]

It's only been a couple of days and I'm f*cking losing it. I'm so depressed. We've got a small place, I have my own work to do (self employed) and I've reached my personal low trying to teach one of the kids.

What are you all doing? I'm throwing in the towel. I want them to learn and not been their screens all day and I WON'T do arts and crafts and learning activities all day long. Simply hate it.

My kids are 12, 9 and 7

AIBU to lose my SH*T already?

Jeez, I know that I should have imaginative, beautifully crafted menus with a variety of different foodstuffs to accommodate the damage that panic buyers are doing to our food retail sector, but from Monday I'll be homeschooling three small children while trying to hold down a demanding full time job. I don't have time for daily food-shopping and don't really want to drag three small children to supermarket every day in the current environment. I just thought that baked potatoes would be a nice, easy, quick meal that I could bung in the oven so that I could concentrate on earning a living and keeping my kids from killing each other. Now you lot have got me mashing potatoes, making soup, and serving a variety of tempting side dishes, all specially designed to need no more than four of any one individual item. Jeepers!

We did a homeschooling day today, trying to cover reading, maths, writing. Dogwalks and badminton in garden. Painted stones and hid them round the garden. Kids 5, 7 and 9. I'm going to hate homeschooling I suspect there will be much educational electronic stuff. The eldest is behind in school though so I'm thinking this'll be good opportunity to catch him up if his classmates take an easier going approach. Probably aim for 2 hours a day with activities between.

My DC need some structure, definitely (secondary age)so I am doing "school time" in that I expect the online learning school are setting to be done between the hours of 8a.m and 3 pm.
They have been OK about this actually-video calling friends to work together, so getting a bit of socialising.
I am working too, at home, or trying to, but am also setting tasks.
So far we have selected some books to read and discuss (trust me getting them reading, not easy but it's happening), they are helping me with veg growing (science!), we are making bread, learning new recipes (food tech) and doing Duo Lingo.
It's all very well saying, yeah just let them chill and don't try and be teacher but if you live in a tight space (we do) and your kids are already struggling on some subjects, you don't want them to just totally get out of the habit of learning. Actually, I am hoping to somehow get mine into the habit of learning!
Interestingly, we did some Spanish practice the other day (just revising over stuff from school) and ds said that he enjoyed it because I give positive feedback when he does well, unlike his Spanish teacher.
I sympathise though OP, it's not easy. We have one computer and a tiny house. I think, like most things, it's got to be easier with money!

My mum homeschooled us for year 5 and 6 to private school full scholarship / top 11+ standard. We did 2.5 hours every day- that's it. The afternoon past 12 was ours to do what we wanted. Mostly spent playing outside, reading, making music and drawing but life was different then with less tech. Also family cultures and hobbies differ.

What I'm trying to say if you can keep in mind that anything longer than 3 hours a day is counter productive and will make them resent homeschool, that will already make your job seem more manageable. Plus will give your children something to look forward to each day (midday end of school time).

Can't say anything on what you can do with them since I know nothing about the curriculum these days but just wanted to encourage you if that helps.

As a mum my job is to keep my dc safe and healthy. Anything after that is a bonus. I am teaching them life skills at the moment, cooking, weeding the garden etc. As for schoolwork I am just doing homework books with my 10 year old, and reading every day. Some days we do f*ck all except watch tv, and thats ok too. I am in ireland so its been a week, so far so good.

OP I think the only online resource you need is this one

www.kveller.com/this-israeli-moms-hilarious-rant-about-homeschooling-is-all-of-us/

If your child is secondary school level they should absolutely be doing work - there will, most likely, be an online platform with plenty of work set.

Consider, also, the other side: I have just spent the last few days setting up online work, converting assessments to digital ones, adjusting lessons to make then accessible to students for independent work. Your children's teachers will be spending hours on these resources and likely be forced to have to chase the work up. I know I have been asked to make phone calls each and every time a student does not complete their work - that's potentially hundreds each day.

Also consider the importance of routine for many students, young and old, and their future ability to cope when they go back.

I do agree, though, that work often doesn't take as long at home as it does in school.

My teen is following their timetable; otherwise Maths, for example, would never be completed, but English work would be completed within a week for the next few months.

Teachers will be available online to clarify and sort out issues. Encourage your child to contact them and work independently; no one is expecting you to teach them.

If I had wanted to teach children, I would have become a teacher.
If I had wanted to homeschool my child, I would have become a homeschooler.

As it stands, I signed up for neither, therefore I am doing none of it. I despise the very idea and frankly, I can't be arsed.

@amaryl

Exactly. There is no flexibility. My sons school aren’t even uploading the work first thing in the morning so he can do it all at once. My son wakes up at 5.45am everyday without fail so he would be quite happy to get on with it from 7am but he has to wait until after 9am and the three teachers are literally uploading at the time their lesson would be. My sons work is currently taking him the entire 55mins or more even as half the time is spent just trying to figure it out what to do but if he was at school he would put his hand up and the teacher pops round in a few mins to explain.

I can see the conversation with the school next week will be a barrel of fun.

@Alkaloise

Assuming the teacher doesn’t reply after 9pm like my sons one did. An actual Skype classroom would be better. The issue my son has is half of the wording is confusing him, the way things are laid out, how it is actually presented. He is in the top set and has been identified as gifted in
English and maths and he’s struggling with all this

He had computer studies that even my eldest son that has a 1st degree in, said why is it worded so badly and couldn’t quite work out what it is the teacher wanted from my son.

I'm a teacher. It's my job to teach reading,writing, maths, science etc etc etc etc.
You're a parent. It's your job to look after your kids. Feed them, clothe them, keep them clean, love them, keep them happy.
Don't sweat the education stuff. Here's what I'd suggest.

Get up half an hour before dc. Get yourself ready for the day.
Get dc up, sort breakfast. Give them til e.g. 10am to eat, clear breakfast away and get dressed. Work yourself for a hour whilst they're doing this.
Spend an hour on 'learning' with them, don't expect to be 'working' during this time.
Give them a couple of hours in the middle of the day to entertain themselves and have their lunch whilst you do some more work. Then spend another hour later in the afternoon supervising learning.

If they can't do the tasks set by the school, don't worry! They don't do craft every day in school, so don't expect to be doing it with them either. Find some of the activities being posted on YouTube eg Joe Wicksnis doing a kids keep fit session every morning.

I suspect that when schools return in September, the vast majority of children will have fallen behind. So I know in my school we're already talking about starting the curriculum next school year from where we are now.

hoxtonbabe
I woudl actually contact the school and say 2 thigns

1. can they please upload the days content at the beginning of the day, to allow for flexibility (your ds could then do it all the day after?)
2. the wording isn't clear. I suspect this is due to speed, the teachers having to make this stuff in a hurry

People have sadly been so rude about home education. Criticizing parents and making them feel really bad for choosing this path in life for their children. We have home educated our children for 6 years now and it really suits all of us and we are happy. I think it is a shame that parents have been launched into this position as no-one should be forced to do anything. I wouldn't like it if someone said to me that I suddenly had to put my children in school, so I appreciate the opposite is just as difficult. Though I do hope people begin to gain respect for home educators and not make them feel bad anymore. Though this isn't a real experience of home education as many of us are out every day with our friends and going to many workshops and groups. I also hope that people who are now saying a couple of hours word a day is enough will remember they have said that in years to come, as many home educators have been made to feel that unless the child is sat at the table from 9-3 learning doesn't happen.

*Work not word

This mum isn't best pleased either.

@hoxtonbabe Assuming the teacher doesn’t reply after 9pm like my sons one did. An actual Skype classroom would be better.

We're not allow to do video lessons (live) at any time, unfortunately - it's a massive safeguarding issue and would come with far too many background distractions, given the diverse homes.

I know not all teachers will be available after hours (I still responded until 11pm all week and then again from 6am) and therefore work needs to be uploaded early; in light of this thread I have already changed one of my plans to only publish tests on the day and have assigned it over 3 days to allow for the flexibility that working from home also is required from our students.

But it will need to be chased up, so discuss accessibility as necessary. Just please bear in mind it is a learning curve for almost all of us, teachers, too.

I'd suggest one of the best things you can get them to do is reading. It's hugely beneficial, and most children don't do anywhere near as much as they should, in school or out. Try getting them to read aloud to you, or you read and they follow along with a ruler on the text. Discuss, look at vocabulary/background info, do some more. Non-fiction as well as fiction; non-fiction can provide a good model for essay-style writing, which will help with that aspect of school and exams later on. Same with magazine articles; there are children's magazines available. This is your opportunity to do what schools often can't or won't in terms of actual time spent reading.

@steppemum it sounds like a good idea but today they only managed helpful (cooked lunch), exercise (took dogs for a walk) and fun (watched a film) but managed to completely avoid doing anything educational

@hoxtonbabe I'm a secondary teacher and we've been told we must upload work in time for the start of the lesson or up to 24 hours in advance. We've also been told to assume work will take students longer at home and to set time limits so they can stop. I think you should pass your feedback on to the school as some teachers might well be in a position to upload the night before and at least your son could get on with what there is. I sympathise - I've got an early riser too and I've just adjusted the timetable the school sent to start at 7am!

My kids teachers have been great and are available via email to help. I think people saying they can't be arsed to even make sure your kids do their online learning is just ignorant and lazy. Its the actual least you can do!

@ KeepOnKeepingOnAgainandAgain and @flirtygirl. I could not agree more!

I struggled to hold down my job for a year and HE a child who was so ill they could not leave the house. Refused an EHCP assessment . The school and other parents were unsympathetic.

There are a LOT of parents in the permanent position of having to home educate with no guidance or work provided from a school. I am shocked at how we as a family were expected to just get on with it FOREVER.

It is temporary for children to distant learn from schools for a few months. It will be fine.

18 months on I finally get what it is to successfully home educate. The advice to back off and relax is sound advice.

I imagine a lot of parents will finally appreciate how hard teaching really is. Maybe when things improve they’ll remember that when the kids go back to school.

@steppemum thanks I will bear this in mind when I talk with them if I don’t see any improvement next week.

@Alkaloise, I’m going to see what next week brings, as we will all have the weekend to reset, rethink etc, so hopefully they will upload all in the early morning rather In dribs and drabs throughout the day, that way it doesn’t feel like they ( well we) are tethered to the laptop. In these times there is no place for super rigidity and I’m one of those parents that would usually say to school they aren’t giving my DS enough work, and does additional work with him at home, but Given I need the table to do my cake decorating I can’t afford to have him tied to the only table in the house all day and I really hope other teachers are taking these issues on board, like you have

YANBU to be fed up already. My main aim is to keep the youngest busy (the eldest is getting worker emailed to her daily so far) rather than get him to sit down and actually do anything. He has ASD and ADHD though so at school he’s not often found sitting quietly doing his work anyway. Today is our second day and I’ve taken deep breaths and counted to 10 in my head A LOT.

I’m a teacher and all we hope for is a piece of writing each day. Go to Pobble 365 - there are picture prompts and questions. Maths - Khan academy and Prototec are good and there’s loads of cool maths activities online. Science - choose an area to explore each week- my lit test paper aeroplanes paper helicopters etc yesterday- make some sherbet, butter, ice cream etc. maths can be done in baking with ratios and fractions. Read a book then tell you their favourite character what the problem was and where it’s set. Free school journals with audio links are online. PM if you need more suggestions. Research posters are great too!