Rigid homeschool timetable or a more relaxed approach?

[agirlfrommars]

Keep seeing a lot of contrast on Facebook-
On the one hand lots of parents who are taking homeschooling during this pandemic very seriously with full-on colour coordinated timetables for every last minute and a very strict, rigid schedule and taking full advantage of every available resource.

Then, on the other hand, am I seeing posts from head teachers and videos from teachers etc being shared by some friends where it’s claimed this perhaps isn’t in the best interests for children and all the stuff about just relaxing, playing games and having fun/making memories as a family.

I think, like most, in somewhere in between. Trying to incorporate a bit of maths, English plus the work set by school but not on a strict timetable and probably a lot more fun and play than a normal school day.

However, if the strict timetables (or doing nothing at all) works for some families then surely that’s what is right for them?

Just wondered where people stood on this or what your personal set-up is :)

Mine (Yrs 7 and 9) are getting quite a lot of school work so I’ve implemented a loose timetable, so I can get some work done as much as anything. It goes:

Up and dressed by 8.30am, breakfast, at desks by 9.30am, break at 11am then work until 12.30pm. After lunch is a bit more relaxed but they compete nationally in a sport and need to train for a few hours a day which they do in a couple of sessions. They have an hour to read, watch something useful, play on trampoline etc, then they can do what they like from 4pm - Xbox, movies, etc. I prefer them to be in bed by 9.30-10pm as we’ve found they get really tired and grumpy otherwise. We ease up at the weekend, but I’m trying to give them some structure so we don’t just waste the next few months.

We have a loose plan in that we try to do 2-3 school tasks per day and she has to do physio or cosmic yoga daily (mobility problems) but after that it's freeplay/skyping her dad/screens.

Her teachers are great at marking and feeding back and then making the task more appropriate for her especially now they've got into the swing of things so sometimes I'll ignore a days set task to repeat something we need to work on.

She;s 5, year 1

Reasonably relaxed here.

DS is in year 6, he has some learning difficulties that mean ability wise he's average but he has significant issues causing him problems with attention etc, so I'm doing a mix of the stuff school have set and some other bits I've found I.e online quizzes, YouTube sessions ( PE with joe!) etc

We'd go doo laley if we just spent all day trying to get him to focus on the school stuff...

Very relaxed. DC is 5. We are playing and chilling. If he gets interested in something I will try to squeeze some learning out of it e.g counting trampoline bounces. If I made a timetable my day would become a relentless battle of wills and I dont have the capacity to make life harder at present.

We teach them all day using the materials sent by school. We are teachers. It is what we do. If we weren’t teachers, we probably couldn’t do it and probably wouldn’t want to either. They want to do it, probably because they know we can facilitate it with a fairly minimal effort TBH.
But there will be no school work at all at the weekend, and just reading and times tables in the Easter hols.

I have a loose routine for my youngest who is 7 and as I'm wfh every day until 2pm my older two (teens) have been drafted in to help.

We start at 9.30 and have the time broken up into segments called p.e, creative time, no gadget study time, gadgets allowed study time and reading.

There's never a teen available at 9.30 so I tend to just have him do the worksheets that school have sent home, then, when eldest surfaces, around 10 if we're lucky, she'll see what he fancies doing next and they go from there.

They make lunch for everyone around 12/12.30 and I've asked that they go outside in the garden at some point every day. Middle dc (also teen) doesn't surface until 11 but that's what we have agreed so she dips in and out from them on.

We thought some sort of routine would be best for a few reasons...youngest would watch YouTube all day long if not given any direction, it's given eldest something to take her mind off the fact that exams have been cancelled and middle would stay in bed until 2pm!

There was a time I was considering teaching but had the self awareness to know i’d only enjoy teaching clever secondary kids. I started the week by totally pitching things far too hard for my 3 year old. By the end of the week I’ve just chilled out and we’re much happier. My risk is that I push her on too far on the academic side and she regressed with all the social stuff before stating school. We have a fairly set routine around her sister’s naps that we’ve always tended to follow on her non-nursery days so that’s no different. I am a bit sceptical of some of the social media posts I’m seeing. I just don’t think they paint a realistic picture but earlier in the week they were making me feel inadequate.

Very relaxed. One 5 year old in reception and a toddler. We start with joe wicks, then try and do some phonics/ writing stuff which we manage about an hour of. Then it's lunch, bike ride around local area ( socially distanced) then free play until they go insane about 4pm. I think.the 1:1 nature of homeschooling is pretty intense, my 5year old is exhausted by 4pm.

Minimal work set by school - happy with that.

Relaxed this week, my youngest two are A'levels and GSCE this year but I decided to give them a chill week. DD2 has read two books in two days! I'm not going to complain about that, DS1 has his place at uni (unconditional offer at interview) but is still working on stuff despite waiting for work to arrive via school.

My Mom died this morning so I'm not expecting anything from the children in the next couple of weeks, I know plenty of parents that would, but their mental health is my priority now x

My Mom died this morning so I'm not expecting anything from the children in the next couple of weeks, I know plenty of parents that would, but their mental health is my priority now x
I’m so sorry for your loss -don’t forget your own mental health too, just do what you can to get through the days ahead.

I’m with @Bluewavescrashing in that I set 4 tasks - one life skills type helping in the house, a homework task from their set work from school, an active exercise task and something creative. Once they’ve done those things their time is their own and I just keep an eye on screentime. It’s working well for us.

ultrablue I am so sorry for your loss.

My daughter is 12 and in year 7. Her school are sticking to the usual school timetable. They use google classroom anyway for homework so this is ideal for setting the work. It helps gives her some structure. For younger children I think I’d be more relaxed if the school weren’t suggesting anything.

My year 11 son has been set GCSE work, bit of a kick in the teeth! They’ve said they don’t know yet if they will be asked for evidence so they should keep up, plus some might sit exams in autumn if not happy with their grade. My son is having this week off as he’s been working so hard for so long on his GCSE’s but next week he’s going to start looking at A level work

Primary children school here (also a teacher). We aim to do 15 mins of Maths, phonics and topic (chosen by the children) during the day. My aim is them also to spend minimum 2 hours in the garden. When we do it is really flexible. The only thing we’ve made strictly is no TV before 3pm and starting the day at 9am with an exercise video.

You don’t need to do hours of work (and it would be totally counter productive!). It helps that I know what a class would learn in an hour. 15mins 1-1 is more than equivalent. My priority is overall well-being. They’re mostly doing loads of playing, drawing, climbing etc. Most recently I’ve taught in early years, so I’m a big believer in learning through play for all ages.

^ primary aged children they should say!

Relaxed here too. We agreed that every day we’d do the following:

• get dressed after breakfast
• exercise (Cosmic Yoga and Supermovers the favourites so far)
• writing practice
• reading
• maths
• something fun (games, baking, gardening etc)
• something all together as a family (usually the something fun, depending on conference calls etc)
• FaceTime a relative
• some housework (DC helping)
• work (DH working full time, I work 20 hrs a week)

DC are relatively young though so (a) respond well to crossing things off the list and (b) have home learning but nothing too onerous.

Some days we’ve done more learning and some less depending on how much work DH and I have but so far everyone seems happy with the balance and we’ve cooked and eaten meals together, done baking etc which the kids love.

Depends on what works for you and your children. Some children like a set routine, some don't. Many parents have to fit in the best they can around work.

Relaxed. We can get through it bit by bit through the Easter holidays too. My Y9 dd is doing well though and getting it done independently but my Y6 dd hasn’t got access to a computer of her own. I’m also still working so not there to support her in the day (their 19yo sister is home too) so she’s doing what she can and enjoying time in the garden with pets and trampoline in the sun. I think they need time to adjust too.

Not RTFT but as a teacher, relax.

In a school day there are so many times when pupils are not "learning", i.e recess, lunch, in between lessons. Actually they are learning, and it is this learning that disappears in a lockdown.

Factor all of this in.

Factor in that they are one person in a room instead of one of a number they can bounce ideas off, and no, bar late-teens this works best face to face.

This means lots of breaks.

DC's have quite a lot of work set by the school so that needs to be done each day - we started off the week fairly structured but it's falling apart a bit now

Relaxed my kids wellbeing needs to be intact when this is all over. Being smart won’t be much good if they are miserable.

Well if the teachers and head teachers are suggesting a relaxed approach I'd go with that. They're the experts after all!
Plus schools don't operate to a rigid timetable. With so many children together at once, we have to be flexible. We use the timetable as our basic structure but adapt to the children's needs as required (primary).
These are unusual times. As an infant school head I'd advocate using the time to really engage with your children. Play lots of games, both with rules and imaginative. Lots of practical activities, cutting, sticking, cooking, baking etc.
It's the social learning kids will miss out on so make sure they're taking turns, playing games but not always winning, sharing etc. The stuff that's hard work to teach!