How are people working from home and homeschooling?

[movingoceans]

Hello,

I am really struggling combining home schooling and working on my assignments and preparing for exams (online).

How are other parents doing? Can you give me any tips? My 10 year old son has significant speech and language needs and dyspraxia, so to get help him as much as I can... he has a private remote session with a speech therapist, once a week, but gives me activities and homework that I need to do with DS. We do maths and spelling, reading, English daily, set by the school as well his physio exercises that I need to do at home and outside. We wake up at 9.30 and start the work at 10.30am.

But I am really struggling ! I have three online) exam that I need to prepare in two-these weeks. I need to edit and redraft my research project and hand in assignment in the next few days !

By the time I'm finished with DS, I clean, cook and by the evening, I'm so knackered that I end up going to bed.

Please give me any tips ! I really do not want to do another year of studies. This is my final year. Am I doing too much? Should I cut back? I feel like I should not even be complaining as I only have the done DC so far.

I have 3 with sen and dyslexia that need 1:1 to get any work done. Iv cut ot right down. We do a maths sheet, word wasp book (for dyslexia), literacy sheet and some reading at night. Barring meltdowns and take tantrums we can get them done in a couple of hours with breaks.

I think it's very different having 2 parents than 1 parent as you can take in turns to work/do school work/cook/clean etc.

The problem is... DS is very far behind, if I drop his school work then he gets even further behind... plus, he is very severely language disordered, the older her gets, the more difficult he will find to learn language.

I always have to support DS needs and even when I do work again, I have to balance his needs and well as my needs and my work.

I'm going to have to go to bed earlier and aim to get up at 6am... and start work with DS at 10am.

Home schooling doesn’t have to be 8-4, flexibility is the meaning of home schooling.

If the lessons are after your work has finished or in between lunches, evenings weekends etc... then so be it... that’d the meaning of home school, it isn’t set within a time constraint.

DS is doing little that he won't do willingly as I don't have the time to supervise him for a school day. But he will do Nessy online which is great for dyslexia. They have a free week trial. And I have roped in my mum for a video call every day and they read together which helps.

You only need to do 1 to 2 hrs work with him a day. That is more than enough, especially if it is 1:1. That leaves you lots of time to do your own work, which needs to take priority for the next three weeks only, then you will have more time to spend with him.

Can you get him to listen to audio books or watch story time type programmes on TV. BBC bitesize is good too.

I think you need to lower your standards for cleaning etc just for the next 3 weeks. You really need to prioritise and a spotless home isn't necessary right now, your work is. Just do the bar minimum.

Also what time are you going to bed if getting up at 9.30am?

Hats off to the lot of you. I have no idea how you could manage it

KingaRoo Love the username ! Your right, maybe I need to lower my expectations. I usually go to bed around 2am... but lately around 12pm as my body cannot cope anymore. I used to able to get going until 6am with lots of coffee ! But I just can't do it anymore.

Thanks! Also be kind to yourself. You are in a tough situation and just need to get through the next few weeks before some of the pressure is off. I do get it, I have a SEN child too but, seriously, 3 weeks in the grand scheme of things is nothing.

Use technology/TV. Are there any literacy-based computer games that would be helpful? Maybe even just really easy ones intended for a younger age would build some confidence.

My sympathies OP, I am WFH & facilitating school with my kids and my sanity is hanging by a thread. My 10yo has autism and recently diagnosed dyslexia (as in, we had his report after lockdown). I would love to be able to just let him chill, but he is already very behind and also, he does prefer a bit of routine. I also have a year 9 who needs quite a bit of motivating and a year 11 who is a bit lost and drifting.

I agree with, if possible, getting up a bit earlier it you can bear it and cracking on with your stuff. I got up this morning and got through my top three priorities before I got the kids up. They get up in time for Joe Wicks at 9am, then breakfast, shower and school work. Ds2 needs a chat and then he is more or less getting on, although he has to come and sit at the dining table with me or he gets distracted. DS3 sits next to me and we cover times tables/spellings/white rose maths/spag/typing in the morning, most of which he can get on with himself, but that is the least productive bit of the day for me from about 10.30 - lunchtime. I use it to answer emails and chase things up. I have to write down everything as it occurs to me or I will forget it. We then have lunch. All the boys will go and bounce for a bit and I can get on with anything that required my undivided attention. Later on we look at reading comprehension and creative writing. If I’m lucky, my yr11 will then take him off for a bit, or I put a film on, or he plays Lego and I finish up work for the day.

Very long winded way of saying that I have to section the day into bits where I can focus more on what I need and bits where I can focus on DS3 and just keep an eye on emails/phone calls. I have had to let the housework slide.

I know It’s hard and I know you’re tired - but I think you can do it. If you push through these next few weeks of assignments, you’ll look back and be so glad you did. You will have time later to catch up your DS once you’ve handed your own stuff in. If you’re final year, the finish line is so close. Don’t be afraid to talk to your tutors if you think an extension would help (apologies if you’ve done this already and I missed it).

Fuck the school work

I did today
I’m a single parent and often do 9 hour days

I got such a migraine after yesterday effects we had a day off today