It's 'school at home' not homeschooling

[Blueblackrose]

Our teachers are still there- there will be lesson plans emailed most days by most school as well as other resources issued by the school no doubt.

Lots of us are trying to juggle full time jobs WFH or stop businesses from going under. I am not home schooling - my dds are instead doing school at home. They are stressed and anxious from what they cannot escape hearing and seeing- they cannot easily deal with this. They need time, love and support. They can make up a bit of 'lost' school time and this is not the time for hot housing.
Websites (MN included) need to realise this and not pile more pressure on to parents that they are not homeschooling well enough when some are worried about possibly dying.

Well said, we have got a routine to stick to which is quite loose and has been provided by school however I am not expecting my young children to go from school to following this routine well at home, any push back from my kids and we will back off and try again later. This is not the time to be anxious and stressed about teaching our kids. I am probably going to be fast track trained for ICU so will be stressed enough about that. Getting through this well physically and mentally is the main priority!

My youngest dc struggles with learning in school anyway, and for that reason, Plus the fact that they are both only in key stage 1. We will be doing very little of the work provided by their school. Instead i am focusing on making everyday activities more educational. Yesterday for example I used the pizza for tea to do fractions. Today they spent the afternoon exploring all the properties of kinetic sand. Tomorrow we might use painting as a chance to learn about primary and secondary colours.

I don't think we can even comprehend yet the emotional damage this is doing to our young people and children. They emotional support not lesson plans and more stress ( though I am a great believer of a bit of structure to create that security).

I think different schools are doing it differently our primary has sent some helpful websites to try and a few “fun” activities to try in a list but no they are not sending worksheets or planned work every day is very much for parents to sort.

We certainly won’t be getting lessons sent home! We’ve access to some “Home Learning Aids” but that’s it.

Really I think being pedantic is a waste of energy not something worth riling yourself up over. (I used to homeschool my eldest child, plan her curriculum etc). You want her riled up over something? point your energy in the direction of those ignoring social distancing. Just a thought.

i'm panicking about this. I want to nurture them but also not let my 5 yr old fall behind. His reading isn't great. I have no idea how to entertain my dc for the whole day weeks on end.

It's just semantics...
Some people will be homeschooling I.e. actively teaching their kids, presumably using the lessons set by teachers as a starting point. Some will be doing "school at home" and expecting kids to get on with it. Both are fine, people do their best in whatever difficult circumstances they're in.
You're right that kids need emotional support as well as education- luckily their parents can provide this as teachers surely cant be expected to do so remotely

It is the expectation that is being set by the media that we have the time / have the resources/ education to homeschool.

As a family we have been self isolating with two dds due to a dd with cough all last week so I know what I'm talking about as I lived it last week. There were ups and downs on a daily basis. Juggling work and trying also to homeschool is bloody hard work bordering on the impossible without throwing in a potentially disasterous for health and wellbeing pandemic to emotionally deal with. We need to cut each other and our DC some slack.

Semantics. And it's not clear from your post what you actually want. You want structure, but not planned lessons? You want 'websites to stop putting pressure on parents that they are not homeschooling well enough'? Is MNHQ putting pressure on you? Are other websites? How? Individual MNers might make comments that make you feel bad, but that's not MN's fault!

Schools are doing their job,not 'hothousing'. They are working hard to provide continuity of education for your children. Teachers are being paid to do so. I'm sure MN would be awash with teacher bashing if teachers weren't doing this. Teachers will be trying to provide work which kids can do independently, without lots of parental input. However, that inevitably partly depends on the age and ability level of the child.

What is it that you want schools to be doing/not doing, OP?

I don't think it helps some mums have been sharing gorgeous hour by hour plans of all these wholesome activities they are going to be doing with their kids. I've felt really emotional all week, worrying about my DH likely to be redeployed to the front line and how I'm going to WFH and look after my DS.

I'm planning to use a very loose structure of:

• Learn (either set school work or something else)
• Creative time
• Keep fit time
• Play time

I'm planning to get the school work attempted in the morning and if that doesn't work out, tough.

We've not had school packs or anything of that nature, and I don't expect to. They're busy enough.

We've done a timetable today, to add structure to the girls day, and make it easier for my husband and au pair to make it through the days.

Our expectation is to keep the girls at the level school closed at, all kids are in the same boat.

I doubt we'll manage to keep them on curriculum (actually we've fucked French off in favour of Spanish lessons, Spanish au pair. Makes sense).

And we'll link lessons together, and we've added history and geography.

But that being said, I have the types of children who you can set a task to and they'll do it.
So week one for example has a story project in English....but that story has to be about an English queen from history, and it has to use correct vocab and grammar. Three lessons in one there.

If you have a child in year 10 like I do what do you do though? It's not a big deal if my year 8 DS gets a bit behind but DD needs to get through the GCSE content. Lots of art coursework to get done and she will be sitting her exams next year so can't afford to catch up in September. I won't be pushing her but I do worry. The maths she has been given appears to be going over everything they have done so far so whatever they were going to learn between now and the summer term needs to be caught up on along with the content needed to be learned in year 11? It does worry me.

I don't think it helps some mums have been sharing gorgeous hour by hour plans of all these wholesome activities they are going to be doing with their kids.

Yes I can see how that would be annoying, but really it's what social media always does, all the time. People show off heavily curated versions of their lifestyle, belongings, home and parenting. It needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Chances are that most people are finding it as hard as you are.

My dc's school are providing a full day of lessons every day. I doubt all the students will do absolutely all of it, but I'm glad it's there. My dc moaned like hell the first day, but seem to have got into a routine now.

I am a teacher who will be working from home, live streaming at least a part of every lesson. The children are expected to follow their timetable , taking break and lunch when they normally would. I have spent all day just preparing the first day's lessons; when I stop the streaming, I will be available for the remainder of the lesson for messages. All work will be marked.

This , on top of my own children loosely following a school routine, as DH will be working. I do not expect parents to school their children, we will be. Please don't worry, do what you can whilst keeping your and their sanity and jobs going!

I am a teacher who will be working from home, live streaming at least a part of every lesson. The children are expected to follow their timetable , taking break and lunch when they normally would
How do think that’s going giro work when people have multiple children of different ages, a baby or toddler to look after, working from home , only one laptop per house etc.
It’s a ridiculous idea, and I am glad my children’s schools thought things through sensibly.

*going to not giro!

@olivo sorry that wasn’t to criticise you, and your hard work. Rather the school.

We've not received a thing from the school.

Pah, the over achievers among my lot have converted rooms into little classrooms. I've seen colourful timetables and planned arts and craft projects for weeks in end. Urgh. I don't know, I have three school kids of wildly different ages and school packs with a couple of exercise books.

I'm sure I'll pull myself together but it all feels a bit unreal at the moment.

As a home educator I agree. Actual home education is nothing like this. You're stuck inside with no community and fewer resources, tense and anxious with confused kids. Go easy on them and yourselves.

DS (yr9) has so far got extended projects for 3 subjects - nothing day by day or lesson by lesson at all. For tomorrow, he only has something set to work on for one subject.

I wonder what parents and children are doing in other countries which are in lock down.

DS is in Y10. I am so grateful for his teachers putting in the time for lessons. He too has been told teachers are following the times of the normal school timetable and school have asked us to try and keep to it. Which is what we will do. At least they only a week of this to see whether it works in practice, then the Easter holidays.

Maybe it is different with a teenager, but realistically what else are they going to be doing in the next few weeks where they can't go out with their mates, go to clubs, activities. He also needs to be ready for his GCSEs and with the best will in the world that is not going to happen if he has at least a term off school.

My children are young and I intend that we will play most of the time. I have no doubt many in my town will be pushing the learning but I don't see it working out that well for us. I hope we just have some fun and happy times.

Each of our students has a laptop. At their age (secondary) they would be expected to work without an adult and I know them well enough to create a lesson well within their capabilities as well as adding some to stretch those who need it. We are also quite aware that some may be looking after siblings etc, everyone will do their best. But there will be less pressure for the parents. That is my main concern, being a parent myself.