Share your homeschooling tips and learning resource recommendations please

[TinaMumsnet]

Hello,

It's been announced that schools in Wales and Scotland are closing by the end of the week, and it's looking likely that schools in England will follow soon.

We thought it might be helpful to start a thread where Mumsnetters who've been there before could share tips and resources.

If you're a teacher or already homeschoolingdo you have any advice for those of us who are new to this?

What schedules do you follow?
Are there any online resources you would recommend?
How can parents who are working from home also make sure their children keep learning when schools close?
How do you stay sane?

TIA

The Carol Vorderman Maths, English and Science books are excellent.

Pinterest can really help find ideas and resources.

Setting up a short daily quiz on anything learned really helps information retention and can bring warring siblings together with a common goal.

Twinkl is doing a free membership for all parents for a month. Teachers love the resources -so much there to support your child’s learning.

I would say as a primary teacher -realistically -try to read 30 mins a day
-maths 30-60 mins a day activities and times tables etc
-literacy 30-60 mins writing tasks
-do some nice creative activities in the afternoon -science experiment, art, dt activities, cooking together (maths)
-daily spelling or handwriting practice for 15 mins

Good luck!

Hi all.

I'm a children's author and I have actually just uploaded a video to YouTube designed for kids (aged 8 and over) for this awkward isolation period!

If you're interested, it's on my channel - Jo Baxter Author. It's my first video so it's a bit cringey but it's free and hopefully in time, I will get better at these things!

There is an accompanying workbook that you can download, for free, from my website: www.jobaxterbooks.co.uk.

If you're interested, give it a go! If you're not - that's fine too!

Hopefully we can all get through this together and keep our sanity! :)

I hope that at the end of this people have a but more empathy for those forced into homeschooling due to there being no suitable provision for their SEN child.

We've used urbrainy.com/ before for home ed. It has lots of useful worksheets and interactive maths games too. Less huge than Twinkl so you can find what you're looking for more easily!

See my thread on this yesterday for some ideas plus a link to an earlier thread which had a really brillant list. I've been using it. My son said today "Twinkl is brilliant!"

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3851719-educational-resources?msgid=94792713#94792713

I am a teacher (primary).

Use the online platforms opening up free access, Twinkl.co.uk classroom secrets and many others. Also most schools have been planning this for a while and will have projects/ work to send home.

Also use the time to do things we don't get time to. Why not teach your child how to sew? How to cook? Garden? (if you're lucky enough to have one).

In school, children get bored by worksheets, so getting them to do it at home is going to be even harder.

My advice would be to stick to a schedule similar to their timetable for secondary. So get them to spend most time on English, Maths and Science.

Try to encourage them to branch out with their reading too. Reading time is vital. Read anything. It doesn’t really matter what!

There are some good links shared on a post on the prepping topic. Link here.

I’m both a teacher and a home schooler. The very honest answer is our lives are upside down too. We are rarely in, are socially activity and have a daily routine of organised meet ups.

I think my biggest tips though are

• keep active, as in agree a daily routine and stick to it. Like a 10-15 min morning high energy burst to loud music and afternoon with cosmic yoga or something
• limit screen time set times. At first you get peace, but then it leads to unreasonable behaviour

-plan craft, crossstitch, paint or whatever. But plan it -make a timetable with kids by asking them what makes them happy and they enjoy and plan one thing in a day from the list

• if you have a garden, sort it, clean stuff like trampolines

-get on FaceTime with friends

• don’t go mad on academics, you’ll get in shouty mode. Look up unschooling and think on those lines. At least while you settle in.
• join the excellent Facebook groups set up by homeschoolers to share resources, way too much to copy here.

-if you need to work try to set activities first, with young ones something like laying out a toy farm and toys, bigger maybe a Lego challenge. Something they don’t need help with. Try to get to 1/2pm before resorting to screens, they don’t last -set some snack rules, they can hoover the fridge!

www.oxfordowl.co.uk For free reading ebooks.

www.phonicsplay.co.uk For phonics. They have released a password to allow parents to assess the full rangenof resources.

classroomsecrets.co.uk Have produced units of work for each primary year group.

Take the devices away until study time is over.
Stay in the school routine.
Wake, shower, dress.
Breakfast.
2 hours
Break
2 hours
Lunch
Hour of reading.
Devices back and free evening.
No late nights during the week.

This is a list doing the rounds created by members of the HE community

FREE online education resources

A non-exhaustive list that might help those affected by school closures due to coronavirus, compiled by home educators.
Feel free to share.

Khan Academy
www.khanacademy.org
Especially good for maths and computing for all ages but other subjects at Secondary level. Note this uses the U.S. grade system but it's mostly common material.

BBC Learning
www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/
This site is old and no longer updated and yet there's so much still available, from language learning to BBC Bitesize for revision. No TV licence required except for content on BBC iPlayer.

Futurelearn
www.futurelearn.com
Free to access 100s of courses, only pay to upgrade if you need a certificate in your name (own account from age 14+ but younger learners can use a parent account).

Seneca
www.senecalearning.com
For those revising at GCSE or A level. Tons of free revision content. Paid access to higher level material.

Openlearn
www.open.edu/openlearn/
Free taster courses aimed at those considering Open University but everyone can access it. Adult level, but some e.g. nature and environment courses could well be of interest to young people.

Blockly
blockly.games
Learn computer programming skills - fun and free.

Scratch
scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/games/
Creative computer programming

Ted Ed
ed.ted.com
All sorts of engaging educational videos

National Geographic Kids
www.natgeokids.com/uk/
Activities and quizzes for younger kids.

Duolingo
www.duolingo.com
Learn languages for free. Web or app.

Mystery Science
mysteryscience.com
Free science lessons

The Kids Should See This
thekidshouldseethis.com
Wide range of cool educational videos

Crash Course
thecrashcourse.com
You Tube videos on many subjects

Crash Course Kids
m.youtube.com/user/crashcoursekids
As above for a younger audience

Crest Awards
www.crestawards.org
Science awards you can complete from home.

iDEA Awards
idea.org.uk
Digital enterprise award scheme you can complete online.

Paw Print Badges
www.pawprintbadges.co.uk
Free challenge packs and other downloads. Many activities can be completed indoors. Badges cost but are optional.

Tinkercad
www.tinkercad.com
All kinds of making.

Prodigy Maths
www.prodigygame.com
Is in U.S. grades, but good for UK Primary age.

Cbeebies Radio
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio
Listening activities for the younger ones.

Nature Detectives
naturedetectives.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetect…/
A lot of these can be done in a garden, or if you can get to a remote forest location!

British Council
www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find
Resources for English language learning

Oxford Owl for Home
www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Lots of free resources for Primary age

Big History Project
www.bighistoryproject.com/home
Aimed at Secondary age. Multi disciplinary activities.

Geography Games
world-geography-games.com/world.html
Geography gaming!

Blue Peter Badges
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/about-blue-peter-badges
If you have a stamp and a nearby post box.

The Artful Parent
www.facebook.com/artfulparent/
Good, free art activities linked to from this Facebook page

Red Ted Art
www.redtedart.com
Easy arts and crafts for little ones

The Imagination Tree
theimaginationtree.com
Creative art and craft activities for the very youngest.

Toy Theater
toytheater.com/
Educational online games

DK Find Out
www.dkfindout.com/uk/…
Activities and quizzes

Twinkl
www.twinkl.co.uk
This is more for printouts, and usually at a fee, but they are offering a month of free access to parents in the event of school closures.

Thank you for this thread.

I'm going to do timetables for my 3 dc's as I don't want them to lose or fall to far back while they are not at school.

I have one in year 6, I'm not worried about him not doing his SATs. One in year 7 I'm not to worried about her as she loves learning and spends a lot of time doing extension school work anyway.

With my eldest I'm just concentrating on getting her through her final Mocks this week and maybe until next Tuesday. And then maybe have some downtime before getting her into continue to study when everything is so up in the air.

As a long term home educator (with a teaching background so seen both sides) a few points

Academic learning at home is often a lot more efficient. You don't have moving between classrooms, disruption from other pupils, finding resources. You can also go at the pace of the child in front of you so if they get it move on if they don't slow down and go back some steps. The school day also includes PE, breaks, art/DT, practical science (lots can be done without a lab).
DON'T try and sit at a table from 9-3 every day 'doing school work', you will burn out very quickly.

That said agreements on getting up time, screen time, bed time, even when toy come out I think are important.

Worksheets are useful in school because a teacher can't possibly have the same conversation 30 times so they allow children can show what they've learned and teachers to document it and have a paper trail. At home you know your child has understood or not because they are talking to you. Not saying worksheets can't play a part - many enjoy them. However don't let them become a bone of contention. The success of education is what goes into the child not how many worksheets they produce.

Keep active.

Find ways to keep some sociability. Facetime/skype etc - perhaps do a project on the same topic as friends and share what you are upto.

When you have multiple children, projects that they can all be involved with at a suitable level are a good way of keeping all engaged at once.

Involve them in keeping the house clean and tidy, the food prepared, the garden done. Valuable life skills, will reduce your stress and free up time to do other stuff with them.

Read aloud with them - even if tweens (or even teens if amenable). Let them draw or colour or build Lego to keep hands busy but don't underestimate the educational and calming effect of sharing books.

Don't try and join Facebook groups for home educators, many have specific focuses like exams or local meetups and it is quite a different situation to be in. There are groups which have been set up by home educators specifically to offer their support to those with kids home due to school closures, look for those.

.

We are not home ed but use maths whizz which is a great online resource. Usually can get a free trial initially.
I will be planning the week using a planner and doing work from school, plus reading. Art and craft in the afternoon, just looking for some science resource.
PE in the garden, yoga indoors.

Languages:
Memrise and quizlet all AQA vocab on there
Languagesonline.org.uk
Language gym
Conjuguemos.com
News in slow Spanish app
Tons of programmes on Netflix - check the suitability
20 minutos - news
Make verb/vocabulary posters on key topics
Make fun videos using language on topics covered

I think it would be an interesting exercise for children to keep a diary / blog., Daniel Defoe's diary of a plague year is fiction and maybe not for anyone with health anxiety

A diary might be better as it is not public and children are living through a historical event.

Compare and contrast with other diaries, depending on age and level, Anne Frank obviously , Samuel Pepys, Dafoe's 'diary of a plague year - fiction based on fact.

One thing to consider is that children who are now out of school have just lost their main social life, maybe a 'break' at a set time with a meet up on facetime or similar would allow a bit of interaction.

This is a good thread. Would be interested in online resources for GCSE and A Level students as well.

Thanks for language resources

As a teacher my advice would be..
Keep to a routine, getting up and dressed, lunch and bedtime.
Make learning as practical as you can
Do projects
Keep a diary/scrap book (can be IT based)
Teach and practise life skills (cooking, cleaning, gardening, budgeting, pet care)
Avoid too much screen time
Get outside if possible..in all weathers
Keep in touch with people...remotely/virtually
Write letters and emails.

Good luck everyone; this is going to be a very challenging time but could also create very special and treasured memories.

Home edder and run a business here and would recommend checking out the local home ed groups who likely will have plenty of ideas to share. Who knows a few may even stay with us!

My tips:

Remember that home learning is one to one so therefore it doesn't need to take up all day.

It can be a lot of fun

PE can be done out in the garden and there are Kids Yoga videos on YouTube as well as other great learning resources.

Many of the online learning resources have free trials.

Craft kits are fab too

WHSmith has a great selection of learning books

If you are trying to work too, use a Pomodoro timer to give you 20 min bursts of activity with 5-minute breaks (this also works well for older kids)

Play is often learning too

Use the garden if you have one and facetime friends or try using Zoom but sparingly as us business people do rely on it for meetings!

My DD5 is in reception she's a bright girl and loves learning especially numbers though I'm also keen to help her progress with her reading and letters

And advice or good apps/website she can use?

Started 9yr old on Prodigy Maths this week, day 3 and it's the first thing he wants "after breakfast". We'll be crafting cards this afternoon, working in the garden when the weather improves.

There are cd-roms for GCSE subjects- Maths, Biology, Physics, Chemistry - but I don't know how easily they can be made to run on the newer operating systems (full course content not just questions). They would be more sensible for students in the first year of GCSE, because 2nd yr students would have already covered the material and just be revising by now. If the govt was smart they'd get this material on download for everyone.

Something to bare in mind, see pic below.

There are a lot of worried parents of SEND children. And just primary age children generally.

We need to remember that there is enormous value in reading to and with your children, baking, playing and making things like junk modelling. Sunflower growing contest. More reading.

As someone who was put off homework from a heavy handed project once summer as a child, we do need some balance.

Many Teachers are working from home and we are putting activities together for our classes.

A happy child will learn.