With the announcement to close schools, I wanted to reassure some parents, that they are more than capable of delivering their child’s education at home. I’ve seen so many posts these past few days with parents unsure of where to even begin. I hope this helps.
The education that you can offer your child at home, doesn’t have to replicate what they are doing at school. Teach them to do things that you don’t normally have the time to teach them. A life lesson that they would gain so much from is a lesson in community. If they see you helping others, then that is one of the most important life lessons that they could ever learn. How about teaching them how to follow a recipe, sew on a button, check the oil and water levels in the car. Also, by seeing you being calm in a crisis, you’re equipping them with skills that will be invaluable for the rest of their lives.
If you want to help them with their education outside of school, then I would suggest that the one thing that you could do, that beats everything else beyond measure, is encourage them to read more. Over the past ten years especially, the number of children reading for pleasure has very sadly dropped dramatically. The average reading ages of children has also declined. You can help them by encouraging them to pick up a book or a kindle and introduce a daily reading hour.
If you have young children, you may have to read to them. Don’t be afraid of reading some great works of literature to even young children. There are many 4 year olds who would love to hear works of Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. There is something so calming about sharing a story. In this crazy world that we live in right now, escaping into a world of fiction may be just the tonic. If you have older children, then sit down with them, and you can open a book and escape from reality.
Not only will opening a book improve their reading, their punctuation, their vocabulary and understanding, but it may also ignite their imaginations and inspire them to do something other than screen time. Reading takes them on a journey where they can meet friends, play in far-away places and have adventures in their own minds. It may even stop them fighting their siblings for an entire hour. Peace and harmony.
I’m going to make my book ‘Oliver and the Missing Scientist’ available for free to download on Kindle. Perhaps you could read it with them, snuggle under a blanket and escape to a place where Covid-19 doesn’t even exist.
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M0TRW1Q/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0?tag=mumsnetforu03-21