What did you learn from homeschooling your children? Share with Epson – £200 voucher to be won

[JustineBMumsnet]

Now that most children are back in their physical schools, you might now (finally!) have time to sit down and reflect on the whirlwind experience of home educating your children during a pandemic. Whether your experience involved convincing yourself that watching a vaguely educational documentary counts as a lesson; navigating printing a never-ending stream of worksheets and constantly running out of ink; or wondering why, as an adult, you didn’t understand most of your child’s set work, Epson would like to hear about what you’ve learned from homeschooling your children.

Here’s what Epson has to say: “After months of juggling work and home schooling, parents across the country are breathing a collective sigh of relief. A recent study has shown that 60% of parents preferred teaching their kids using paper rather than a screen. However, printing can come with its frustrations, whether it’s running out of ink at a crucial moment to expensive cartridge costs.

Epson’s flexible ink subscription model, ReadyPrint, means you can print as much as you like without ever running out of ink while saving up to 70% on ink costs…no more last-minute panic when there’s a piece of homework due tomorrow!

Printing shouldn’t be a burden for parents. ReadyPrint helps save you money and gives you peace of mind with ink delivered straight to your door before you run out, making printing as easy as A, B, C.”

Have you learned that Year 5 Maths is a lot harder than you remember it being? Maybe you’ve become aware of just how much your children rely on screens - both in and outside of the classroom - and want to find more ways for your children to use printed resources? Have you noticed an increase in the cost of those learning materials? Maybe you picked up some tips you’d like to share with parents homeschooling (whether short or long-term) in the future? Perhaps running out of ink, paper, or other learning materials at the most inconvenient of times made you realise just how helpful flexible subscription services could be?

All who share what they learned from homeschooling their children on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

[jellybeanpopper]

I do have to say that our printer isn't working and I think we did miss out on being able to print out activity sheets etc. But as it's not school work, it's not essential for us, and with other priorities we haven't replaced it yet. I guess we learned how to use our devices better, waste less paper!

[goingpearshaped]

That I am crap with grammar despite being pretty well educated ( PhD etc).

[DonLewis]

Ink, was indeed our problem. The factory that produces the cartridges we use closed completely in the first lockdown. Meaning there was NO ink at all available.

[mummylovesthesunshine]

I didn't learn any life long important lessons. My kids needed educating so we all just got on with it 🤷‍♀️

[Asuwere]

I learnt I'm not going to be a teacher! I also learnt how little I know about grammar, well I do know but I didn't know the names for everything!

[lolly2011]

I have learnt how to use google classrooms and setting up and printing the days work ready for when you need it. I've learnt to discuss with my son the order he wants it done and allow him the freedom to complete the work. I could have used a colour printer that was cheaper for ink cartridges as we ended up using a laser printer and print everything in black and white. We tried to have a balance between screen, print and hand written. I learnt to break the day up as a home environment as very different from a class room but still making it clear the work needs to be completed. I made sure there where lots of other activities and things to do in between and make sure to understand when he needed a break or had enough. I am very proud of him because he worked really hard it wasn't always easy and I think it has taught me alot too.

[BellaVida]

With 4 DC in the house over lockdown, I think we all learnt a lot. I learnt:

• that I still failed to buy more ink for the printer before it ran out and that shaking the cartridge isn’t a reliable method of getting ‘just one more’ sheet printed.
  
• that there are good web sites to download music scores for free which you can print out.
  
• that the children get through a lot more ink, paper, exercise books, glue sticks and other stationery than I ever realised. The schools must spend a fortune!
  
• that my DC are probably more computer literate than I am when I come to Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom.
  
• that it’s often better to print off sheets for school work, rather than trying to split screens. It keeps them more engaged to physically write or take notes. It’s also better as we have a proper record of all the work they did, which they can refer back in lessons to or use for revision.
  
• that I’m pretty resourceful when it comes to digging out materials for school projects and I might also be a bit of a hoarder!

[SomethingWycked]

We printed out so much stuff that our Canon printer broke at the start of the last homeschooling week!

I learnt how to form the subjunctive, how to calculate area & perimeter, that there are a lot of countries in Africa (plus a couple of disputed ones), different types of forces in science & some French words on a beach theme.

I also learnt that my son is extremely good at maths & he has my witty sense of humour. His handwriting is not much better than what it was in year 3 (year 6 now). I was thrilled to learn I am still good at statistics & spellings.

[AudTheDeepMinded]

I learnt that I have limited patience and would never be able to be a primary school teacher! I learnt that my three children have different learning styles, one preferred to work on hard copies of tasks, while another preferred a screen. We all learnt some maths tasks together.

We also learnt that sometimes when we all didn't think we could do another day of learning, a good long walk and a chance to connect with each other away from the laptops and the kitchen table was the best way forward. We also all learnt that despite some of us (ahem) purporting to hate school, we were all delighted when the schools reopened.

[Mintjulia]

That I am not a natural teacher.

That I am expected to stock paper in ruled, plain, graph and various weights, colours and sizes, plus glue, oil paints, water colours, brushes, blendable pencils, non-blendable pencils, Highlighters, charcoal, pastels etc without warning.

That in an emergency, since I do not have a printer, I can send a document to the public library who will print it for collection, for cash ( no change given)

I am very glad schools have reopened

[voyager50]

That teaches are heroes!

If I can't keep one fully focused and on task, how on earth so they do it with a room full.

Thank you to all those who can do what I can't!

[HSHorror]

That a small lazer printer is a good buy.
That primary maths is hard and time consuming. (Have Alevel maths)
The hardest bit is getting them sat at the table. Its like the struggle getting them to school but many times a day!

[OneMorePieceofCheese]

I learned all teacher end of year gifts should be minimum 40% proof.

[PickAChew]

I learned that it's quicker and easier to just draw a table for ds2 to record weights in than do battle with my laptop and printer (which refuses to even connect to the WiFi, any more, so I can't use my phone) and print one out from seesaw.

[fluffywhale]

I learned the entire year 3 syllabus for English. Well felt like that anyway. Dc went from one of the lowest in her class to the highest confirmed by her teacher and tests when they returned to school and backed up me constantly questioning why the school wasn't recognising the ability I saw in my dc anyway.
Annoyed me that school wasn't doing the best job for my dc and if I didn't have to work I'd probably homeschool in the longer term until senior school.

[eltsihT]

As a teacher and a parent I learnt

1. I can not manage both my children learning and my job at the same time
   
2. To allow my children to make mistakes, and their teachers help them.
   
3. Banning Screens before 3pm unless in use for school work has made my children appreciate reading.
   
4. That I made the correct choice in teaching Secondary pupils rather than primary ones.

[TechnoDino]

I have learned that my children have very different learning styles!

[MargosKaftan]

I found my dcs both learn best with other children around.

I found my eldest really needs to be stretched to avoid him being grumpy.

[CatRatSplat]

DD responded better to the worksheets printed out than a blank exercise page. We moved the printer to where we were working to make it easier.

I personally learnt phonics and feel able to support her more with it.

[palacegirl77]

I learnt that my 7 year old is so enthusiastic to learn that she made it a pleasure. From printing out docs from Twinkl to making giant posters of the rainforests, she gave it her all and I hope she will look back on that time, when mummy wasn't dashing about to work, worrying about cleaning and the world just stood still for a while with happy memories like I already do.

[Cotswoldmama]

I learnt that routine and a timetable was essential. It helped my boys to know what they were doing when and for how long. We also broke up the day with regular breaks and a long lunch break with a walk. They definitely worked better in short bursts.

[MadeForThis]

I learned that teaching my daughter was a mixture of joy, pleasure and pain. All of it. Every day.

[PetrovYelyenaAndMe]

Lots of stuff about the Tudors - fascinating. Am now reading Wolf Hall

[PashleyB]

I learnt that I have no idea about primary school grammar!

[ThePug]

I learnt that my 5 year old actually enjoys crafty stuff! He was never one for messy play as a toddler, but was given the task to do junk modelling so I suggested making a zoo. The first day we spent 3 hours making animals and enclosures, then once we'd saved up more recycling we made more. This was weeks ago but he's asked to make more animals this weekend. I've also learnt I'm pretty good at googling and copying other people's ideas