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

[Coldbit]

I learned just how tech savvy my two are. I struggled to get to grips with using Teams for work calls but they sailed through it all (and gave me some tips on how to use it). Despite having a good set up at home with multiple laptops and a printer, I really hope we never have to go through that again

[MummyBtothree]

I found it very hard work and realised that I dont give teachers enough credit!

[BigGreen]

I learned that trying to work and teach small DC multiplication at the same time is hellish.

[WhereDidYouGetThatHat]

I learned I'm very very grateful for the Internet and zoom!

[hiddenmichelle]

I learnt some interesting geography and found out more about various places in the UK. Also learnt that my kids are WAY better at Maths than I will ever be and that I cannot help them with it!

[freeingNora]

My Epson printer developed a terminal software problem because it couldn't cope with the volume of work. It was hell to get it repaired easier to buy a new one from curry's pc world.

I learned that it's amazing how much children can learn that's not classroom based. My children didn't want a replica of school at home so we unschooled and carried on. It stood us in good stead when when the 2nd lockdown came.

It would have been impossible without reliable broadband and a decent printer along with suitable devices.

[pasinphoebe]

I learned where the kids natural talents lie (although of course I was somewhat aware of this) but it was actually rewarding to help them tackle their more difficult subjects - an appreciation for teachers who have to find so many ways of teaching to help all their different pupils!

[dadshere]

I learned that maths teaching just doesn't make any sense!

[Jdhshekr]

I learned that children will educate themselves and find activities to keep them busy and interested when they are left to their own devices to some extent. Obviously if they have the option of gaming all the time this doesn’t happen, but take away the distractions for several hours per day and it’s amazing how engrossed they will get in self directed learning.

[Silkiescat]

I have one DS with SN so I needed to be a full-time 1 to 1 with him and do all the lessons with him, I had to learn it and teach it and speak and write for him as he goes mute. I also had to help my year 10 who is starting GCSEs. I learned more about their interests and strengths and what they found difficult and got to know all DS's teachers. I only did one science GCSE as was educated in the days where girls weren't supposed to do science and it was nice to finally get to do physics and biology. Plus we got some silkie chickens and DS got to feed them, get them up and put them to bed and they laid their first eggs and DS got me to tell everyone that his silkie chickens were fabulous and very stylish. I also learned what a shambles exam years are in covid times and what its like to have no money from not being able to work whilst teaching DS.

[gggg1]

I learnt aboout what work children actually do in school as they never tell me! It was a struggle trying to homeschool and do my own job at the same time, as my children are at an age where they still need help and supervision. It would have been helpful to have a little home office rather than having to get the printer out when something needed printing. I also realised our laptop was too old for some of the video presentations. We bought a new tablet but the set up wasn't ideal as we had two children to teach. I am happy they are back at school

[birdling]

I learned that whilst I'm perfectly capable of teaching 30 random children in a classroom, I'm terrible at teaching 2 of my own at home.
(Or, at least, that's how they made me feel....)

[Whiskeylover45]

I learned teaching 8 kids in my ks1 autism behaviour unit is easier than teaching my three year old. The experience was unique...

[MyFuzzyBoy]

I learned that educating children during lockdown is worlds apart from the lovely community based home educational lifestyle I once knew.
I learnt that the Joe W workouts were too much for me after spending several days afterwards needing to crawl up the stairs 😳

[lucie82]

During the first lockdown I learnt that I can't teach two children of different ages at the same time, during the recent lockdown my son attended school and is now advanced on most subjects, my daughter was at home with me and even though she learnt well she's having extra sessions at school to improve her letter formation and handwriting. I also learnt that as much as I love my children I need the time that they are in school not only to do housework but to take time for myself.

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

I learned that they have different ways of learning and are quite comfortable with screens whereas I am not.
Ive also learned that good teachers deserve a lot more respect than they get...

[Janeyem]

I learned that a good printer with a good WiFi connection is key to sanity. I rediscovered angles and how to calculate them, what is happening in the rainforest and that PSHE is a bit woolly! We baked, read, watched classic movies and then read the books or the other way round! We binge watched Harry Potter and listed to books on Audible. We fought over fractions and wore our jammies all day.
Loved having my kiddo at home - as a working mum I suffered mum guilt for years! I am thrilled she is back in school though, I am not patient or creative enough to homeschool long term and she needs her classmates!

[Runningshorts]

I learnt that trying to juggle teaching two, while WFH, is seriously difficult. While I got one child to do something, the other would wander off and so on. Only teaching one would have been much easier!

[kathmacc]

My youngest really struggled with online learning and lack of social interaction with her peers - Y6 first lock down. Luckily was offered a place at new school - Y7 - in second lock down - brother has special needs and she is a registered young carer. I now realise school is not just about learning - children need to interact with their peers to preserve their mental health - my child has been so much healthier emotionally and mentally wise this time - I think the damage to children's mental and emotional health has been seriously underestimated.

[queenoftheschoolrun]

I learnt that DD was right to moan about her maths teacher. She really does just hand out worksheets and tell them to get on with it without any I had thought she was exaggerating.
We found it much easier to work from printed worksheets than online. I find it frustrating that schools don’t use textbooks any more tbh.

[sharond101]

I learned that time is all my children need from me. No elaborate days out or big gifts, just me, my undivided attention and them.

[AVT5]

I learnt in had less patience than I'd like! I had 4 primary children at home which felt like an impossible task. 1 computer wasn't enough so I was forever printing. I bought a lot of paper and ink to keep us going

[Tenohfour]

I learned that learning is a lifelong process and some of the most effective lessons we had were when we had to learn something together. Getting to grips with new phonics techniques alongside my 6 year old and researching history topics for a teenager meant that I learned as much as they did. They were so keen to teach me what they already know and so much more receptive to learning new things when we on an equal footing. I also learned that sometimes you have to stop and just go out and play. It's been a tough year and nobody needs added pressure or competitive homeschooling!

[WolfMum]

I learned that my daughter deals much better with the home environment than that at school. She was actually begging us to home educate her, because she's enjoyed it so much more than school. She was always pressured to finish her work on time, or she lost out on break times. She always mentioned how she held her hand up for a lot of the time but never had her questions answered as the teacher was too busy with the other kids in the class.
Throughout her time at home during lockdown, we've noticed her behaviour getting much better. We still get the odd tantrum here and there, but she's 8, so practically an adult now, right?!
Home education had been in the back of our minds since before she even started school, but we wanted her to have the experience and see how she gets on. She loved it, until Year 4. Both her and her teacher set off on the wrong foot, and they didn't like each other to begin with (they're both quite headstrong), which was a surprise to us since our daughter adored every teacher she's had. Their relationship improved fairly quickly though, and our daughter soon learned to appreciate her teacher.
Throughout the lockdown and the homeschooling, her teacher frequently told us how much more and better our daughters work was, which started to make us think of the home education. The fact that our daughter begged to stay at home then just cemented it. I spent weeks diving into research and resources. We actually bought ourselves a new printer specifically for home education. A HP Envy Photo 6200 series, with the InstantInk service of course! All that printing takes lots of ink. It's done an amazing job so far, and we've printed over 100 pages already! The scanner also works really well, which came in handy for using Google Classroom, and sending in some of her completed worksheets to the Local Authority.
So far, we're all enjoying home education, and are looking forward to everything reopening so we can take some fun trips out, not just trips to the park or bike rides. Although my EDS will make some trips more difficult...