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

[shansterx]

I learned that ink has definitely risen in price to what I was used to years ago. Also I learned that remote learning doesn't involve much paperwork, and mostly everything was done over screen. I'm so glad they're back at school because too much screen time cannot be a good thing.

[lms2017]

I learned my child has the ability to say mummy over 400 times a minute !!

[SlipperyLizard]

I learned that schools are still grappling with technology, some materials didn’t print because they weren’t always PDFs, not all teachers seem to understand how to make lessons user friendly for home learning (boxes with text and coloured background using up all the ink!).

[AppleBlossomTimeNow]

Chasing the cat = PE
Making mummy a cup of tea = Domestic Science
Poking her sister with a fork to see if she bleeds = Biology
Counting mummy's forehead wrinkles = Maths
Learning to spell 'apoplectic' = English
Whacking the dodgy printer because it has stopped working again = IT
Stealing mummy's favourite nail varnish = Art
Long walks in the pouring rain with associated moaning about British weather = Geography

[tiredandgrumpy]

I learned that my daughter really needed to change school & she can fly when given the opportunity. That there are some really great teachers out there who could engage kids even remotely over zoom.

[SayNoMor]

I realised that DS has the best form teacher who regularly used to check in with all kids to make sure that things at home were okay and that DS was coping with remote learning. I also learned that DS is quite the expert in Latin.

[Whytie]

I learned that home schooling is not the most terrible thing ever. It's all just about scheduling and making sure the kids don't get bored.

[mophia]

I learned new programs like Zoom are really helpful for keeping in contact with teachers.

[ruqiya1965]

I learned that teaching might be something I could do in the future. I also learned that ink runs out really quickly!

[PickledChicory]

I've learnt a lot about myself and am now very sure I would never contemplate home schooling my kids. In general dd7 and ds4 did not respond well to structured home learning. However I learned how to engage and interest them by turning day to day activities eg our daily walk, cooking or caring for our pets into learning opportunities. I am grateful as I am better in tune with my kids abilities, interests and strengths/weaknesses where learning is concerned.

[rosierodger1]

I learnt to appreciate teachers but also that we don't have to equal the professionald, children are eager to learn naturally, you will be surprised how much they learn from day to day life, living skills. Organising, timing, lots of kitchen science. Lots of It skills, they will work it out. Easter egg hunts demonstrate they CAN find things!

[maisietoo]

I learned that my children know more about computers and apps than I do!

[itsywitsy]

I learned to be more organised, and to have a greater respect for teachers - all of the work they did in the. background, sending worksheets and being there for zoom lessons - keeping interest up by just a voice is to be congratulated.

[buckley1983]

WOW.. HUGE respect for teachers, if I ever (in my ignorance!) moaned jealously about the amount time off they get - I never will again!! They absolutely need & deserve that time!!
Trying to engage my son in learning activities for any length of time was exhausting - & I just have one child! I hadn't realised how impatient I can be! The good thing though, was appreciating the learning we can find in the everyday - my son engaged much better when we were actively doing a physical activity than he did with a worksheet. Cue much baking, digging, bug hunting & plasticine modelling! :)
Full respect to all the mums & dads carrying out this role throughout the various lockdowns - it's not easy :) & teachers.. we love you! You deserve every single one of those chocs, bottles of wine & flowers at the end of term :)

[sheilads105]

I learned how hard it is to be a teacher! I learned what really grabbed my daughter's interest, how she preferred to learn by doing and how her attention span was really quite short.

[UnderHisAye]

I learned that it is an amazing thing to watch children learn. That moment when you finally find the right way to explain a concept, and you see the light come on behind their eyes is magic.

I quite often found myself brought to tears watching them try, try, and try again at something, master a new idea, learn a new word, move on to the next stage of reading, etc. Getting more of an insight into who my children are in this different world of education was profoundly moving for me.

[Rae1000]

What have I learned...photographing and uploading work, audio and videos too.
Maths, physics particularly. Learned I like history more now than I ever did as a kid.
Tried to learn letting my kids take more responsibility for their own learning

[burwellmum]

I learnt that my DS was capable of harder work and getting better results than he had ever demonstrated at school without much input from me. Shows what an impact a couple of disruptive influences can have on the rest of the class (or at least the easily distracted members.)

[Carriecakes80]

I've been unschooling my kids at home for the past 7 years and I love every second of it!
What I have learned from my time with my kids at home is how much kids learn when they are having fun.
After school clubs such as Beavers Cubs and Drama fulfils their friendships and their social times, while the rest of the time they get to learn what interests them...and it truly works. Kids naturally WANT to learn, and I have found mine thrive massively and so happily outside of a school environment.

[katemc2014]

Def learned that I could never be a teacher and that if it had gone on much longer we would have fallen out! I found it easier to print stuff off as it was clearer to follow

[LlamaDrama20]

I learned that my dyslexic DS doesn't respond well to most traditional forms of teaching but that he is actually phenomenally bright and responds well to highly visual forms of learning such as YouTube (especially where he can pause and rewind things he doesn't get first time).

[xxxxclarexxxx]

I've learnt how useful a printer is for his work! How to be a zoom and teams master! Not only for my son but in my last 6 months of uni we had to navigate this also in the first lockdown! So I'm quite the pro now!! I've learnt my sons resilience is really amazing he has just got on with it, but can see how a routine is better for him now he's back at school properly.

Think it's shown me how mature he is and made me really rather proud of him! I'm a newly qualified nurse and his dad a retail manager so we've both been at work throughout and he has just got stuck in and knuckled down with work set by his school!

[fishnships]

Luckily my son is now a sixth-former so there has been very little home schooling done by me. Quick reminders of 'have you done your homework' or asking what lessons he has and trying to help if I can. At his stage of education I see my role more to make his life easier by feeding him etc, Luckily his Academy have instilled in him a sense of self-reliance and a good work ethic, so he basically just gets on with it. I do feel sympathy for those home schooling young ones - dodged a bullet there

[skippink]

I learnt that I needed to be super organised the night before so it could go as smoothly as possible the next day.
I also learnt that I shouldn’t put too much pressure on myself and if some of the work had to be done another day then so be it.

[jan9876]

I've learned that my printer isn't great! That we prefer some paper resources, not just all online stuff. And that kids need others to be stimulated and feel motivated, it is very hard on their own! And that I am not a teacher and so glad to give it back to the actual teachers.