Homeschooling tips for parents working from home

Make your job as teacher and employee easier with this expert advice from BritMums and fellow parents!

1. Plan and schedule homeschooling

   Create a homeschooling theme: Luschka at Diary of a First Child has advice for planning and scheduling, sharing how she goes about picking themes and developing ideas. I loved the addition of suggestions for your own themed learning projects!

2. Be realistic in your homeschooling plans

   We’ve all basically been around the block a little now. Don’t fall into the trap of believing learning at home must now be Bigger/Better/More Awesome/Added Pressure! Integrate techniques and schedules that work for your family and be guided by your previous successes and failures.

3. Develop a 3-hour homeschool solution

   Don’t fret about creating a huge plan to fully replace your child’s entire school experience. The Simple Homeschool blog has a great 3 hour homeschool solution that addresses anxiety, fears and helps you create a framework.

4. Include your child in planning

   We have been here before…and your approach can benefit from it. Ask your child which parts of homeschooling they liked best and what that learned from earlier efforts. You can even ask them to plan a learning activity you do together that lets them integrate their homeschool and school-school experience this time round.

5. Continue to use advice from seasoned homeschooling parents

   Even with the lockdowns of 2020, many of us are still new to this experience. Checking in with seasoned homeschoolers will yield additional insights and keep improving your child’s and your experience! Adele Jarrett Kerr shares her top tips as a home educator. Other ones to check in with include Freddie’s Mummy, Confessions of a Homeschooler, Five Escape the Classroom, Rahmah Muslim Home School, Our Muslim Homeschool and Enchanted Pixie.

6. Get into a homeschooling routine

   Jenny from Edspire is a longtime member of the BritMums community and a great source of knowledge about homeschooling. She shares her best advice for getting into a teaching routine that makes the other aspects easier.

7. Focus on a range of different topics

   As a homeschooling parent you have suddenly become an expert (or at least more knowledgeable!) on topics you may have not studied for years. OFamilyLearningTogether has some wonderful resources for teaching younger children subjects like maths, biology, geography and more — we love how practical this advice is.

8. Acknowledge your time constraints

   Even if the government isn’t speaking directly to the challenge of families juggling parenting, schooling and working all at once, we’ve all noticed: there are only 24 hours in a day. You can’t write a report, take a Zoom call, supervise your child’s worksheets and cook a meal all at once. Some days will be busier for work and that will mean less homeschooling. That’s OK.