Home-schooling a lesson for the whole of family
TIPS from parents who already home-school their children are being given to those who now have to keep their children occupied during an enforced extended Easter holiday break.
Online teaching platforms, such as ClassDojo and the Guille-Alles rhyme time, as well as activities directly with their children themselves, including teaching them handwriting and maths are being used to keep children both entertained and schooled while some parents work from home.
Aon financial accounts manager Laura Hubert has a seven-year-old daughter and said her employers had been great setting her up to work from home some weeks ago.
‘Work have been so understanding of the fact many of us have families which makes it difficult to work,’ she said.
‘They have been accommodating in making sure mental health isn’t suffering from being home and isolated.
‘Internet connectivity has been the main issue with two others in the household also working from home, so I’ve had to work before everyone wakes up every morning, from around 4am until 9am, then working a few more hours later on.’
Her daughter Mollie Hervé came out of school on Friday.
‘It was awful – she was very unsettled and didn’t know how to express her stress and worry about it all,’ she said.
‘Now she’s settled in more and understands better about the virus, we’ve been doing educational activities including gardening, painting, and using school resources.
‘There are tons more resources from Islandmums online, it’s almost overwhelming.
‘Plus, parents who already home-school their children are also giving tips.’
Mollie, 7, said she was sad not to be at school.
‘I’m talking to my friends on FaceTime and it’s been fun painting and playing with our pets,’ she said.
Other parents were finding it quite difficult to work, but said they were adapting to the situation.
Natasha Axworthy, who has a four-year-old son and is working for one of the island’s private banks, said it was a completely different experience working from home.
‘At the moment I’m still doing a few hours at work, as are a few others, but by next week I think everyone will have cleared out,’ she said.
‘Days can be quite disjointed trying to balance work with Ted [her son], but we are adjusting.
‘We’ve been out for social distancing walks and try to find quiet spots where nobody is around.
‘For activities we’ve done some maths, handwriting, and made some bouncing balls, though it can be difficult teaching from home.’
