Striking the balance between your career and supporting your child’s home learning might seem like an impossible task but keep reading as we share our top tips for working from home and homeschooling.
Parents who are working from home and homeschooling can often find it difficult to meet the needs of their child while trying to keep up with the demands of their job. In our experience the level of support your homeschooled child will need will vary depending on their age. Primary age children will have a shorter attention span and require more support and encouragement whereas children homeschooling at IGCSE and A level will, for the most part, manage their studies independently.
Although the thought of working from home and homeschooling may at first appear daunting, rest assured that with Wolsey Hall Oxford you are never on your own. Our highly qualified and experienced Tutors and Student Progress Managers are on hand to answer questions, support and guide you and your child every step of the way.
Our top tips for homeschooling parents working from home
Work smarter not harder
Set aside time during the day when you and your child will work independently. Establish when your child works best and which subjects require the least support from you and schedule these ‘independent working slots’ around that. Explain that by working on their own for a little while they really help mummy and/or daddy to complete their work.
For younger children it will be best to set them tasks they find easier and need less assistance with. For you this is a time to get more focused work done or schedule meetings, without having to worry about interruptions. Always ensure that you have a back-up activity (colouring, a game, time on the tablet) in case they finish their task before you do.
Give your child your undivided attention
Time together is just as important as independent working time. Have periods during the day where you give your child your undivided attention. Help them with trickier subjects or concepts, take time to look at the work they completed on their own, congratulate them for working independently and ask if there was anything they didn’t understand or needed help with.
Be flexible
If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us about homeschooling and working from home, its that a degree of flexibility is needed.
No two days are likely to be the same and it’s important for parents to remember that. By choosing to work from home and homeschool you need to be flexible in both your approach to work and supporting your child’s education. If you have a particularly busy work day it’s not the end of the world if your child has a more relaxed day – you could always catch up on the weekend. By the same token, if your child is struggling with a particular topic or feeling frustrated you could carry over less urgent business to the next day or later in the evening and spend a more time supporting them.
