Tips For Schooling Your Child At Home

Kamini Vidisha Jun 05, 2020

In the morning every day, a familiar sight plays out in most of my friends’ houses. The kids’ login first, followed by the one parent followed by the second. And it is pretty much the same order in which they logout from their Zoom sessions. The schools are mostly doing a good job of keeping the kids engaged with a lot of help from the parents. Yet, the most common argument I have heard from the parents about all this effort is “they are trying to justify the fees they charge”. This frustration with this makeshift system stems from the added effort the parents have to put in, which would have otherwise been put in by the teacher.

However, one cannot wish away this situation and it will help if we use it to the benefit of our kids. This is not classroom teaching and so using the same yardstick to measure efficiency in both the situations is inaccurate. Here are a few ways to help improve this experience:  

-  Kids are learning from us but now they are observing us even more closely. So, it is imperative to behave at most times, though it can be a little exhausting. But at the same time, it Is a good way for them to understand that real people have a wide range of emotions and it is all right to feel happy, sad, frustrated, tired, scared, satisfied etc. This also gives them the license, to be honest about their feelings and we parents need to encourage such introspection.

-  In a home learning environment, most kids are usually under constant adult supervision. Videoconferencing sessions are essentially 2-dimensional interactions, unlike a school environment. We have all spent time doing naughty things and being distracting or getting distracted in class. This is all part of the learning experience. In a class at home, the kid is under pressure that the parents are constantly judging him and therefore lose their natural behaviour. Letting them have their own space when they are attending online lectures is a way to retain their natural rhythm of learning.

-  Kids learn a lot from their social interactions – they are missing their friends due to social distancing, but the parents can use this time to get to know them better. Regularly play games as a family and try to keep it free-flowing rather than it being an opportunity to preach. Play is anyways an important component of learning, especially at formative stages. It can be used to deepen bonds and establish a connection between different family members.

-  Encourage the kids to explore things outside their books – there are a large number of online resources readily available today. Use them to inculcate curiosity in the kids. Let them do research on topics that they are eager to know more about, do small projects to understand it better and undertake courses online if the interest deepens. Variety is a critical component of the 21st-century learning process, hence try to be in the zones which are uncomfortable – different kind of things, from role-playing games to tinkering activities and others which are based on the use of both their body and mind are important for the all-round development of your kids.

While we cannot wish away the circumstances we are in, there is always a silver lining. While our kids are less distracted and more available than usual, this experience can be used to deepen our relationships with them and to help them embrace the family ideals should we be able to dig deep into our reserves of love, patience and creativity.