Often when we shift from schooling to homeschooling, the anxiety of “not missing an opportunity” can put a lot of pressure on parents as well as on to the kids.
Here are some ideas to begin and slowly fond your own way to move ahead
- Everyday bring one planned exposure for your child – something you do together. It can vary from cooking to maths.
- Preferably have fixed time and place for that – both of you commit to being disciplined (this helps, else it gets diluted in few days when other pressing issues of maids and conference calls pop up),
- Rest of the day can be self-driven – both of you are free of each other and do what and how you want to do.
- If possible share your planning in the beginning of the day – so you both are aware of each other’s needs. Clarify “will be able to drive to the swimming pool or not”. It may help in a peaceful day.
- At the end of the day – share and reflect. You can reflect in many different ways. Some samples here
- As you go along add music, dance, peers, different activities, cubs, courses etc in your agenda.
ENVIRONMENT – Make the environment rich with resources – you do not need rich resources, but you need resources. A bag full of different ropes and threads can be a rich resource to explore many concepts, you will be surprised your child spending 3 days with it.
RESOURCES
- Create resource together, arrange them, organize together – this helps in working independently, else throughout the day child will keep coming back to you “where is that? and you would not want to leave your conference call in-between”.
- Creating together also helps in managing together – you are not the only one trying to fix a broken speaker.
SOME MORE EXPOSURE
- Visit places
- Visit people
- Create a peer to peer opportunities (any age)
- Travel
- You work on any project
- Invite people to work on different projects
While you do all that keep on looking for solutions for the various problems you face (you think).
- what you decide to do, do you really do?
- watching TV the whole day
- not focus on one work
- need inputs in maths/language
- not showing interest in science
- only work with crafts
- talk to much
- stealing and lying
- depending on you (not learning independently and this worries you because it goes against the theory each child is independent and curious learner)
- not into hard work
- does not value time
- does not keep commitments
- work only in one way
- respect for each other
- prono sites
- not reading classics
- not having passion
- eating too much or less
- etc
- etc
For each issue, try many different solutions – something will enlightenment you and child both. In the process of exploring
- You may start looking at issue differently
- or Your child may find some fun in doing it differently
- or Your thinking may change
- or Your child’s needs/interest may change
Connect with the community. Happy learning together.