Homeschooling During the COVID Pandemic

Here’s another harsh fact. Chinese experts believe that this virus will become a natural part of our daily lives. It’s likely to be seasonal like the flu and be sustained within our bodies. Chances are that you’ll be homeschooling for a while as the world grapples with this reality amidst millions of coronavirus infections and over 200,000 coronavirus deaths.

Your fears and frustrations are valid. It’s still important for your child to get the best education possible. Here’s how you can still make this happen despite being forced to homeschool.

Hire an online tutor

Chances are that a lot of the class material assigned by your child’s teachers looks like Greek to you. When was the last time you solved a quadratic equation? Rather than waste time trying to decipher the hieroglyphics, hire a qualified online tutor who can provide your child with the right assistance.

Some benefits of hiring an online tutor include:

• Access to a wide range of tutors with different skill sets rather than being limited to tutors within a 30-minute radius of your home
• Flexible tutoring schedule
• Lessons are not canceled due to illness, weather or car issues
• Online learning can seem less threatening than face-to-face interaction

Facilitate learning

Patience is important during the teaching and learning process. It’s easy to feel tempted into doing your child’s work. After all, it’s much easier that way.

Think about it this way. Your child learns nothing when you do all the work. Instead, you’re teaching your child to be completely dependent on you and to pass off anything that’s a bit challenging to someone else.

Your role as your child’s homeschool teacher is to facilitate the learning process. Sure, you can provide guidance (especially when your child is learning something new). However, you should gradually reduce that guidance until your child is able to do the work independently.

Make learning fun

Worksheets, quizzes, tests…yawn! The best learning occurs when a child is able to make the connection between the content and real life. Granted, this may take a lot more work on your part but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Look at the content your child’s teacher has sent for the week and find some interesting activities. Here’re some ideas:

• Scavenger hunt in your backyard
• Printable board games
• Talent showcase where your child has to recite a poem from English class in front of the entire family

Learning space for homeschooling

Your kid had grown accustomed to the routine of waking up each weekday, getting ready, and then hopping on the bus to go to school. Homeschooling has changed this norm and probably thrown your child off balance.

It’s still important for you to schedule learning time in a well-lit, distraction-free area at home. Try to get a good two to four academic hours in before your child runs off to play.

Customized lessons

Ask your child to take this online learning style quiz so that you can determine how he or she learns best. The results can help you choose the right way to structure what the teacher sends to increase your child’s chances of learning.

For instance, a visual learner will learn better from highly visual content. On the other hand, a tactile learner benefits from a more hands-on learning experience. Again, setting up the right learning environment and material for your child will require work on your part. However, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Final words

It’s time to put on your superhero cape and give your child the best homeschool experience possible. Homeschooling may continue to be the norm as the uncertainty of the coronavirus perpetuates. These five tips can help you become a homeschooling Jedi, ready to keep your child on track with his or her learning goals.