I Had This - Now I Don't!
Week 4 or is that 5? Hard to know. Each day is starting to blur. The adrenaline that was coursing through my veins just a few weeks, even days ago seems to have burnt itself out. I didn’t think that was a problem though, because you know, I had this.
Turns out I don’t – and I’m not alone.
Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash
Over the weekend we've had more questions than ever about getting on with learning at home. So this week we are going to do a series of quick Q&A blogs to respond to each one directly.
The beginning of the week is starting to feel so overwhelming – especially when I look at the schedule of both my children and see what they have to complete. What are the best tips for overcoming this?
“Starting with the class schedule for that particular day helps,” said your local Principal, Sonia Jardine, “It’s all about establishing a routine and breaking it down into manageable pieces. If you are lucky, most days that will work. But be prepared that some days don’t go to plan.”
Learning from home is not school.
“The challenge for each family is that each day needs to be individualised to each family’s context and that is where it gets tricky.”
Tricky is right. The parent who asked this question has two children, both in the junior school. So we asked what her approach might be like.
Each morning start with fitness, then reading. On the Prep schedule this means reading their take home book, then their word list words and then a choice of either Learning Space, Reading Eggs or now Wushka. Just one of these each day is great – then have a break!
Breaks are critical, explained Sonia.
Funny thing is, through our work with the school I knew all of this. I could’ve drafted this answer myself, but actually, I’d drawn a blank. Why? Because I’m tired. But more about that later.
“Remembering everything we have to do is tiring,” said Sonia, “It’s still new and while we think we’ve got a routine, if you add working from home, running your life and another child to the mix, that is a lot of variables each day.” Mmm, is she is my head?
“Having a simple mantra to fall back on helps. Mental and physical health first, learning second. If it gets too hard on a day – step away. But do it with the understanding that it is back to it after lunch, or the next day. Whatever works for your household.”
The notes I took for this conversation looked like this: start with schedule, exercise, reading (of the books, not fan fiction – oops that was for my teen!) and break – back into it!
But what if I don’t have the opportunity (or the mind!) to be that disciplined? Back into it was something I had to underline (egad). Fortunately someone else has asked that question so that answer is coming up next!
AUTHOR: Lana de Kort