Home Learning 101

Home learning! Hello old friend 👋

Things change quickly around here and we have just heard we’re heading into another stint of home learning.

Melbourne and UK friends, we know we have nothing on you… you are pros at the home learning situation… we haven’t done it for over a year and have massive respect for you!

If you’re a kindy parent, this is new to you. It’s tough. I get it.

Last time round…

Last year, our little guy had just started Kindy, started making friends, settling into school… when the lockdown happened. 

An extended stint of home learning with the inclusion of a preschooler and two toddlers has given me a little to go from and can hopefully provide those of us who are new to learning from home with a few tips to make it as smooth as possible.

The nice thing is, our little guy has the fondest memories of this time at home… which is lovely!

How will I “teach” when the others are running amok??

The truth is, it’s a juggle for EVERYONE. 

It’s helpful to realise that the learning content won’t take up your whole day.

Seeing as we don’t have class-wide behaviour management, transitions between rooms, extra-curricular activities, changes of teachers etc that the school day does, the learning time can be compressed significantly and I found that we did a solid 1-2 hours in the morning of English (reading and writing) and Maths.

The other things like science, history, geography, personal development etc could be done across other times of the day here and there and it didn’t matter if the other kids were noisy and amongst it all.

My child is sad about not returning to school -

Like most things in parenting, it’s all in the packaging/delivery.

Package it to your kids as a wonderful time!

When Gladys announced the learning from home on Wednesday, we spoke to our kids about it with positivity and smiles on our faces. They already know they are missing out on seeing their friends and getting back into their routines, so sell them the perks – more play, no uniforms and more play! Who doesn’t want their mum as their teacher… right?! Ha.

Try not to panic - make a plan (well, you can plan the space at least)

Remember, every school operates differently, so wait for comms from them (this may not be until Monday next week, and it will be fine). We were so impressed by the teachers and the way they so readily equipped us with what we needed for this time of learning from home, last year… so don’t panic about the work.

Need to fill in some time with some educational value? After board games…

Some easy-to-navigate, free websites for early learners include:

starfall.com

Free apps include:

epic! Kids books and videos

duck duck moose - maths

For the little ones:

abc kids play

duck duck moose - various activities

Bordem buster: Lego Challenge using one of your unused lunch boxes - fill the sections with random lego pieces (to make it even more fun, do the challenge with a friend). There are plenty of these on Pinterest if you need Inspo.

Following is a list of things I found useful to have in the ‘learning space’ so that the time spent was efficient and not spent running around trying to find pencils and paper or numbers and letters to refer to when you are also ducking out to check on the others.

2020 - Nothing special - just a desk set up in the corner of the kitchen area with a few bits and pieces accessible. I later added a 1-20 number line. Ignore those two words on the wall. He was a beginning writer!

The Learning Space -

-       Desk/table and chair that are separate from other activities (ie not the craft table if others will end up cutting and pasting glitter all over the school work)

-       Small (A4 sized) Whiteboard x 2 (so you can write/model on one, them on the other)… I promise you’ll always use these 

-       Whiteboard markers (and sock as rubber)

-       Counters and a dice (nab these from a board game - we are using the houses and dice from Monopoly and tooth-picks/small skewers for bundling)

-       Alphabet chart with upper and lower case, visible https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/73324300162072289/

-       Number line 1-20 or 100 chart (easily found online) https://www.2nd-grade-math-salamanders.com/image-files/number-line-0-to-20-printable-1b.gif // https://allourdays.com/learning-to-count-to-100/

-       Lead and coloured pencils

-       Eraser (for you, not them)

-       iPad/computer (ipads are easier to navigate starting Kindy but not essential)

-       Glue stick

-       Scrap book (or paper) https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/studymate-165x240-100gsm-mini-monster-scrapbook-64-page-minimonsta

-       Headphones (optional)

-       Optional: Little timetable for each day so they know what’s coming up (can just be in chalk/marker/on paper – no need to get fancy!! The teacher may even send one that you can use)

2021 edition… the desk has been well used!

REMEMBER, there is no one breathing down your neck or assessing you on your teaching skills - you’re just a facilitator and we’re all just doing the best we can. These 4 days are not going to make or break your child.

The great part about using a whiteboard, is that they can rub out super easily and you really save on paper. Capture their work with your phone if you need a record or upload straight to seesaw or whatever learning platform your school uses.

What to do with the little ones…

As our guy was at the beginning of Kindy, I wanted to give him the focus he needed at that time. I found that having a separate activity that didn’t require parental input was helpful. We popped on an episode of Playschool followed by another half hour show (in another room) WITH snacks. This meant he could focus and they were happy for that time.

Yes, it’s perhaps more screen time than usual… but you do what you have to do!

There were some days where screens weren’t going to cut it and they needed something to do. I found busytoddler on Instagram to have so many great ideas.

Our go-tos included stickers, paint sticks, name tracing (for the preschooler), rainbow rice, playdough and cutting activities close by - all requiring little assistance. For preschoolers, a scavenger hunt is also a great way of getting them in the backyard finding things too.

I found it helpful to pack the lunch boxes for the little ones…. just so I wasn’t being called upon all day for snacks. Once you finished your box, you were done!

Follow the lines with stickers - takes longer than you think!

Our lockdown friend, rainbow rice

Leaf cutting, care of @busytoddler

Shape match/hunt using washy tape and trusty wooden blocks

A backyard scavenger hunt! (clearly not the middle of Winter)

A final thought

Look, I know this info isn’t life changing stuff… but I hope it’s eased your mind a little and provided you with a list of things to get you started if you haven’t done the home learning thing before.

This year things will be shaken up a little for us, with one child in Year One and another in Kindy (with a preschooler and toddler in tow), so we have set up two tables not too far from each other. One is usually the lego table (that will take a transformation for this time). Both are in view of me in the kitchen area - a public space. I’m sure there will be some hairy moments, but we’ll get through it. It’s all in our head-game, right?!

The Covid-season has definitely reminded me about the value of staying flexible… and this is just as true for home learning.

Happy home learning… We can do this!! 💪