I have been a teacher and tutor for 13 years now and I pride myself on how patient I am with my students. However, when it comes to teaching my own children, for some reason, that patience is nowhere to be found.
Like many families, we often end up arguing when it comes to homework, so the thought of homeschooling scares me just as much as it does you.
In my last post, I talked about how to keep the process as simple as you possibly can so you are not overwhelmed by it. And in this post I will discuss how to keep calm and stay sane because even if we’re keeping it simple and we’re staying organised, there will still be moments when we feel like we might lose our temper.
Firstly, start the day with time to yourself. If that means getting up half an hour before everyone else does, do it! You won’t be getting much alone time for the foreseeable. So, make sure that you give yourself time to have a cup of coffee in peace, do your makeup or even a workout. This will start your day off on the right foot.
Secondly, make a schedule (timetable) and stick to it. Not just for your homeschooling, but also for all daily tasks e.g. getting the kids ready for the day, breakfast and time that you need to do your own work. Everyone will know what they should be doing and when and the routine will keep you sane.
Next, get the kids involved with the chores. You will probably be spending more time in the house than you usually do, which inevitably means that it will be messier than usual. For me, clutter and mess give me anxiety. If you’re the same, make sure that the whole family gets involved in keeping the house clean and tidy. This will give you more time to focus on homeschooling and your own work.
Now there will still be moments in the coming weeks when you will want to scream, for whatever reason, just do the following:
- It’s a classic, close your eyes and count to ten. If this doesn’t work and you need more time, go to the bathroom and spend a few minutes concentrating on your breathing.
Try a mantra. Reciting a calming phrase in your head will help you to hold in your impatience before you pop (‘I can do this!’). Have breaks in between lessons. Sitting together for 30 minutes can get a bit tense, especially if you’re already feeling stressed. Have breaks as and when you need them, even if they’re not scheduled but you need a few minutes to yourself, just do it.
Finally, I think we should also be mindful that, with everything going on right now, our children are probably very confused and some may even be worried.
Make sure you talk to your children, explain what’s happening in the world right now. You don’t need to go into detail but try to get them to understand that we are living through an extremely difficult situation and we all need to pull together to get through it.
Also, keep them active, I mentioned in my first blog that The Body Coach will be running daily PE lessons on his Youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1/videos ). Also, daily yoga and meditation will be extremely beneficial. You can do these activities together.
What I’m about to say next, some of you may not agree with, but during this crazy time I think that watching TV, playing on their computers and phones is absolutely fine, even if it’s for a good few hours a day. We are living in a strange, uncertain time right now and all of the usual rules are out of the window. In just a week or so we have had to completely restructure our lives. If you and/or your partner are still working from home and you need some peace and quiet, get it anyway you can and do not feel guilty!
If you need any support or advice, just email me (info@wooltontuition.co.uk).
Thanks
Caitlin x