It’s time to fasten your seat belts and get ready for the school ride. Many parents have always relied on the teacher to get their child through school, but now that Covid-19 is here, parents share equal responsibility when helping their kids.

Teaching kids from home can be a difficult and frustrating process, because many parents either don’t have time to help out with school work or sometimes it sounds just a tad bit too complicated to help out. But if we really want to see our kids flourish then as parents or older siblings, we have to set the time aside and sit with our kids in order for them to improve.

With COVID-19 kids only attend school on certain days of the week. The days off from school shouldn’t be seen as a holiday or rest day for the kids; this is crucial. The days at home are a time for your child, cousin or sibling to catch up or do additional school-related activities.

My younger cousins, ages 7, 9 and 11 are all helped by my father, so I see and interact with them on a daily basis regarding their school work.

Here are a few tips that I think are important when helping kids study from home:

1. Do something school related everyday

Since it’s very common for parents and teachers to be in WhatsApp group chats right now, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to get the intended school work needed for your child. Follow the group rigorously and make sure that your child completes the work in the given time period.

If you find that your child has completed all his or her notes, then you can teach them upfront and get ahead of the class or you could get them to read. My younger cousins read almost every day and that has shown at their end of last year’s results.

2. Make time for breaks

As with school, your child’s attention span is not long and they can’t focus on school work all the time. Be sure to have adequate breaks for them. During the break they can relax and perhaps watch a bit of TV or they could help out with the household chores.

3. Have a strict bedtime regime

The days that your child doesn’t attend school doesn’t mean their whole schedule should be disrupted. Ensure that your child goes to bed every night at the same time. In my home my cousins go to bed at 8pm every night. Sticking to a bed time routine will really help your child focus the next day and give them the extra boost of energy that they may need.

4. Get acquainted with your child’s work

Let’s be honest, these days the school work that kids deal with is far more advanced than ever before and it can be difficult to help out your child when they ask you a question that they may not understand. Try and get acquainted with your child’s work, whether that be maths, science or languages. Every little bit of knowledge you know helps them in the long run.

If you’re not entirely sure how to help your child, then please do turn to the internet. There are loads of resources online that could prove an answer.

5. Quiet learning environment

When working or studying, a quiet environment is always best as there’s less likelihood of getting distracted. My cousins are lucky enough to have a nice quiet area at the dining room table. If you don’t have a desk then simply create a makeshift desk or whatever works, as long as the space is in a quiet area.

6. Test your child

Testing for kids can be frightening at times so it would be ideal if you test your children once in a while. My younger cousins often get home made tests on spelling words or maths. The tests not only prepare them for school, but it also create an environment for healthy competition. No one wants to get less than their sibling on a test, so they work really hard to study and memorise everything.

My cousins’ latest test was that they were tasked with reading a single page of a book. The trick was that they really had to focus as any given word on the page could be tested. This sort of focused reading and testing really helps them understand what they are reading and it helps with memory recall.

COVID-19 has and still is a hindrance in every possible way, but we have to work around it somehow. It’s up to parents to take the reins as teachers cannot do everything. It may be tough, but with a strict, learning conducive environment, anything is possible.

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If you enjoyed this then read on how to create a schedule here

Tell us: How do you help your young ones study during this challenging time?