20 Apr How to keep kids learning at home during COVID-19

Access tips and resources from teacher educator and former classroom teacher and homeschooling mum, Dr Nikki Brunker.

These tips will keep your kids engaged and learning while they are at home during the Coronavirus outbreak.

~See Dr Nikki Brunker talk about her Top tips for parents and carers

• Don’t worry what others think if your child is in the background or even interrupts you during an online meeting. If you can’t let go of the worry, use a virtual background and headphones.
• Let go of worrying about mess, there won’t be any visitors popping by and if need be the virtual background will hide it all (same with the noise – use headphones).
• Accept that your kids will have more screentime than usual.
• Time fillers are OK. You may find yourself setting your kids up with activities that you would usually cringe at – colouring in, find-a-words – but creating time for them to be busy so you can work undisturbed will be essential.
• Ignore the claim that kids are ‘missing months of learning’. They might miss some teaching, but they will continue learning every moment.
• Find ways for your kids to connect with others. For example, they could use Zoom to share chemistry experiments to do in the kitchen or share ideas to build lego marble runs.
• Be realistic with expectations. One or two things a day might be enough for your child, others might need lots more.
• Some will have activities set by school to complete. Help them work out what they need to do and what could be optional, giving them time to read, watch a movie, create, play, cook, and just be.

Dr Nikki Brunker. PhD(Sydney), BEd(Hons)(Sydney)

Other suggestions:

• Professor Mark Dadds has a handy printable suggestions here
• Sydney University School of Education provides other useful resources for parents working at home here.
• Stuckers – for kids stuck at home and bored (videos)
• Just for kids: The Art Gallery of NSW Together in Art is asking kids to submit their artworks using materials you have at home, to make and share their own inner world with Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton.  Be imaginative, inspiring and adventurous. What you use is up to you.