9 weeks done Mama’s. I cant quite believe it. 9 weeks of attempting to be a teacher. Attempting to find extra patience, more empathy, pretend I know the Maths they are learning (wish I listened in class now) and also I am missing that loving teacher vibe. I guess if you had told anyone in January that all the parents in the world would become teachers from March we would have all laughed. I wouldn’t have even been able to comprehend what that would mean. How would it work? Well, here we are – Making it work. Here I am getting excited for star of the week (surely we deserve it too) and the excitement that in 5 weeks I will be ready to receive my teachers end of the year gift (small blue box) please and thanks. Joking aside NEXT asked me to share a few things that have helped us make our way through home schooling, so I have jotted them below.
First off I would say create a gorgeous space where they are happy to learn. I feel like the day starts off better when the room is clean, we have soft music in the background and some gorgeous candles burning.
Plan out snacks and lunches the night before so you are able to pretend it Is a normal school day. Still have break time and lunch time at the times you would if you were in school.
Free time is super important. We enjoy going outside for snack time (our first break of the day) while it is still cool. At lunch time we treat ourselves to a tv show while eating our lunch.
Plan a zoom call after school every few days with one of their friends. It really does help and hearing them giggle on those calls makes it worth it.
Cooking is a great way to help them learn maths and then we enjoy those treats together as a family when our school day is finished. Plus I really feel like my girls need to learn to cook better then I can cook – raising fierce leaders here!
A great way to burn off energy is to do PE with Joe Wicks. If we feel like we need a little mindfulness we do Yoga with Cosmic Kids or simply color in while listening to soothing music. We actually have a spotify full of play lists that anyone can listen into and you can check it out by clicking HERE.
The main tip would be that we each know our own children and that we need to be forgiving of ourselves and them. If the day isn’t going as planned – it is ok to pick up a book and read together and then start a fresh tomorrow. We all have good and bad days but as long as we make a good attempt thats all we can hope for really.
After school we are LOVING classes with the Dubai Performing Arts Academy. We are currently signed up for Musical theatre, Contemporary and Street Dance – The teachers Adele and Stephanie have been nothing short of amazing!
We celebrate finishing each day with a swim in the pool or blow up water slide and we try to get that Thursday feeling by swimming til late, making popcorn and watching movies.
What are your home school tips? I would love to hear them. I would also love to know how you celebrate that its the weekend!
Helly xx