| As of today, busy families in the UK will be adding Home Schooling to their many daily tasks. Trying to balance working from home and teaching may feel challenging but with some careful organisation and planning you can create a happy balance. I have two teenage boys so will be in the same position. My year 11 son has gone from a full-on revision timetable and GCSE mocks to the summer exams being cancelled. But the organisational systems that I set up for him and the support with gave him to manage his revision time effectively will be skills that he can take forward to his six form years. I know that organising your time effectively is key. It provides a clear structure for the day. I wanted to share with you some simple tips that I will be using with my own family. 1. Create a simple timetable for the week – you can use your child’s school timetable as a guide to cover the key subjects and identify opportunities for new activities. Our school have been so helpful in setting up a Google classroom for each year group and recommending work that they can complete. 2. Read more – we’ll definitely be scheduling in time to enjoy reading. 3. Be creative – instead of Art or Design and Technology lessons you can start your own creative projects 4. Let’s cook – We all love to eat so we’ll definitely be scheduling in cookery lessons. This will also help with the extra lunches that need to be prepared. 5. Life skills – we have several spring household projects that we need to start. We’ll be teaching my older son some valuable skills such as wallpapering, painting, gardening etc. 6. Adventure – until a total lock down is announced we’ll be going out on our own adventures (away from crowded areas) 7. Stay Fit – with usual clubs and gyms no longer available over the next few weeks it’s important to look at alternative ways to keep fit. A daily run or home exercise class can be fun. 8. Staying Social – having older children means that its much easier for them to stay in contact with their friends virtually but if you have younger children you might want to schedule in a Facetime call so they can chat with their closest friends or have a virtual play date. 9. Home Work Experience – every household will have valuable work skills that they can pass into their teenage children who are waiting to move on to sixth form, university and the workplace from September. I’ve already been sharing my organisational and time management skills with my teenage son during his revision preparation for GCSES. We’ve also just finished a CV writing lesson. 10. Our Own Space – As much as it’s lovely to spend more quality time with family members we are all used to a different daily structure. It’s important to recognise when each family member needs their own space.I hope this helps! Tracy Ross Professional Organiser & Home Organisation Coach Blissfully Organised |
