Homeschooling Schedule and Resources for parents during COVID-19 outbreak (free printable) : Best tips for homeschooling beginner parents and their children

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Hi friends! Homeschooling is the new reality as COVID-19 continues to spread, and we’re all doing our parts to flatten the curve of spread. It’s likely schools closures will be extended. Before a vaccine is available globally, social distancing must continue. Staying at home will help save lives and prevent hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. Homeschooling is how we as parents and children can do our parts to buy our healthcare systems time.

As homeschooling is our new reality, we must treat homeschooling seriously. This is not a snow day. It is not an extension of spring or summer break. To be successful, planning and organization will be helpful. Treat this temporary homeschooling as real and “regular” school. Here are some tips for homeschooling beginner parents and their children.

Get dressed and ready to start the day

Your children should change out of their pajamas and get dressed to start their day of homeschooling. Parents also should be fully dressed to play the role of teachers, and it is helpful to be fully dressed while working from home.

Stick to the same morning routines

Before Phil rode the school bus each morning, he would wake up early enough to watch an episode of Pokemon. Every morning before home school now, Phil still wakes up early enough to watch an episode of Pokemon and eat his breakfast

Follow a schedule

Following a schedule is so important, as children follow schedules at “regular school.” I work and volunteer in Phil’s school district; therefore, I am well-versed in his school’s scheduling system. You can email your child’s teacher and ask for your child’s school schedule, and mirror that at home. Or you can follow a newly-built schedule for home schooling your child.

Our sample schedule from 8:30A to 3:30P

Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, watching one episode of Phil’s favorite cartoon
Morning meeting and stretches: What’s the date, the weather, and how Phil and I are feeling
Pledge of allegiance
Reading, together and independently
Choice time (child picks an activity- toys, Legos, puzzles)
CodeSpark coding time on iPad
Lunch time
Art
Writing
Choice time
Outdoor activity (biking, yard work, walking the dog, jogging)
Day ends

If your child’s school has a fully planned out remote curriculum for him/her to follow, great! Focus on your child’s teacher’s school curriculum first, and then fill the rest of the day with home school activities. (In California, children have to log into Google Hangout and their attendance is taken daily!)

>Here’s a free printable of our sample homeschooling schedule.<

>Here’s a free printable of a blank homeschooling schedule.<

>Here’s a free printable American flag you can use during the Pledge of Allegiance.<

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Don’t forget to have fun

You’re probably asking, how can you make homeschooling more fun for everyone? Well, do activities together. Be sure to also let your child choose and give suggestions. Add in a “Take your child to work” activity. Your child can shadow one parent as that parent works remotely. Baking and cooking are fun STEM activities. Yard work can be PE. Design a t-shirt together. Paint rocks. Watch a virtual zoo or aquarium tour together. Build in fun activities into the day. Allow for rest and snack breaks.

Prevent burning out

Homeschooling is not a sport or a competition. COVID-19 coronavirus homeschooling is not regular school. Parents and guardians barely had time to prepare, so we’re not expecting full curriculums, standardized assessments, and every day filled with different activities. That is not sustainable, especially when many of us are also working from home. Prevent yourselves from burning out. Quiet time, reading a book time, playing in the yard, cooking together, doing chores together, or just chill-laxing— all that can be a part of home school. As this is the new reality, it also has to be sustainable. Your children do not need activities every minute of the day, and you do not have to think of the next great thing to fill their schedules. Allow your children to be bored. Build in meditation and relaxation time into your daily schedules. Don’t burn out as it’s only the beginning of these long school closures.