29 min

Coronavirus: Making the most of home learning The Teachers' Podcast

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In this episode of the Teachers’ Podcast, Claire considers the extraordinary circumstances we are all currently experiencing and shares some ideas for home-learning in the event of school closures or isolation.

Over the last few weeks, everyone, not just those in education, has faced a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen. Parents will, almost certainly, face some very troubling and difficult times in the coming weeks. Along with the likelihood of jobs being affected and family members possibly becoming ill, many will find themselves in the situation of having to occupy and educate their children at home – most likely in isolation or with few, if any, options for places to go.

There are many companies and organisations doing all they can to help parents, teachers and schools. Details of these can usually be found online – generally on social media forums including Classroom Secrets’ own dedicated Facebook support group: Coronavirus Home Learning Support for Teachers and Parents.

In this podcast, Claire discusses a number of different ideas for supporting children at home – whether you are a parent in need of inspiration or a teacher looking for suggestions to send home – and she talks about how to make the most of what will undoubtably be very challenging circumstances. Schools and teachers could also share the link to this podcast with their parents via their website or social media channels as an alternative way to hear about activities they might want to try.

Classroom Secrets, and our sister site Classroom Secrets Kids, will do our very best to support teachers and parents in the coming weeks and months. Everyone in the company sends their best wishes to all who are affected in any way and we hope you and your loved ones are able to stay safe and well.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Classroom Secrets will do what we can to support your children’s learning.We have created free home-learning packs for each year-group which can be downloaded and, if you wish, printed out for children to complete. If you are a teacher, these can be sent home to parents as suggested activities. The home learning packs cover a range of mathematics and English activities pitched at different abilities, along with practical ideas, so all children can have something they can complete.Along with this, Classroom Secrets Kids – our sister site – is packed full of interactive activities for maths, grammar, reading, phonics and other subjects. All of the content is aimed specifically at children to enable them to learn independently. At the time of recording, the site is in BETA and is totally free for the duration of its development in this stage. We are continually adding new and exciting activities and all children in a class or family can have their own individual logon.
Social media is full of ideas and offers.If you are stuck for suggestions, or just don’t know where to turn for a particular problem or concept, there is always social media. A lot of forums and discussions have been set up to help parents and teachers in these challenging times. Just have a look on Facebook or Twitter using hashtags such as #education, #edchat and #teaching.You can always come along to Classroom Secrets’ own Facebook support group (Coronavirus Home Learning Support for Teachers and Parents) where we are sharing live videos of practical ways to learn. It also has a mentoring section where you can direct questions to volunteers who might be able to give you help or further suggestions.
Create and stick to routines.Routines are important for maintaining stability with children – especially younger children. Although setting up new routines in the event of school closures or isolation might seem daunting, these don’t need to mirror the school day and don’t necessarily need to follow a ‘9 to 3’ pattern. However, agreeing set times for when learning activities will take place, and which are kept to, will be beneficial for making

In this episode of the Teachers’ Podcast, Claire considers the extraordinary circumstances we are all currently experiencing and shares some ideas for home-learning in the event of school closures or isolation.

Over the last few weeks, everyone, not just those in education, has faced a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen. Parents will, almost certainly, face some very troubling and difficult times in the coming weeks. Along with the likelihood of jobs being affected and family members possibly becoming ill, many will find themselves in the situation of having to occupy and educate their children at home – most likely in isolation or with few, if any, options for places to go.

There are many companies and organisations doing all they can to help parents, teachers and schools. Details of these can usually be found online – generally on social media forums including Classroom Secrets’ own dedicated Facebook support group: Coronavirus Home Learning Support for Teachers and Parents.

In this podcast, Claire discusses a number of different ideas for supporting children at home – whether you are a parent in need of inspiration or a teacher looking for suggestions to send home – and she talks about how to make the most of what will undoubtably be very challenging circumstances. Schools and teachers could also share the link to this podcast with their parents via their website or social media channels as an alternative way to hear about activities they might want to try.

Classroom Secrets, and our sister site Classroom Secrets Kids, will do our very best to support teachers and parents in the coming weeks and months. Everyone in the company sends their best wishes to all who are affected in any way and we hope you and your loved ones are able to stay safe and well.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Classroom Secrets will do what we can to support your children’s learning.We have created free home-learning packs for each year-group which can be downloaded and, if you wish, printed out for children to complete. If you are a teacher, these can be sent home to parents as suggested activities. The home learning packs cover a range of mathematics and English activities pitched at different abilities, along with practical ideas, so all children can have something they can complete.Along with this, Classroom Secrets Kids – our sister site – is packed full of interactive activities for maths, grammar, reading, phonics and other subjects. All of the content is aimed specifically at children to enable them to learn independently. At the time of recording, the site is in BETA and is totally free for the duration of its development in this stage. We are continually adding new and exciting activities and all children in a class or family can have their own individual logon.
Social media is full of ideas and offers.If you are stuck for suggestions, or just don’t know where to turn for a particular problem or concept, there is always social media. A lot of forums and discussions have been set up to help parents and teachers in these challenging times. Just have a look on Facebook or Twitter using hashtags such as #education, #edchat and #teaching.You can always come along to Classroom Secrets’ own Facebook support group (Coronavirus Home Learning Support for Teachers and Parents) where we are sharing live videos of practical ways to learn. It also has a mentoring section where you can direct questions to volunteers who might be able to give you help or further suggestions.
Create and stick to routines.Routines are important for maintaining stability with children – especially younger children. Although setting up new routines in the event of school closures or isolation might seem daunting, these don’t need to mirror the school day and don’t necessarily need to follow a ‘9 to 3’ pattern. However, agreeing set times for when learning activities will take place, and which are kept to, will be beneficial for making

29 min