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How can I be more organised when educating my children at home?
It’s not always easy to keep your kids organised for their education, especially when the learning environment is also your home. There are many things you can do to help, including:
- Using timetables and wall charts to keep on track.
- Personalising your child’s planner.
- Using apps to set reminders of your schedule on phones and tablets.
- Prioritising key tasks or lessons to focus on each day.
Video - How to get organised for home education with Romesh Ranganathan
Romesh Ranganathan knows more about school than you might think - the comedian had a budding career as a maths teacher before he became the TV star we know today. Watch the video to see Romesh’s top tips for staying organised.
Romesh Ranganathan:
Organisation – yeah, I know, it’s not what you want to think about in a global pandemic, when it feels like you can’t even organise breakfast. But let me tell you this – a wall planner might just save your life, or, at least, it might make another week of homeschooling a little less hellish, which is, you know, almost as good.
I know it sounds incredibly dull, but being organised really is saving my vegan bacon right now. I was unstoppable in the 90’s with my filofax, and now I’m educating my kids in the art of the colour-coded timetable. It’s as cool as it sounds.
So, first step: get some sort of planner for each kid. Some schools will provide one, or you can get a wall planner, or draw a timetable on the fridge. Anything to give their time a little bit of structure, and give you an excuse to visit the fridge.
My lot like using coloured blocks for different subjects, and writing ‘daddy smells’ on each page. You can write in glitter pen, so it looks like a unicorn set schedule, or add a column for the bribes you’ll give them if they just keep quiet for half an hour. Please… Just keep quiet… For half an hour! Okay?!
Don’t worry if they haven’t got a computer, your school should be giving you all the printed worksheets you need. Some schools might even help you to access a device: a laptop, or tablet.
I’ve tried getting my kids to use the calendar and apps on the computer to get organised, like setting alarms for lessons, or to remind them when to do their maths. It’s really great! How it works is, the alarm goes off and then they go: “No! I don’t wanna do maths! No Dad, don’t make me do it! No, no, no!” Oh well. I tried.
Let’s be honest, it’s pretty impossible to get anything finished nowadays, so all we can do is prioritise. Look at how much time you’ve got and decide what’s most important. For me, that might mean deciding – yes, I have got five minutes to hide in a cupboard and scream…
Children:
Mummy where are you?
(MUM SCREAMS)
Romesh Ranganathan:
For kids, it could mean deciding to focus on core subjects, like English, Maths and eating biscuits. Or they can look at everything they’ve got to do, rate it ‘urgent’ and ‘non-urgent’, and just bin off everything that isn’t essential. Do not try to tell them that eating biscuits isn’t essential.
So, there we are! Planning has saved your life. A colour-coded wall chart is your saviour. It’s all about clinging onto the small victories, isn’t it? So, make sure you give yourself a pat on the back, when you’re drinking that cup of coffee that the kids made for their old dad. It’s a shame there are no biscuits left, but, you know, like I say… Small victories.
This video was recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic. We hope the advice will remain relevant and helpful to parents educating their children at home.
Home education hacks: Getting organised
- Timetables and wall planners might not sound like a lot of fun, for you or your child, but they're really helpful for keeping your home education activity on track.
- Personalise their planner. Once you've filled in the lessons, tasks and serious stuff, let your child get creative with crayons and glitter pens by decorating the borders around the timetable.
- If you have the correct technology, use apps to set reminders of your schedule on phones and tablets.
- Prioritise. It's really tricky to finish everything you'd like your child to do in a day, so decide what the key tasks or lessons are and focus on them.
- As well as focusing on lessons, don’t forget to throw some fun stuff in there too - maybe their favourite TV show after school or video calling their mates at lunch time.
Where can I find more support for home education and parenting?
The BBC Bitesize home education collection is designed to support you and your child’s learning at home with free resources for early years and foundation stage (EYFS), primary and secondary-age students.
Bitesize Parents’ Toolkit is the go-to place for the whole parenting community to find stories, expert advice and fun activities.
If your child has special educational needs and / or disabilities, be sure to check out the Parents’ Toolkit SEND collection.
For more information about home education, these BBC News articles cover the rise in families deciding to educate their children at home and, from 2021, the impact of Covid on home education.