Home-Schooling For Dummies* (*Me, The Parent, Not The Kid)

Yesterday, I shared my tips for working from home during the Corona virus social distancing and self-isolation period, because this was something I felt confident I had covered. I've been doing it for a few years, so this wasn't a change for me.

Fast-forward a few hours and a text comes through from my youngest daughter's school. They're closing earlier than the government's planned nationwide shutdown so once they closed for the day, that would be it until who knows when. And that's when it really hit me: I'm now home-schooling my daughter. Her education is in my hands and I'm not prepared for this, even though I knew it was coming and it's only one day earlier than planned.

I have no idea how to home-school, no idea how to teach. The way maths is taught, for example, has changed a gazillion times since I left school (and I can't remember how to do most of the non-basics anyway) and, although I'm a writer, I struggle with nouns and adjectives (seriously).

So I started to feel rather panicky.

Isobel's school is closing a day earlier than planned. So i guess we are now home-schooling. Not anxious about this. Not. At. All 😐

— Jennifer Joyce (@Writer_Jenn) March 19, 2020

After tweeting about it, another writer who is already home-schooling reached out and offered to share the schedule she's set up for her boys. I really appreciated the offer because not only did I have something solid to work towards rather than a series of increasingly anxious thoughts floating around my brain, it was also a reminder that I'm not alone in this. There are so many people going through this strange period, and we can help each other, whether it's sharing tips and ideas or simply reminding others that they're there too, winging it as best as they can. So, if you're as anxious as I am, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

The school has provided a list of daily and weekly tasks for next week, plus links to online resources, so this has also helped to ease my anxiety a bit as we haven't been thrown in the deep end and left to sink or swim (I can't swim very well, so I'd definitely sink).

I'm going to be blogging about our home-schooling - the good, the bad and the ugly. It may help somebody else in the same situation, and it'll certainly help me to document what's happening. I'm a writer; spilling the weird thoughts in my head onto screen is what I do.

Wish me luck. Lots of it. And if you have any tips, please, please share them :)