Learning with children at home

The combination of homeschooling and working from home presents both parents and children with major unprepared challenges. At the same time, everyone can gain valuable experience.

My son's teacher was well prepared: She had already guessed that school would be closing on Monday and was therefore able to pull out her collection of materials in time for the Federal Council's announcement of the measure and give them to the children to take home.

So now we're homeschooling - and working from home. The big boy, 7, and I are sitting in the kitchen working. His initial enthusiasm about the «corona holidays» has already been dampened: «What, I've been looking forward to visiting my grandparents all week and now we're not allowed to? What, I'm not even allowed to see my friends? Are we really not allowed to go to the zoo or anything?» And now he has to do homework while the little one, 5, is unfairly off work and asks every five minutes: «When are you going to finish? When are we going to play Hubi the ghost?»

So now there is homeschooling - and working from home.

While I put my daughter off, encourage my son to keep going and think about how our small company should best deal with all the cancelled seminars, lectures and training courses, I realise that we have a lot to do in the coming weeks, maybe even months.

Don't expect too much too quickly

There is a lot that is new about this situation: parents who were previously in the office are suddenly expected to work from home. But during this familiarisation phase, the children are also there - around the clock. And as if we weren't already challenged enough, we all feel insecure: How bad will it be? How long will it last? Are my job and salary secure? What rules do I have to follow exactly? Can we at least take the children out into nature?

Right now, our children can learn things that will make learning easier for them throughout their lives.

One thing in particular would be toxic: expecting too much of ourselves and our children. We won't be able to be productive straight away if we have to work at home and look after the little ones at the same time. And our offspring will probably not be able to complete their workload easily, motivated and independently right from the start. Most children will lack the familiar structure, guidance from their teacher and their friends as a source of motivation.

Now it should not primarily be about «keeping up»

The more we allow ourselves to have unproductive days, gain experience and learn, the less additional stress we burden ourselves with.

Now it shouldn't be primarily about «keeping up» so as «not to fall behind» and sitting anxiously and stressed with the children in front of their worksheets, but about taking your time and experimenting a little. In doing so, our children can learn things that will make learning easier for the rest of their lives.

For example, you can find answers to questions such as:

What should my workplace look like so that I feel comfortable?
Do I prefer to study in the same place all the time or can I concentrate better if I alternate between my room, kitchen and balcony?
Am I the type who can learn with music, or do I need silence?
What time of day do I find it easiest to get involved in learning?
What rhythm of learning, breaks and free time is good for me?
How do I get over myself when I don't feel like it?
Which learning strategies are helpful for acquiring text content?
How do I use online help and the class chat as effectively as possible?

As parents, we might ask ourselves:

How can my child and I become a good team?
What motivates my child? What demotivates it?
Why does my child dislike reading with me so much - and what does it take to change that?
Today went wonderfully - what was the magic ingredient?
Why did we get into each other's hair while learning today - and how can we avoid it tomorrow?
Does my child need a lot of structure or is it better to «go with the flow»?
Where can we combine learning with personal interests? Where can it be made more enjoyable

When we help children to learn, we parents are often very focused on the result: the completed worksheet or the good grade.

Right now, we could focus more on the learning process and experiment with curiosity and openness, look for answers to questions together, get closer to each other and get to know each other a little better.

And if things get stuck, we can make ourselves and our children aware that we are all in the same boat, because we are all facing a similar challenge: to reorganise our learning and work and find a good way forward.

Perhaps you would even like to keep a little learning journal or diary and record your observations? Every single realisation about how to motivate yourself, where, when and how you learn best, what support is actually helpful for your child and every new learning strategy that your child acquires during this time will help them throughout their time at school and beyond.

Learning tips online

You can find lots of free learning aids on our website www.mit-kindern-lernen.ch and at www.youtube.com/mitkindernlernen

To the author:

Fabian Grolimund is a psychologist and author («Learning with children», «From procrastinator to learning pro»). Together with Stefanie Rietzler, he runs the Academy for Learning Coaching in Zurich. The 40-year-old is married and father to a son, 7, and a daughter, 5. He lives with his family in Fribourg. He alternates with Stefanie Rietzler in writing columns for the Swiss parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi. The best of these columns can be found in his new book «Geborgen, mutig, frei - wie Kinder zu innerer Stärke finden».

Learning with children at home

Learning with children at home

Don't expect too much too quickly

Now it should not primarily be about «keeping up»

For example, you can find answers to questions such as:

As parents, we might ask ourselves:

Learning tips online

To the author:

Read more about homeschooling during the coronavirus crisis: