On the Coast – Families Issue 105 I April/May 2020 | Page 28

have had to stop teaching and have a
break. Kids can be challenging at the
best of times, but when your the parent
and the teacher, they will always try to
test the boundary. My best technique
around this is to mix it up with a
combination of exercise – change the
physiology, start a mindfulness exercise
and listen to music or learn an
instrument to mix it up!
better understanding of what they like to
learn and what they don’t like.
I would say one of the major benefits
to distance education and being so hands
on – I have a full glance of it all.
As a mum, I’ve wanted to be a fly on
the wall at times so I could see how my
kids tracked on a daily basis with their
activities in class and the playground.
I’m no helicopter mum however I’m a
caring and devoted mum as no doubt you
are too reading this, and perhaps have
felt this way at times.
Home schooling/distance education
is no easy task. It takes some serious
patience, tenacity and a good system
to keep on top of the deadlines to have
the work submitted back to the Dept. of
education.
With what is happening in the
community at the moment, some of these
tips may benefit your family too.
Here are my top tips for
home schooling
1. Sunday download The most
important step you can take to
having a successful week with home
schooling. Creating the weekly class
plan for each child is pivotal to having
a calm and structured week. With
a combination of Maths, English,
Handwriting, Science, PDHPE,
History, Art, Reading...there is a fair
amount of work to get through. In
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O N T H E C OA S T – FA M ILIES
fairness, you should allow on average
4 hours a day/20 hours a week. Each
week, we are provided with the
curriculum and by the end of the
week need to submit the work.
2. Supervisor Prep When we first
started home schooling, it was a
quick shock to the system as we set
off on our weeks with supervising
grade 1 and grade 4. How hard can it
be? School work provided, allocated
time-slots for the different subjects
and the kids knew what was expected.
Very quickly we learnt that our
supervisor role was more of a hands
on teaching role and this required
more preparation than we were
giving it. Our best tip for a successful
week – Sunday night, read all the
weeks classes and learn the material.
No different to work really when
preparing for something important.
The way we see it, we have a new set
of deadlines, a new job as the kid’s
teachers and the most important role
of all, with our kids education in our
hands. The more preparation we put
in, the smarter and more confident
our kids will be. Sounds obvious really
but when you’re in the thick of the
steep learning curve and travelling,
this advice may be welcomed!
3. Patience On many occasions, we have
needed to remind ourselves, this is a
new job to us and patience is the key!
Our kids have young minds and the
behaviour we demonstrate will be what
they end up being like under pressure
and in life. So on many occasions, we
4. Mindfulness For the parents –
practise – STOP technique.
S Stop what you are doing!
T Take a breath
O Open and observe what is going on
for everyone
P Proceed positively with a new
approach
5. For the kids Get them to stand up and
shake it off if they hit a brain block.
• Reassure them, praise them and
reward them for hard work. We
work off the class dojo app and
incentivising them with positive
psychology and points to achieve a
reward.
• Ensure you give them breaks just
like if they were to have recess or
lunch at school. After breaks, kids
come back with a fresh mindset
ready to tackle the next lesson.
Make sure you don’t go over 2
hours of teaching in one block.
Most importantly, work as a team. It’s
ok to let them know that you are new at
this too and together everyone will learn
and be great! Travelling full time may
not be for everybody however if you are
thinking about doing it, just do it...even if
it’s for a small trip!
Our kids are making new friends on
a weekly basis, are more confident each
day and express how happy they are!
Best decision of our lives and we know
we will never regret this time we have
with our kids and with each other, as
living the busy lifestyle doesn’t give you
lots of time as a couple too.
Hopefully, we will see you out here
one day!
If you would like to follow our
journey...Facebook and Insta –
#Baileys2020Vision
Live your best life, Kylie
Kylie Bailey – Founder of Inspire Change Coaching. Specialising in Life, Career and Youth Coaching,
Kylie runs many workshops on the Coast including one for mums to assist with mindfulness, and to
help with the overwhelm. As well as running incursions for School programs, and Life coaching
workshops for all walks of life in Goals, Habits, Mindfulness, Happiness, Organisation, Corporates
and Career Coaching. To book a workshop or 1 on 1 session, please visit
www.inspirechangecoaching.com.au or call 0432 800 903.