Study from Home: Planning for your Household
With measures under way to ensure that we all play our parts in ‘Flattening the Curve’, it’s important that we all work together in our homes and communities. Some of us will struggle in accessing educational resources and materials over the coming weeks to support continued education at home, or wherever we may be.
The following tips and tricks could be helpful in organising your households:
Set a Plan
You don’t have to plan out every second of every day, but knowing where you want to be in the coming weeks, and what you need to do to get there, can be useful in establishing a clear picture. Mapping out gentle frameworks for educational activities and studying can also help you ensure that other areas of your young person’s wellbeing are looked after. You could even create a checklist of educational tasks and daily household chores, and this could also be a useful tool to look back on how productive you’ve been!
De-Stress
Many of us are anxious of what’s to come, and those in exam years may be feeling particularly stressed out. Set aside time for games, outdoor activities, music, and entertainment (just remember to adhere to social distancing guidelines!). Encourage your young person to keep a journal, or to use a mindfulness app, book, or other tool.
Feed your Body and your Mind
Eating healthily can be difficult when you’re cooped up inside all day. Why not making cooking and preparing meals part of your educational or fun activities? You could try out new recipes whilst also working your way through the Home Economics curriculum. Check out our list of Study from Home: Resources for a range of websites which may be of help. If the weather allows, why not go for a walk or run, or take an opportunity to spend time outdoors at a park, beach, or forest.
Get Some Rest
It’s important that we take enough time to sleep and rest every day to ensure that we remain healthy. If you can, try to encourage your young person to take rest periods and to not spend too much time on gaming devices, phones, or other technology. Many people find colouring relaxing, or you could find yourself immersed in a good book. Whilst the libraries are physically closed, there are e-book options available from Libraries.ie.
Keep Connected
This will be an isolating time for many young people across Ireland. Despite the fact that young people are familiar with all the latest and greatest technology, social distancing and the inability to have conversations face to face with family, friends, and loved ones, can be difficult. There’s nothing wrong with a good old fashioned phone call, and young people may be grateful for an opportunity to speak to someone outside the household. As we continue on, it is a good idea to check in with your young person frequently and provide information to help them better understand the current situation as it develops.
Look After Yourself
Mind your own mental health and wellbeing during this period. The HSE has information on keeping your own health in check during this outbreak. If you have any concerns in relation to your young person’s education, staff of the NPCPP are here to listen to you.