Listen: Psychologist and educator Collett Smart shares home learning tips
By Katrina RoeMonday 19 Jul 2021Hope MorningsParentingReading Time: 2 minutes
Learning comes from all of life, says educator and psychologist Collett Smart.
If you had school-aged children last year, you would probably remember the palpable feeling of relief when kids went back to the classroom and we handed them over to their teachers.
And now here we are again – back in lockdown and back to home learning.
Nobody knows exactly how long the current lockdown restrictions will last, but it looks like children will be learning from home for a few more weeks yet.
It puts a lot of pressure on parents, particularly working parents, so how can we make this time less stressful for everyone?
It puts a lot of pressure on parents, particularly working parents, so how can we make this time less stressful for everyone?
Adolescent psychologist, parenting expert, teacher and mum of three, Collett Smart has the following helpful tips for overwhelmed parents.
Collett said to be realistic about your child’s temperament, age, development and school level; some kids will sit down and work solidly while other kids will fight it all the way.
For primary school kids, she recommended:
- One or two hours, broken into smaller chunks across the day
- Aim to cover some maths and literacy
- Do some fun stuff – go for a walk, kick a ball, cook together
- Read with your child or let your middle school child read to you
- Ask your child what interests them
“There’s lots of working that doesn’t end in a worksheet,” Collett said.
She also advised keeping some semblance of routine with start times, end times and break times built into it and suggested doing a routine for the next day as part of today’s learning, using pictures for younger children.
“Routine is very important. Children thrive on routine and that’s why schools are timetabled,” Collett said.
“More than anything your children just need to feel safe and loved.
“We need to know our lives will never be the same after this, but this is part of your child’s story. I promise you, your child will learn,” adolescent psychologist and educator Collett Smart
“We need to know our lives will never be the same after this, but this is part of your child’s story. I promise you, your child will learn. Learning comes from all of life, not just the words on the page or some zoom lesson.
“Your child is learning so they’re going to be OK.”
You can find more advice from Collett Smart on our Raising Teens podcast and via raisingteens.com.au. Listen to her full interview with Hope 103.2’s Katrina Roe in the player above.