Many children were thrown into the homeschool experience the past year for reasons that parents had no control over. They hadn’t planned to homeschool and were left floundering in many ways. Some students are still stuck in isolation and unable to attend school in person. Some parents decided it was better to keep homeschooling and stay in control of their education.

These kids who were used to in person school were left a little confused, however. The best thing for them is to recreate what going to school was like, except at home. It’s important for those kids that didn’t grow up homeschooled to have some of that familiarity to get the most out of the experience.

In this article, I will go over the little things that you can do to recreate the in person school experience at home.

Make it look like a classroom

There are certain things from their classroom at school that these kids will miss and feel their absence when they are the kitchen table learning.

Rather than just set your child up with a laptop at a table, or to sit on the couch while you play the part of the teacher, it makes more sense to set up an area of the house that looks and feels more like an actual classroom.

If your kids are little, then set aside a space and decorate it with colorful daycare rugs and some soft big blocks.

Older kids could use a sort of theme for the walls just like in an actual school. For instance some science posters or math equations on the walls. A chalkboard is essential and a desk needs to have some space.

Hire a tutor

If you had never intended to be a homeschool mom, then you probably have a lot of times when you feel you aren’t cut out to be a teacher. Without a teaching background, homeschooling can be very intimidating and often you’ll feel like you’re not getting through to your “student”. This is when you may want to call in some professional reinforcements. This means hiring a tutor for the subjects that you feel you and your child are slipping behind in. An online maths tutoring for math subjects is the most suitable choice for your child.

A tutor will have some teaching experience and know exactly how to craft a lesson that will enable your child to break through and have a better understanding of the subject. And, you can often learn a lot yourself about the process by watching how they teach. This will give you some tools to use for your own classes so you can continue to homeschool successfully.

Find some community 

You are not the only ones in this situation so you can easily find others that understand the tribulations of homeschooling. Create a community with these people and use video to allow your child to communicate with his or her peers. Break up the lessons in a way that recess would if they were in school. It isn’t just a point to stretch their legs, but also to socialize. In the middle of the school day, have a video chat with them and let them talk about whatever they want.