As the UAE gears up to start a home-learning programme across all its schools and universities, we talk to a ten-year-old whose school in Hong Kong has been closed since January, with no confirmed re-opening date.
Ned Tyson is in year six at Kellett, the British International School in Hong Kong.
His mum Laura, who is a full-time working mum, says: “We start the home learning at 8.30am every morning and he is usually done by lunchtime.”
“Being ten, Ned is fairly self-sufficient and I am sharing the responsibility of over-seeing their learning with another working mum whose son is in Ned’s class. But the younger they are the more difficult it seems to be,” says Tyson.
So what is Ned doing to get his home-learning done successfully, and what tips can he share to help kids in the UAE achieve the same?
• Do your home-learning with a classmate if you can.
• Have a set start and finish time.
• Start early so you can play outside or do other stuff in the afternoon.
• Take regular breaks, I go on the trampoline or biking.
• Have a snack at break time.
• Remove any distractions, especially electronics.
• Have regular hangouts or playdates with friends.
• Have pens, pencils, paper etc ready.
• Try to touch type for practice.
• Choose offline options if there are some for variety.
Mum adds: “Don’t try and get everything done in an hour, try and stretch it out like teachers do. And make sure you give them lots of breaks, have lots of rewards at the ready and have your children in different rooms if possible.
“Check that you have good Wifi and enough iPads and laptops,” she adds.
For more advice on home-learning, you can check out this article here, and this one, too.
