Time Management for Home Learning
This lockdown currently reminds me of that period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve where the days flow in together, nobody really knows what day or time it is and everyone is eagerly anticipating a fresh start.This lockdown currently reminds me of that period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve where the days flow in together, nobody really knows what day or time it is and everyone is eagerly anticipating a fresh start.
However it doesn’t have to be that way.
Creating a timetable to use for home learning over the coming weeks may prove to be worthwhile. Not only will it provide clarity for caregivers and learners but it will also help to create structure. In this way, the users know what’s expected of them for that day and hopefully this will take some pressure off the adults who may, at this stage, be struggling to come up with activities to keep their little ones busy.
Timetables can take up as much (or as little) of the day as you require. They can include exercise and food breaks, they can include free time and they can include chores. The beauty of a timetable is you can decide what works best for your child and it can be altered as you go, depending on how successful the tasks turn out to be.
Here’s a sample timetable that you could use in your home with younger children (aged 4-8). Please remember that your child may find it difficult to concentrate at home so I’d recommend limiting each activity to no more than 30 minutes. Why not give it a try for a week to see how it works for your household.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| 9:00 | PE with Joe Wicks click here | PE with Joe Wicks click here | PE with Joe Wicks click here | PE with Joe Wicks click here | PE with Joe Wicks click here |
| 9: 40 | English – sound of the week is ‘er’. Watch ‘Geraldine the Giraffe’ on Youtube. click here And discuss ‘er’ words. | English – sound of the week is ‘er’. Go on a sound hunt – what can you find around the house containing the ‘er’ sound | English – sound of the week is ‘er’. Practise writing words that contain the ‘er’ sound. | English – sound of the week is ‘er’. Can you make sentences using words with the ‘er’ sound? | English – Practise reading tricky words, if you know them why not make a game with them? |
| 10:00 | Maths – go on a shape hunt for 2D shapes such as a circle, square, triangle and rectangle. | Maths –create a shape robot. Cut some squares, circles, rectangles and triangles out and place them to make a robot. | Maths – collect some sticks from the garden and arrange them to make shapes. Can you make some bigger and some smaller ones? | Maths – adding using cards. Raise two cards and add them together, whoever gets the highest number wins. | Maths – learn a number rhyme like ’1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive’. |
| 10:30 | Have a break, eat a snack, play a game, get some fresh air… | Have a break | Have a break | Have a break | Have a break |
| 11:00 | RTE home school on RTE 2 or RTE Player click here | RTE home school on RTE 2 or RTE Player click here | RTE home school on RTE 2 or RTE Player click here | RTE home school on RTE 2 or RTE Player click here | RTE home school on RTE 2 or RTE Player click here |
| 12:00 | Lunch (Jamie Oliver has recipes to try with your kids if you desire) click here | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 1:00 | Read - Get Epic. ‘Short, Shorter, Shortest’ click here | Read – Get Epic. ‘Water Spider’ click here | Read/ Read along – Get Epic. ‘Scaredy Monster Loses a Tooth’ click here Up to page 15 | Read/ Read along – Get Epic. ‘Scaredy Monster Loses a Tooth’ click here Remainder | Read/ Read along – Get Epic. Complete the quiz on page 35 click here Choose your own book to read |
| 1:30 | Irish – log onto the appropriate level on Séideán Sí and listen to a story click here | Irish – log onto the same story on Séideán Sí and play the corresponding game click here | Irish - RTE 10@10 in Irish – copy Gráinne and Mícheál click here | Irish – Listen to Cúla4 Scéal an Lae (Story of the Day) click here | Irish - RTE 10@10 in Irish – copy Gráinne and Mícheál click here |
Get Epic! currently can only be used for free if you are added by a librarian or primary school teacher. We recommend that all teachers should create accounts for their class, it’s really quick and easy to do.
If your child’s teacher does not use it yet there is an option available where parents can download it for free for 30 days by clicking on this link and creating an account click here
