A great way to encourage your child to engage with their learning from the start is to plan a timetable that will work for the both of you and then to make it together. Once complete, it is also important to place it somewhere central so everyone can see it regularly (I blue tac it to the kitchen wall next to the snacks bowl, works a trick with my hungry monkey!).
Making your timetable
First I drew ‘child-friendly’ pictures onto pieces of card of all the things we needed to fit into the day (without timings!) I shared them with my child to make sure he knew what was happening in each picture and he liked pointing out familiar things like his Frog cereal bowl. This got him focused!
Then I asked him to colour the pictures in and add stickers. I also asked if he would like to add any more ideas and that’s why there’s a chocolate bar and lots of outdoor play!
Why make it with your child?
Rather than just sticking a timetable up one morning and expecting him to follow it, this quick process gave him some ownership over the timetable. Having no set times to begin with allows you some fluidity, you can take cards on and off or swap them around during the first few weeks of home schooling until you know what routine is going to work best for you all. You can always add timing on later.
Other simple ideas
Print your school’s online timetable in black ink and ask your children to colour it in and then cut it out (with adult supervision) or use stickers to jazz it up a bit and make it more fun!