When it comes to learning at home, perfection is not possible.
That鈥檚 one of the basic tenets for Pia Russell, education and children鈥檚 literature librarian at the University of Victoria.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to find something that鈥檚 good enough,鈥� said Russell, who has developed a free online resource to help parents such as her navigate home-learning after schools were closed due to the coronavirus. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e your kids鈥� parent first, not their teacher.鈥�
And it鈥檚 not possible to accomplish in a day at home what could be done in a day at school, especially with parents working full-time, said Russell, mother of two children, ages nine and 11.
鈥淧eople kept asking me, like friends and colleagues: 鈥極h my gosh, how do I home-school my kids?鈥� 鈥� Russell said. 鈥淚 thought: 鈥榃ell, I have a bit of knowledge I聽can share.鈥� 鈥�
Her online resource lists 鈥渢ons鈥� of resources for parents, categorized by subject.
鈥淚t鈥檚 supposed to be kind of a one-stop shop for anything parents might find useful,鈥� said Russell, who admits home learning was 鈥渘ew territory鈥� for her, too. 鈥淚 put it together few weeks ago and have been adding to it on and off since.鈥�
There have been more than 2,000 page views so far.
The focus is on math, science, language arts, social studies and Indigenous education, with content added at the recommendation of teachers, professors, librarians and parents.
Russell praised the work being done by teachers to help home-learning students, and said after her homes-chooling experience, she has even more respect for the role teachers play in her children鈥檚 lives.
Another of Russell鈥檚 basic rules is that screen time isn鈥檛 all bad, whether children are learning online or maintaining important contact with their friends.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of amazing content out there and it鈥檚 all online,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really saving us, I think, being able to have your kids watch a TED Talk or many of the wonderful instructional videos.鈥�
She said the Greater Victoria Public Library and the 91原创 Island Regional Library are both good sources of online content, as are public broadcasters such as CBC, TVO and Knowledge Network.
鈥淩outine, routine, routine鈥� is vital for the home learner, she said, and reduces conflict.
鈥淚f my kids know that at 9聽o鈥檆lock every day we鈥檙e going to be doing this, at 10鈥檆lock we鈥檙e going to be doing that 鈥� if they have a routine, then everything falls into place,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淚t just minimizes the conflict in the house because we鈥檙e all stuck together.鈥�
Knowing the B.C. curriculum is also valuable, she said.
鈥淭he Ministry of Education has an excellent website where you can do a customized search where you can go in, pick your kid鈥檚 grade, pick the subject and see the exact content areas that need to be covered.鈥�
A designated learning space is another must, Russell said.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a coffee table or a kitchen table or a desk in a bedroom, you need to have all the material set up so that kids can just get straight to the task.鈥�
Russell鈥檚 guide is at libguides.uvic.ca/learnathome.
