5 ways to keep working and learning at home for your family

We have lined up five things that will help you work from home with all the family

Working and having children at home has become the new normal for now, but while the location has changed, it’s important to keep some things consistent by create a working and learning at home routine that works for you.

1 – Stick to a schedule

Maintaining your existing schedule helps make the change more seamless, but if you need to rethink your routine, don’t be daunted by creating a new normal. Keep ahead of your workload by breaking your day into tasks which can slot around other commitments and support your partner with their own schedule and daily childcare.

Working with family to share spending time with the children and supporting each other’s work commitments is essential. It’s time to throw away the rule book and see what works for you as you prioritise tasks and plan ahead.

2 – Create a workspace

A designated work area away from distractions helps get you into work-mode. If possible, choose a light, airy space to keep you focused, and enjoy the perks of working at home by sticking-on a playlist.

If you have limited space, recreate your normal desk area as much as possible, with any essentials you need including refreshments and snacks to help you settle into your work.

Make this new routine work for you and the family by taking turns to keep children occupied in a separate room, or create a kids ‘learning’ area within shared family and work space. The important thing for everyone to understand is that certain parts of the day need everyone to help each other to work and learn

3 – Home work with kids

You can’t replace the school day, but planning a weekly schedule together can help younger children feel reassured and involved in new ways of learning. There’s no map for the next few weeks, and no two families or children are the same, but even though they’ll react differently to you as their teacher, nobody knows them better.

Share educational sites and games with friends and relatives to keep things fresh, and remember, involving them in simple activities like shopping and baking can count as math and chemistry, while art projects and craft materials can be found all over the house.

Regular outdoor breaks should still be part of their day, and can turn simple activities into learning. Playing in the garden or going for a walk becomes educational when you ask them to list, draw and count which plants are growing, what birds they can see, or what’s happening in the pond.

Independent learning should also be part of the mix, with kids quietly reading or working on their own projects to wind down from the day and take a break from screen time.

Throw a roller skating party or dance contest to keep things fun at the end of the week, and celebrate every day with your own school star awards!

4 – Take time out

Claim back time spent commuting in the morning or at the end of the day as quality time. This might mean getting ahead with shopping for the household, pre-preparing meals with the children or enjoying a more relaxed breakfast.

If your normal working routine included walking to get lunch or coffee breaks, incorporate these into working from home, but whatever your preference, grab a change of scenery.

Add this extra commute time to your lunch hour and get some fresh air walking the dog or going for a run on a tour of some of Liverpool’s parks and woodland areas.

Ask the family how they’d like to spend this extra hour. Mix up the week as a group but also try to include giving each other an hour to yourselves, and share a daily schedule for supervising children to keep everyone happy.

5 – Face-to-face time

Most business teams share a WhatsApp group, but if not, now’s the time! You can also schedule regular group facetime calls (for up to 32 people), instead of relying on emails to replace meetings and ease collaboration. This way, we stay engaged with colleagues using whatever tools and tech we can to redefine our work day.

Giving children time to catch up with the rest of the family on screen for now, can help make them feel less anxious about their new routine. Joining in a group project with other family members, or sending videos of their day keeps things fun while we stay connected.

We’re sure you’ll have some great ideas about working from home and keeping children busy over the next few weeks, so please let the rest of Liverpool know by sharing @TheGuideLpool