REGINA -- A new group on Facebook is providing helpful tips and support to parents who may feel overwhelmed or unsure of how to educate their children now that public schools in Saskatchewan are closed.
Monique Willms used to work as a public school teacher in Estevan, but has been homeschooling her children for seven years and came up with the idea to create a support group after having lots of parents with kids in the public school sector reach out to her with questions.
"I just quickly started the 'Suddenly Homeschooling' Facebook page and asked the other homeschoolers that I knew to join so that we would be able to collectively support those who were finding themselves suddenly at home and wanting to continue some educational activities with their kids," said Willms.
'Suddenly Homeschooling' is an open group on Facebook with almost 2,000 members. It features categories from virtual tours to day plans to provide a variety of fun and interesting ideas.
"There's so many ideas that don't require technology at this time and I think focusing on just coming together and seeing where your kids are at and promoting some growth is really all you need to be doing right now."
Rod and Jo Amberson have 17 years of experience when it comes to homeschooling and say communication and not overthinking things will help a lot.
"You don't need to be sitting down for multiple hours a day working on math sheets and language arts worksheets all separated out into subjects," said Jo Amberson.
The Ambersons suggest parents try to engage children by doing family activities and encouraging them to ask questions and have fun.
"In order to have quality time you need to have quantity time which many of us have right now," states Rod Amberson.
