Homeschooling from a Full Time Working Mum… How to Survive!

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If like Vicky,  homeschooling wasn’t something that you had planned for, the below blog may be of use to you whilst you are trying to build your business and ensure your child/children gets the educational support that they need. 

Written by Victoria Tayler, Commercial Marketing Manager and Full Time Mum 

My name is Vicky, I am the Commercial Marketing Manager at ServiceMaster Clean. I have two children, one of Primary School age and one in Secondary School, my challenge is to keep them entertained and somewhat educated while I work full time, from home (mostly).  

Keep To A School Day Routine  

To keep disruption to a minimum and help keep the kids focussed on their schoolwork, try sticking to a school day routine as much as you can. 

We are starting school at 9am each school day, and I‘ve found a fantastic YouTube channel ‘The Body Coach’ who are streaming live PE videos each school day. Take a look here – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ 

What better way to keep the kids active and get them ready for learning? If you want to know why exercising in the morning is so beneficial, this is a useful read: https://www.myactivesg.com/read/2018/2/6-reasons-why-morning-exercise-is-important-for-your-health 

Scheduling The Kids Day 

Most schools have provided a good number of online resources, so why not structure your learning day/week into a school timetable. Evidence shows that children do best when they can follow a routine, this will also make it easier for you to keep on top of things.  

  MONDAY  TUESDAY  WEDNESDAY  THURSDAY 
09.00 – 09.30  PE  PE  PE  PE 
09.30 – 10.15  MATHS  MATHS  MATHS  MATHS 
10.15 – 10.30  BREAK  BREAK  BREAK  BREAK 
10.30 – 11.45  ENGLISH  ENGLISH  ENGLISH  ENGLISH 
11.45 –  13.00  ART/CRAFT  ART/CRAFT  ART/CRAFT  ART/CRAFT 

 

Shhhh… I’m thinking of doing the Science bit at the weekend so I can have some fun too! 

Don’t forget, it’s also important to allow time for the kids to have fun and to entertain themselves, all work and no play is going to make this a long journey and well, we’ve got work to do too. 

If you are looking for more inspiration from an education point of view, below are some other links to a wide range of websites with homeschooling ideas. 

https://www.homeschooling-ideas.com/home-school-ideas.html 

https://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/education-1071/home-education-873/653184-ideas-homeschooling.html 

https://www.edplace.com/blog/homeschooling/lesson-planning-and-ideas-home-education-days-across-the-uk 

https://www.homeschool-activities.com/ 

https://www.theschoolrun.com/home-education-step-by-step

Ways to Keep Your Kids Entertained 

Are you looking for ways to entertain the kids that isn’t YouTube or computer games? 

Make the most of your garden or outside space, we all need some fresh air and sunshine, yes, it is out as I sit here writing this, stuck in the office and looking out of the window. As we all need a bit of a break from work and learning, I thought I’d also share a range of websites with ideas for fun things to do, so here you are: 

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/how-to/g1389/diy-kids-activities/  

https://www.toucanbox.com/activities/fun-things-to-do-at-home-with-your-kids 

https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/best-indoor-kid-crafts-activities.html 

https://www.verywellfamily.com/absolutely-free-activities-for-kids-2997490 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/ 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/gardening-children-schools/family-activities/Activities 

YouTube Channels: 

  • Crash Course Kids 
  • Science Channel 
  • SciShow Kids 
  • National  Geographic Kids 
  • Free School 
  • Geography Focus 
  • TheBrainScoop 
  • SciShow 
  • Kids Learning Tube 
  • Geeek Gurl Diaries 
  • Mike Likes Science 
  • Science Max 
  • SoulPancake 

 This isn’t going to be easy by any means, I’ve already needed to remind my kids that this isn’t a holiday but hopefully this will help keep you sane that little bit longer and at least give you some ideas to help you through it.  

My Own Personal Favourites;  

  • Home economics – Teach them how to make a cup of tea, for me of course, as I’m busy working! 
  • Science – How washing up liquid removes grease from the saucepan and other cooking utensils 
  • Mechanical Engineering – How to operate a hoover, the kids always think it’s a hard job! 

Written by Victoria Tayler, Commercial Marketing Manager and Full Time Mum

How to stay motivated working from home

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Our ServiceMaster Clean franchise opportunities can mean initially the business owner can work from home to save on premises costs, so following these tips can help if you are not used to it!

Tip #1 – Create An Office

You may be tempted to sit on the sofa or lie in bed whilst working from home, this is a mistake as it will demotivate you.

Dedicate a room specifically as your office, away from any distractions, like Television or other family members/housemates.

Make sure your office is tidy and try and keep it as similar to your work desk as you can, this way you’ll get into your work mindset.

Tip #2 – Wake Up On Time

You may be tempted to lie in if you’re working from home, thinking;

“It’s alright, the boss will never know”.

Don’t be tempted! Wake up at the normal time you would if you were going to work, have your breakfast and morning coffee as you normal and start work at the time you usually do.

This will create in your mind the normal workday ethic and you’ll become used to it in no time at all.

Tip #3 – Stay On Schedule

Try not to change your normal working schedule and keep it as similar as you can.

If you have an online calendar, create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks.

Check your emails at the same times you would if you were at work and add in new tasks where you can.

Tip #4 – Stay Off Social Media

We’re always tempted with our personal mobiles when we’re at home, but you wouldn’t be allowed them at work, so why should you be using them when working from home?

A quick tip to help stay off social media is to log out of every account.

You might even consider working primarily in a private or if using Chrome, an “Incognito” browser window.

This is all of course if don’t work with social media on a work-related basis, and then you really don’t want to avoid going on it!

Tip #5 – Stay Connected

You need to make sure you stay connected to your team and other teams within your business.

Instant messaging and video conferencing tools can make it easy to check in with co-workers and remind you how your work is contributing to the big picture.

Here are few instant messaging and video conferencing tools you can use:

  • Microsoft Teams– If your business uses Office 365, Microsoft Teams has instant messaging and video conferencing options to keep you connected
  • WhatsApp– Of course WhatsApp is in the list, it’s the most popular instant messaging tool in the world and can easily keep you connected to your teams
  • Slack– A great collaboration tool that can keep your team on track to completing tasks, also has an instant messaging section to help stay connected
  • Zoom– A video conferencing tool to keep you connected, the free version limits meetings for over 3 people to 40 minutes at a time
  • Skype – Another well-known platform that can be used for video conferencing and instant messaging

For further information regarding our franchise opportunities from home, speak to a member of the ServiceMaster Clean Franchise Sales Team on 0116 275 9005 or email franchisesales@servicemaster.co.uk

Keeping Positive

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In these unprecedented times, you, like many others around the world may be feeling a little low in spirits. Things may seem a little gloomy but there are rays of positivity shining through.  

We’ve put together a little blog on some of the lovely things which we’ve seen in the last few days in the hope of sharing a little happiness.  

Rainbows Pictures Springing up in Windows 

The trend started online, following the closure of UK schools on Friday 20th March.  

With the view of “spreading hope” the rainbows also provide a lovely bit of positivity for when you are out and about during your daily exercise. If you’re out for a walk / run / cycle, see how many are around in your area.  

Balcony Singing, Italy

You’ve more than likely seen some of the balcony singing taking place throughout Italy recently.  

Here’s one of the best video’s we’ve seen of music bringing people together, boosting morale and staying positive.  

 

Connecting More  

Many of us are downloading the “House Party” app. It’s essentially a video call app with function for multiple participants. It’s less formal than other video calling platforms such as Microsoft Teams and really simple to use. This app is really useful in ensuring that we still remain connected, even with social distancing measures firmly in place.

Support for our NHS workers 

On Thursday 26th March, Lincoln Cathedral will glow blue as a mark of support to our amazing NHS workers: 

This will be followed by the Nationwide “Clap for our Carers” campaign at 8pm. Whereby, people across the UK can clap from their gardens, front doors and balconies to show their support and give thanks to doctors, nurses, carers, GPs, pharmacists and other NHS staff, working tirelessly to help those affected by the coronavirus. 

Supermarkets are already showing their gratitude to NHS workers such as in this clip from Tesco in Swansea, where staff applauded and gave flowers during a designated NHS staff shopping hour. 

 

And finally, a brilliant video of staff at Basildon NHS keeping themselves motivated in these challenging times… 

 

We’ll keep you posted on our social channels of more positivity and other useful pieces of information throughout the current situation! Follow ServiceMaster Clean on Facebook and Twitter.

EWIF Woman Franchise Employee of the Year 2020 Nomination

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We are very proud to announce that ServiceMaster Clean Residential Brand Manager, Sophie Whittingham has reached

the finals of EWIF “Woman Franchise Employee of the Year 2020.”

Encouraging Women Into Franchising (EWIF) is an organisation founded on the following principles – “to support women who are looking for a route into the franchise industry. Our remit is threefold; to encourage women to consider buying a franchise, to encourage businesswomen to franchise their existing operations and to help franchisors attract more women to their networks.”

The awards, sponsored by Natwest, celebrate the best individuals in franchising across every sector and business in the UK. We are delighted that Sophie’s hard work and contribution to franchising has been recognised. The winner will be announced on 1st June at the awards ceremony, hosted in London. We wish Sophie the best of luck in winning the category and being crowned as “Woman Franchise Employee of the Year 2020.”