As part of his address Leo Varadkar suggested that people should work from home if it is possible.
On Thursday 12th May our Taoiseach Leo Varadkar addressed the nation about Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). He informed the public that Irish schools, colleges and childcare facilities are closing until 29th March with immediate effect. We are living in very surreal times and Irish parents are feeling anxious about how they will juggle work and their children's education at such a frightening time.
As part of his address Leo Varadkar suggested that people should work from home if it is possible. For many parents this is not an option though and it has left a lot of families in a vulnerable predicament. Public and personal health is a priority for everyone but it is impossible to ignore the work and financial implications of this decision.
In a bid to help Irish parents some of our favourite teachers on Instagram are using their platform to share ideas, tips and tricks about supporting your child's education from home during this period.
Sinéad who runs "thebeauttruth" Instagram page got the ball rolling by telling her followers that her day job is being a primary school teacher. She urged other teachers to share helpful resources, websites and ideas that will help parents support their children's education during this time. Her post encouraged other teachers on Instagram to get involved too.
" With the announcement of schools closing, I have put together a quick list on how to keep some level of school work or normality going at home. I would love if other teachers added their own ideas or good websites in the comments section "
We are big fans of the teacher Instagram page "mylittleteacherdiary" and her stories yesterday really struck a chord with us. She highlighted how difficult it was to say goodbye to her students and the panic she felt because she had no time to properly prepare them for it.
"It all happened so fast and without proper explanation. It was so emotional saying goodbye to the kids"
Her page is an excellent resource for primary school learning.
Margaret is a primary school teacher based in Clare. In an Instagram post yesterday she acknowledged that while some children will have no problem working independently, infant children will require more attention and structure. To help with this Margaret has promised to share her expertise with her followers.
"From Monday I plan on giving a simple daily lesson plan for the infant child. I'm going to keep it simple and realistic because as a mom and infant teacher myself, I know the distractions that are going to come when trying to teach from the home"
Margaret's post was met with so much gratitude from her followers and influencers who shared it widely. People were uplifted to see a teacher using her Instagram account to help people at this time.
And last but not least Angela is a primary school teacher who specialises in teaching children with Autism. She is also the parent of a child with Autism and will be sharing lots of ideas for parents on her Instagram page over the coming weeks.