With the 2020 school year getting closer and closer, many parents have understandable anxiety about remote or distance learning. When schools pivoted to remote learning in March, teachers and parents were not given much of a heads-up and most were given little to no direction. That resulted in frustration for many parents. If there is a silver lining this year, it is that many districts have been planning for the possibility of returning to remote learning all summer. So here are 6 tips to help survive remote learning with your sanity in-tact.
1: Establish a Daily Schedule – But don’t make it too strict
The key here is to establish consistency, not necessarily sticking to a rigid schedule.
Create a consistent wake-up time, keeping in mind that it does not need to be the time they would be getting up to attend in-person classes. If they have a weekly or daily Zoom meeting with a class, then plan the wake-up time around that time. If not, be flexible. I am not saying 3 pm, but a 9 am alarm with an hour to eat and get ready before starting the day’s tasks is more than reasonable.
Create a consistent workspace. Chances are this will be a shared space that does double-duty but set aside the hours of the day that this is exclusively for schoolwork.
Be sure to allow time for breaks. The beauty of learning from home is that your child can go at his or her own pace. And let’s face it, no one likes to sit in one spot and work for 6 hours at a time, especially not children. Maybe they complete math and science, get 30 minutes of free time, then move on to language and reading, etc.
Remember: nothing is set in stone! Revisit the schedule with your child after the first couple of weeks and see if changes need to be made.
2: Check what Resources are Available Through the School. Are recorded lessons available? These add flexibility to your schedule since you can plan to watch lessons according to your availability. If recorded lessons are not available through the school, be sure to double check with your child’s individual teacher(s). I maintain a YouTube channel for my tutoring students to submit questions and in return I make detailed video lessons for them.
3: Don’t Forget the Importance of Exercise! Plan times to get up and move around. Go for a walk, walk the dog, play catch in the backyard, anything that gets them up and moving. Think about how much kids move during the school day; they get up to get supplies, go to specials, maybe they switch classes every 40 minutes. Even though kids are in school, they are not sitting in one place. Make sure they are moving around throughout the day.
4: Keep in Touch with Your Child’s School Counselor. If your school has a dedicated counselor, be sure to reach out to them to see if they will be having virtual meetings with students on a regular basis or if they can be scheduled. Even if they are not planning on holding virtual meetings, they will likely be planning some sort of engagement with the students in the form of newsletters, virtual scavenger hunts, or videos.
5: Know When to Call in Reinforcements! Whether your child is in elementary school or is a senior in AP Calculus, know when it is time to call in help. Tutors can be an invaluable resource for your child and give them some sense of normalcy even if the tutoring is done remotely. Ask on Nextdoor or Facebook for recommendations from friends. These days, college students are looking for work and you could find a college student majoring in education or in a specific subject area who could be a wonderful tutor. When hiring a tutor, it is important to make sure their teaching style connects with your student. Any good tutor will set up an initial 20-30-minute session to see if his or her style connects with your child.
6: Utilize Resources Outside of School. Look on websites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy for curriculum supplements to keep your kids engaged and learning. I personally have a Teachers Pay Teachers store and so many of us on TpT have been making digital products, virtual field trips & virtual escape rooms all summer long and many are just a couple of dollars for AMAZING activities.
I hope that you find these steps to be helpful!
