How School Closures Can Strengthen Your Family. Note that this option and how it is implemented differs greatly per state. As you wrap up the day, after allowing your kids to play and relax for the first day, take three deep breaths and smile, knowing that you completed some planning and organizing, and that you are on your way. Everything else is a bonus. Common Sense Media includes reviews of some books, as well. Either way, you will need to allocate time for schooling for your children and for your work. 3) Clear out, setup and organize your dedicated storage area for your schoolwork and related supplies. Decorating Amazon boxes and used soup cans make great arts and craft projects and excellent organizers! While we await final proposals for opening of schools in the fall from states and local districts, we are all asking what if? What if schools open as usual in the fall at full capacity? Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, Earthcam. (Remember: If you dont know where you are going, any road will get you there. (Remember to make the award something you can make, give or do with them at home, and that they can have or do after your conference call is over.). Another point to consider is that you have every right to make the time spent educating your children as high a priority as any other meeting, so schedule it. Everything you need to organize your area is probabily already in your home. Just take a few deep breaths and enjoy the time you have with your kids, because they really do grow up so fast, and this pandemic and chaos will eventually pass.
The options are so abundant that it can often be overwhelming, especially for those new to educating their children at home. It is important to be fully informed of all legal and regulatory requirements prior to making your choice, so that you are making a fully-informed choice. Minecraft Official Site. Awake and Mindful has collected five yoga videos for kids that might be one option for a calm activity to start off the day.
Although Im not fully convinced that this is the best approach to managing your time, the concept of Timeboxing is similar to the approach Ive recommended above. Bauer, S. W. (2016).
The public school administrators where we are were extremely helpful in working with us to determine the best placement. The two most commonly tested subjects in standardized testing tend to be math and language arts, so when we homeschooled, we put the most emphasis on these two subjects, integrating the others as appropriate and as possible. To step back and take a look at what this truly means, it is helpful to have a lens through which to view this team and the relationships and responsibilities of the members of the team. It is also an opportunity for us to find ways for our kids to help around the house and to teach them new life skills that are no longer taught in schools. Our children need to be able to disagree and question things when concepts or instructions arent clear to them. Remember the CDC guidelines and be innovative in your organization and space planning. Your next steps are: 1) Identify the age groups of the children you are educating and whether they need to be planned separately or if the plan and content can be the same.
Just take one step at a time and focus on one goal at a time. 2) Block off the appropriate time for schoolwork on your work calendar and communicate these expectations to your manager and coworkers. 5) Understand and be honest and open about what you (and your student) can and cannot reasonably take on and complete given everything you have going on outside of school responsibilities, and be open to working with your student and their teachers and school administrators. (n.d.2). Common Sense Media, for example, provides a list of Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sides, accessible here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites.
But, there is also so much that is fully within our control.
This is not true, legally. ), 4) If you choose homeschooling instead of distance learning, are you fully informed of any reporting requirements, regulations, etc. Almost three years later, I can tell you that it was the right choice for both of them, without a doubt. When you are planning your days, you will first need to decide how much time you want (or need) to spend with your focus dedicated to your work (in meetings, for example), and how much time you want to spend homeschooling your child (or children). What if schools are opened in a virtual-only format to start the school year and transition to blended or alternating schedule formats, or even full capacity later in the school year? Before you start, identify an award they will earn if you get a bingo and/or if they black out the entire card by meeting the criteria of each bingo square on the entire bingo card. How might this impact your childs motivation to do their schoolwork?
Science and art took the most preparation because we conducted experiments and made a variety of art and craft projects, so we split these days, so that they were not back-to-to back, allowing for some planning and preparation time in between. (2020). They had to tell us the recommended ages by Common Sense Media, parents and kids and were only allowed to watch movies, play games or download/use apps that were 2 years over the lowest age recommended out of the three. ), 3) Do you think you might want to send your students back to school in person either some time this year or in future years? Khan Academy has provided help and getting started pages for their content here: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, and the lessons themselves are accessible here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Scholastic has provided schedules and lessons here: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html. (Parents, dont be jealousyou can make forts, tooand even take your conference call from inside your fort, if you want to.). (n.d.). Find a fort posted by someone else and draw a picture of their fort and estimate how many people you think could fit in their fort. (n.d.). There are a few things to consider. We homeschooled in many different locations, including a multifamily house where we had a full room dedicated to homeschooling, my parents house where we had an area in the basement, our family members kitchen counters, and even an RV, when we traveled around the US.
Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://hslda.org/content/orgs/, K12.com. The key is not to be happy or unhappy about the approaches, but to be informed. (2019). Thats all any of us can do, and the only way we are going to figure out what will work is for everyone to be comfortable communicating and providing constructive feedback when things are not working. When I started homeschooling and working from home, we had one preschooler and one toddler. There are actually more options than you would think, and you are your and your childrens best advocate. No one knows what the right answer is to any question or problem right now, BUT, we can all try things, fail, get back up, and try something else.
Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, HSLDA. 5) Choose activities to start your day off on a calm and positive note.
3) All members of the team should remember that discomfort leads to growth and work on being ok with being held accountable, with hearing feedback that they dont really want to hear, and with giving honest, constructive feedback to other members of the team when things arent working well. These are legally optional.
You will need to determine, based on the number and ages of children, your work schedule, and any other constraints, what subjects you want to teach and can manage to do so with minimal stress. State Virtual Schools.
Organizing any extra items needed (for science experiments, for example) over the weekend for the entire week will also help make your work/homeschool days flow much smoother. (n.d.). If yours has not done so, or you would like to supplement the work provided to your kids, there are many approaches to doing so.
Instead of trying to convince your kids why they should be quiet and calm during your conference calls and hoping for the best, you might try giving them specific activities to keep them busy during these times. It is important to understand the risks and the comfort level you have with those risks, and, depending on the approach taken, the health risks for your children and for you (and for everyone in your household). They already do for other meetings and for lunch, right? Either way, some people are going to be happy and some unhappy, regardless of the plan or approach that is taken. One is that everyone (or nearly everyone) you work with is in the same boat right now, so they understand the need to balance, and you shouldnt be shy about sharing what you are trying to accomplish. Digital Compass. Harvard Business Review. The one thing that all of those spaces had in common was a dedicated space to store all of our supplies and work. Well, the best approach comes down to whether this is a temporary or long-term/permanent option for you and your family. Age-Appropriate Chores. ), So, with this conflicting guidance and information, what should you do?
Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, National University Library. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.k12.com/. (2020). However, with everything clearly defined and with trust, constructive conflict and commitment, holding each other accountable for their respective parts becomes much easier, and does not need to involve finger pointing or other negative non-constructive behaviors. Some organizations group activities in the following age groups, for example, Kindergarten to grade 2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8 and grades 9-12. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/, Common Sense Media. These are accessible here: https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, Common Sense Media. Small wins go a long way. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education, Roblox. How We Rate and Review. With everyone rushing around trying to figure out what they are going to do for the fall, it is important to also pause, step back, and consider how the plans you make for the fall fit into your future educational plans. Common Core Resources: Textbook & Publisher Resources. (2020). What is Montessori Education?
For parents looking online for content for their children, who may not be familiar with different websites, movies or apps, or unsure how to tell what might be safe or age-appropriate, this post is for you. Your child or children will be perfectly fine with a couple or a few hours of school-related work and other fun, educational activities while you focus on work. More details about the rating systems used for the Common Sense Media ratings can be found here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings. (n.d.). (n.d.). Some states and districts are surveying parents to find out their comfort level with the options listed above (or others, depending on the state and district).
For example, if you choose to homeschool or opt for distance learning to start with in the fall, will you want to send your children back to school (this year or in the future)? Best of luck with this years educational adventures.
No year, and no day, to be honest, looked the same for us, even when I tried to plan it to be the same, and my kids turned out just fine. We have never parented (or helped our kids with remote learning) during a global pandemic. (2020). Florida is more strict, but does have umbrella schools that allow for smoother navigation of the requirements. at the schools themselves, but something to be aware of when asking them for assistance of any kind. If you want to really make it fun and engaging with everyone involved, you or the meeting organizer can make up a bingo card and send it out to everyone on the call. For gratitude, an easy option to start your day would be to talk about three good or positive things. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall if they are physically opened for attendance? While you are on a conference call today, have your kids stand next to your whiteboard or sit next to you coloring or doing some additional activity, and work with them to complete a bingo card based on what is said or done on your conference call. For example, Connecticut only requires a notice of withdrawal, legally, but does recommend (only a recommendation, not a legal requirement) a notice of intent to homeschool and portfolio review.
(2018). Smoothing the transition in our new reality. A visual representation of the five dysfunctions Lencioni identifies is shown below. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass, Common Sense Media. (n.d.). See below for our experience transitioning our kids from homeschooling to public school and considerations/lessons-learned that you might find helpful. We ended up placing them in lower grades than the work they were working on as homeschoolers, both because of their ages and because we knew the work would be easy for them, allowing them to focus on the major personal and social transition with less stress. Retrieved March 19, 2020 from https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/, Bestow.
Write a list of the equipment you used to make your fort. Remote Learning with Khan Academy During School Closures. Looking at these from a more positive lens, as opposed to negatively identifying them as dysfunctions, the list of what teams need to thrive include: The foundation of working together as a group, especially in a stressful, unclear, unpredictable situation like remote learning during a global pandemic, is trust. Schedules created and posted in a common location provide clarity to everyone involved and help the parents avoid questions like what are we doing today? and what subjects are we working on today? There are many free printable planners and schedules available online. Scholastic Learn at Home.
Hopefully, you have found this content helpful, and are on your way to planning a (relativelythey are our awesome kids, after all) calm, fun and enjoyable adventure educating your children at home while working. The first major hurdle for the transition was figuring out what grade they should be in. To this day, we stand by that rule and have had very few issues.
4) Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and identify how each will be held accountable and how opportunities for improvements will be identified, evaluated, and implemented. How Timeboxing Works and Why it Will Make You More Productive. (n.d.). Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall, as long as CDC guidelines for schools are followed (CDC, 2020)?
Marc Zao-Sanders (2018) wrote an informative article on TimeBoxing, accessible here: Organizing your space is another aspect of your current situation that you have total control over. This is a great time to have the conversation with your manager about the priorities of the work currently assigned to you, the hours they expect, or require, you to be available, and where flexibility does (and does not) exist in your schedule, workload and work-related responsibilities. The first consideration is the age levels you are teaching. Being completely clear on goals, roles, and contributions can promote commitment and team cohesion.
Awake and Mindful. (n.d.).
It is nice to have a separate table, countertop, or other area that you could leave your work out on all the time, but in most cases, this is not an option. The rule for our girls was that they had to look at all movies, games, and apps up on Common Sense Media and bring them to us prior to asking the question of whether they could play, watch or download something. The truth is that our kids (or any of us, for that matter) have never learned or gone to school (in person, hybrid or online) during a global pandemic. Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html, https://responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/current-policy/, https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, Common Misconceptions about Working and Homeschooling, https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2218929/how-many-hours-homeschooling-per-day/, https://welltrainedmind.com/a/what-are-the-non-core-subjects/?v=7516fd43adaa, https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education, https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2173553/coronavirus-school-closings-keep-kids-busy/1/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/age-appropriate-chores/, https://grownandflown.com/soft-skills-for-teens/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings, https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport, https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers, https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/, https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html, https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/, https://hellobestow.com/blog/gratitude-games/, https://www.dropbox.com/s/xbwyrg21rbg79fj/conferencecallbingo.pdf?dl=0, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_school_closures_can_strengthen_your_family, https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-timeboxing-works-and-why-it-will-make-you-more-productive. Given the current closure of public schools, many publishers are providing content online for free, as well. KEY POINT: You do not have to replicate your full workday and the full school day, so give yourself a break and get rid of that expectation right away. (Note that we do still have the requirement that they add us on all social media accounts so that we can monitor their activities there if we choose to do so.) (Dont forget to include what you used to keep your fort together tape, staples, clothes pins, etc. The most effective approach I found was to create a basket of schoolwork for the toddler and let her choose her schoolwork from the basket. With some states canceling in-person schooling for the rest of the academic year and others extending the closures for additional time periods or indefinitely, but messages coming from politicians that we need to re-open the country, we are in a state of wait and see. While I worked and homeschooled, I had a variety of types of jobs, all technical/knowledge-working jobs, some with more flexibility than others.
How might it impact their learning? It will make your planning much easier and less stressful if you acknowledge right now that you are one person and cannot be an effective fulltime teacher for 8 hours and full time worker for 8 hours, nor do you need to be. Uncertainty and lack of direction and why can cause unnecessary stress and a lack of commitment.
If you would like to explore this option, a great start is to review your state on both the CRHE and HSLDA websites, start searching for local and regional homeschool associations (the HSLDA has a great resource for this, as well), and begin searching for curriculum options (which can come in fully pre-packaged curriculum options to fully customized curriculum that you pick and choose from resources on publishers sites and Amazon.com book sales, for example) (HSLDA, n.d.2). Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Khan Academy. Yes, movies sometimes work, but how about something possibly more fun (for you and for them)? For those who are not experienced or knowledgeable about publishers used for K-12 education, the National University Library System has a list on their website, accessible here: https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. To commit to common goals, everyone on the team has to be aware of the goals, understand why those goals are important, and be aware and accepting of their role in helping the team attain those goals.
Many state and local education-related publications have language that indicates that the notice of intent to homeschool and the portfolio reviews are required. In these times, I found educational videos that could fill the spaces, where my children could still be learning, but I was able to focus on the meetings and my work. Retrieved March 16, 2020, from, Zao-Sanders, Marc. Homeschool Organizations. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/current-policy/, Digital Learning Collaborative. If you decide you are not comfortable sending your child to their current school in the fall, what options do you have? Weathering the Storm. AnimalCams. 3) Identify the delivery mode you want to use for each subject and each child. It is important to remember this. You will need to determine what is best for you and your children. https://medium.com/taskworld-blog/lencionis-5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-330d58b2cd81. (This is the option rated as highest risk by the CDC) (CDC, 2020). The second is what is being referred to as remote or distance learning, or, in our district, cooperative distance learning, which I think describes this option very well. Free Printable Homeschool Planners.
Some subjects that lend themselves to video lessons are art, music, history, and even physical education, for example. In the middle of the fall, we collectively decided that it was time for the girls to attend public school.
Also, be sure that you are fully informed about what activities are offered or not offered for any who opt into remote or distance learning through the school, as this likely differs on a district by district or school by school basis. While the kids play, you can plan your day(s).
In my personal opinion, consistency in accountability, especially for online learners, is fundamental to their success, I believe, but it takes everyone involved being on the same page to maintain an appropriate level of accountability. What we sometimes forget, though, is that our kids are, as well. Roblox. The pause for them is a huge change and requires adjustment, but provides an opportunity for us, as parents, to teach them how to slow down and be ok with being bored or finding their own activities. The traditional homeschooling community is extreme in their desire to be unregulated and to have full freedom to educate their children however they wish, with minimal or no governmental intervention or oversight. For those that had more meetings than others, I allocated the time for the meetings first, and then figured out what schoolwork I could fit in. A big lesson learned in this transition is that no matter what homeschool curriculum you choose, there will be differences in what they learn there and what is covered in the public school curriculum, thus, some material will be repeated and there will be gaps to be filled in other places. Attention to results is the top and smallest portion of the pyramid. We also chose to provide our girls with education regarding proper behavior online, rather than feeling the need to constantly police them and their online activities. (n.d.).
Our girls were homeschooled since Kindergarten, and I chose materials for each individual subject for each girl, and planned the curriculum and lesson plans myself throughout this entire time.