With children and parents home from school and office, life has slowed down even as it has sped up. We are all adjusting to a ‘new normal’ as we await the next advisory regarding the Coronavirus.
School is in session - whether at home or at a traditional school house. Here are a few quick and helpful reminders if you are doing at home school for the first time:
● School work should be done in a consistent place daily.
● Gather all the supplies your child will need so that ‘getting down to work’ is easy.
● Be available to your child however, do not get into the habit of doing the work for them. If they refuse to do the work have an unrelated consequence that you are willing to impose. I can not stress this enough. This is one of the most difficult habits to break once it begins.
● Avail yourself of the many creative on-line resources that are free for almost all users.
● Make learning fun and enjoyable.
● A few hours of ‘school at home’ will feel like a full day to your child respect that feeling.
● Read, read and read more.
● Read in stories related to science and social studies.
● Have your child keep a journal as a writing activity during this time.
● Make note of how your child approaches their work. Working 1:1 with them will give you a lot of information on how they think, move through their assignments and what you can do to assist them in their learning.
● Play games.
● Have them help you with your work, be it housework or office work.
Do make every effort to keep up with whatever may be sent home from the teachers. There is no real experience of this for our students. What it will look like when they return to school is an unknown. To the best of your family’s ability keep moving forward. Be kind to yourself and one another.
Have a question - do reach out. We are all in this together.