Unless you're a homeschool parent, you did not sign up for teaching, proctoring, or overseeing school lessons and assignments! We know that working your jobs, many from home, and walking alongside your children as they listen and respond to online lessons is difficult. But with our state and national "stay at home" orders, this is the challenge parents are faced with. To help with this challenge, we will be posting some tips on organization, motivation, and how to ensure that your children stay engaged in their lessons and keep moving forward. To begin with, here are a few key fundamentals for parents:
- Parents very often underestimate what their children are able to do independently. Believe me when I say that these lessons, and the way they are presented, are "old hat" to your children. Let them know that you know they've done this all year (and most of our students for several years) and that you know they know exactly what they are doing. Tell them you fully expect them to work independently (as possible, depending on age) and complete assignments in a timely manner.
- Ask your child's teacher what reasonable time limits are for each subject area's completion, and set a timer expecting your children to complete their work within those limits. Execute disciplinary measures if they do not comply.
- Our teachers are doing the teaching via video, and in many of the lessons, the children should be doing the lesson right along with the video. In other words, they should complete the assignment simultaneously as the teacher completes the lesson. Things like "the other side of the math sheet" should be taking no more time than it did before.
- If your children are in second grade or higher, they are old enough to communicate on their own with their teacher to ask for help and explanations. Set the expectation that they will be responsible for emailing the teacher when they are confused.
- Encourage your children to stop, rewind, and repeat video lessons.