By now, your students have two weeks of online learning under their belts. Parents have had a crash course in helping, proctoring, advising, and overseeing their children's schooling. No doubt, parents are learning a lot about their kids. They are independent workers. Or not. They are self-starters. Or not. They are organized. Or not. And lots of students fall in the gray area between those attributes, or lack thereof.
There are some organizational tips that can be of great help no matter where your children fall on the scale of study habits. The very best teachers are highly organized. There is no way one can teach a class of children effectively, in person or virtually, without organization. Check out these tried and true organizational strategies for your students (and you!):
- Monday Master Assignment Sheet: Print out the week's lessons and assignments on Monday when your student receives them. Post it in a common space where you and your child can see and monitor progress. This is the time when your student can reach out to the teacher if there is confusion or questions regarding any assignments.
- Have a file box or folder for "Work to Do" and, when completed, shift it to a file marked "Completed Work."
- Clearly mark off completed work on your Monday Master Assignment Sheet.
- As much as possible, have your children do the filing and marking while you oversee. Remember, they have already done this for ¾ of the school year.
- Have an incentive that they only receive if they complete and turn in all assignments -- pizza and movie night, enter the SRCS Chalk Contest, make a silly video together, play a board game, etc.
Don't be afraid to reach out to your child's teacher for advice. Most teachers are truly expert at organization. If you email with a specific question about how to improve an online school issue, your teacher will have lots of ideas in their tool kit.
Keep fighting the good fight!