Switching from freewheeling summer days to structured school days is a bit challenging at the best of times, but this year, there’s an added layer of stress thanks to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. With over 1,600 cases so far in Larimer County and counting, the Poudre School District will be starting the year off with remote learning in order to safeguard the health of students and staff.
This will be uncharted territory for a lot of families, so if you’re wondering how to transition to remote learning, just know that you’re not alone! Here are some remote learning tips to help you and your kids kick off the school year with an A+ plan.
Remote Learning Tips for Families
There’s a learning curve for everything—even remote learning! Just remember that you’re all in this together.
Set a schedule and stick to it.
If you’re working from home, it will help both you and your kids be more productive if there’s a clear schedule for the day. Getting into a set routine helps structure the day so no one looks up at 5 o’clock and wonders where the time went. These are some of the best ways to manage time:
- Make sure the schedule is visible to everyone, whether it’s printed and hung on the fridge, scheduled in a shared family calendar on your smartphones, or written out on a dry erase board.
- Use egg timers to help kids stay on task for set periods of time. While younger kids may need the reminder most, even teens and adults can benefit from focused working for set periods of time.
- Make daily “action plans.” You may find it helpful to go over each child’s to-do list and schedule for the day during breakfast, so everyone has a good grasp on what needs to happen.
Create space for learning.
If you have the luxury of space, you may be able to turn a game room, guest room, or home office into an at-home classroom, but if not, you can still help your kids get in the learning zone with some simple tweaks. If they have desks in their rooms, help them set up the area with all of the school supplies and computer equipment they need for class. If not, you can still create a calm space to work at the kitchen or dining room table. Corralling school supplies in portable, easy to organize caddies will allow you to switch from school time to mealtime easily. Wherever your kids will be studying, make sure to keep it calm, quiet, and free of distractions as much as possible. If needed, you can even install apps or software to block certain sites during school hours to remove that particular temptation.
Don’t forget to move.
Without P.E. class, recess, changing classes, and walking to the cafeteria/library/etc., your kids are going to be much more sedentary than usual. Counteract all of the hours of sitting in front of a computer by making time for physical activity. Take a daily walk, do yoga together at lunch time, kick a soccer ball around in the backyard, or go roller skating! Here at Rollerland, we have reopened with a limited schedule, so you and your kids can come get your skate on while social distancing.