So many parents are redefining their stress levels with distance learning. Teaching is a difficult job on top of what most parents are already doing to support their families. So how do you help your child with distance learning?
Here are our top 10 tips to help you and your child succeed at distance learning.
1. You are a Facilitator
Don’t worry if you are not familiar with the material. You are there to help your child and it is okay to learn with them.
2. Keep a Schedule
This is the simplest way to stay productive. Keep a schedule, take your breaks together. With distance learning, most schools are requiring children to stay plugged. Follow that guideline.
3. Connect with Other Parents
Start making friends with other parents in your child’s class. They are experiencing the same thing you are. Why not learn and use each other as resources.
4. Make Schooling Practical
If you can avoid making schooling feel like a punishment, that will set your child up for success. Learning is important and if this feels like a chore it will make this time miserable.
5. Focus on Reading and Math
While science and history are important. Make sure that your child is able to get the most out of their reading and math.
6. Don’t Forget to Make Reading Fun
Find ways to incorporate reading as a family. Whether you read together as a family or discuss a book, make reading an activity that everyone is involved in.
7. The World is Your Classroom
While distance learning is very structured. Think of ways you can continue to tie learning into your everyday life. Visit monuments, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts. Really inspire your children to see how learning is something they should be interested in beyond the classroom.
8. Teach Your Children Things You Wish You’d Learned
Think about all those times you have been critical of education in the past. Now is your chance to fill in learning gaps. Teach your children how to write a letter. Teach them how to write a check, change a tire, clean the filter in the vacuum. Whatever it is, give them some of the lessons you wish you had received.
9. Be Kind
We are still living in a pandemic. The fact that anyone isn’t just hiding from the world is more than enough right now. If you or your child is having a tough day remember to be kind to yourself.
10. Keep a Journal
Try and document how things are going. With outbreaks popping up, it is uncertain how long we will be in this distance learning setting. Track how you are doing, what is working, what isn’t working. Make adjustments as needed. There is no use getting stuck on things that aren’t helping you or your child.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, being a parent is difficult during the best of times. We hope these 10 tips help your child with distance learning and offer you some hope. Everyone is struggling, there are no perfect answers or solutions. But we are all going to be alright.
For those interested in helping kids in foster care succeed at distance learning. Please help sponsor a Back 2 School Pack HERE.
