With schools transitioning to Distance Learning in response to COVID-19, many families are finding out what it looks like to homeschool their kids for the first time. To help make that transition as smooth as possible and maintain sanity and peace in the household, here are some tips and tricks we have found helpful for homeschooling families.
1. Find a “School Space” in the House
Whether it’s the dining room table or an extra room that isn’t being used by a remotely-working parent, find a dedicated space where your kid will do school. AVOID letting them do it in their bedroom, if possible. There needs to be clear spatial separation between where they work and where they sleep. I learned this the hard way when I was in college and studied in my dorm room (because walking up to the library seemed like such a long trek). This ended in anxiety and panic attacks when I would try to go to sleep. Once I separated the two spaces and kept my room only for resting, relaxing, and hanging out with friends was I able to regain peaceful sleep.
Check out our Pinterest board for some great ideas for all types of space.
2. Use Headphones
This is especially helpful if you have more than one kiddo sharing the dining room table. Schools are planning to use Google Hangouts and Zoom to conduct virtual discussions, and although you may want to brush up on your knowledge of the Bill of Rights and Precalculus, you may have other things you need to get done without being distracted.
I would also make sure the headphones have a microphone feature so that they can easily talk with their class when they have to without taking off their headphones.
If you need backup headphones, here are some options.
3. Protect their Eyes
Screen time was already a hot discussion amongst parents before coronavirus, but now our kids have to look at their screens for 4+ hours per day. To protect their eyes, brains, and health, I would HIGHLY recommend investing in a pair of blue-light blocking glasses. Research has shown the blue light emitted by electronic devices can cause eye strain. I’ve had middle school-aged students who started to get headaches and migraines after spending hours and hours on Youtube and video games, and the headaches dissipated after using blue-light blocking glasses.
Here’s a link to some easy to order options on Amazon.
Transitions are hard and take time.
During these next weeks as we all figure out distance learning, remember that anything new takes time and effort. We are all adjusting to a new reality of social distancing, and nobody knows for sure how long it’s going to take to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all people in the midst of Coronavirus. But I do know that no matter if you were choosing to homeschool or are now forced to homeschool, it takes time to adjust.
I listened to Brené Brown’s new podcast, “Unlocking Us”, this week where she talked about in her first episode, “Brené on FFTs”, the difficulty of doing things for the first time (except she used more explicit language that I will save for the podcast). She said that in all of her experience and decades of research, one of things she has learned is that when we do things for first time we have drop our expectations. Having big expectations of how something is going to look when it is our first time doing it makes it nearly impossible to accomplish…or even start at all.
As you trek into homeschool/distance learning territory, lets all acknowledge that expectations have to kept low. It’s not going to look, feel, or act like normal school. But I’ve have found with every family Beyond Education has worked with, especially those starting homeschool, with clear communication, clear expectations, and a little time everybody adjusts eventually and a new normal is found.
I hope these tips were helpful. We are working diligently to share as many resources as we can with you during this time, so please stay in touch with us.