~ Have a designated work space for school (or work).
You all have seen our school room. That works well for us. Growing up, my brothers, sister and I worked at the kitchen table. Many of my friends educate at their kitchen table. What about the dining room table or a spare table set up in a "public" location within your home?
Having one work space helps me know at a glance who is working and who is goofing off, since I don't have to go off and check bedrooms to know if they're working or not.
Grab pencils, markers, paper, textbooks, the computer, your cup of tea and park yourself and them. This saves so much time and frustration. A caddy, a crate, a basket or a shoe box will save multiple trips all over the house. It also eliminates one more interruption of having to go in search of what you/they need.
~ Decide on your media and music rules and make them clear beforehand.
The Blossoms are allowed to listen to music with earbuds, as long as I see them working. If I see distraction, they lose the privilege. (They rarely lose it.)
Other devices are off limits in the school room, unless they are using their math flashcard app. Their tablets are kept at the charging station in another room.
My phone generally is located on the kitchen counter, two rooms away.
From other friends who teach cyber classes or educate their children via cyber school, we've heard that even the games/web sites on the laptop can be quite a distraction. Seriously consider taking the appropriate steps before it becomes a big problem. At the least, simply facing their laptop screen so you can see it from your chair is a good idea!
~ Use your alarm clock.
From experience I've learned that the later they start, the slower they progress through their school work, and everybody gets crankier and more stressed as the day goes on. Consequently, the alarms go off at 7:00 am and we start our day.
~ Designate a learning coach to be present.
I park myself in the school room from 8:30 am until they are finished. I might throw in a load of wash or pop some meat in the crock pot, but I am IN the school room otherwise. This works!!!
~ Make a checklist.
Since the routine will be new, try a checklist of expected school work (and chores too!) to be completed before your children are free to play and chill. It could be jotted in a notebook, on an index card, or on a whiteboard. An older student could be trusted with a checklist on Evernote.
The Blossoms know that chores must be completed, four pages or an assignment in each school subject accomplished, and all wrong answers corrected before they are free. We start out the school year with a daily Evernote checklist and they eventually memorize it.
~ Check school/home work daily, at the very least.
I check school work every afternoon. It helps me keep close tabs on how each student is doing. This "immediate" feedback helps them learn faster!
~ Use learning tools!
If your schools are cancelled and not virtual (yet), keep your kids sharp with great tools like Khan Academy! They can keep information fresh in their minds and work toward individualized goals. Keep 'em sharp by having them read silently, read aloud and do flashcards every day. This is my favorite flashcard app! There are so other many fabulous resources on the internet! For high schoolers, consider working on SAT prep or studying for a CLEP test.
~ Learning happens everywhere and learning happens together.
Just because your kids may not be in a school building, doesn't mean they aren't learning. Be open to new opportunities and ways to learn. You might be surprised! Embrace it!
Lately, we've enjoyed reading Encyclopedia Brown at lunch. Blossom4 is learning about space so we watched the original moon landing footage today, right in the middle of the day. Blossom1 and Blossom2 have been taking my co-op dissection class and the younger girls have been watching some of the dissection videos too. The older three Blossoms were thrilled to make homemade bagels the other day, of their own volition. So much learning!
Friends, if you do end up with kids at home, I hope the transition is smooth and that good memories are made. Time together is well spent.
Blessings,
Dominique
