What we sometimes forget, though, is that our kids are, as well. Parents need to be able to bring concerns to educators and administrators when things arent working for them and their children. (n.d.). You will need to determine what is best for you and your children. We have never parented (or helped our kids with remote learning) during a global pandemic. 3) All members of the team should remember that discomfort leads to growth and work on being ok with being held accountable, with hearing feedback that they dont really want to hear, and with giving honest, constructive feedback to other members of the team when things arent working well. schoolwork has to follow the school day/week schedule, the schoolwork has to only include academic subjects, the kids have to be working on academic work the entire time, socialization is an afterthought when homeschooling, the kids are responsible for schoolwork and parents need to continue all of the housework. What if schools open in a blended format, where schedules are alternating day to day or am/pm? You can choose to homeschool your children with you being the primary teacher (as opposed to distance-learning where you are assisting your children with work assigned by their teacher). We homeschooled in many different locations, including a multifamily house where we had a full room dedicated to homeschooling, my parents house where we had an area in the basement, our family members kitchen counters, and even an RV, when we traveled around the US. You will need to decide, based on your family values and rules about electronics and screen time, your work schedule and flexibility, ages of your children, and learning preferences and styles, what modes are best for you for each student and each subject. In my classroom, I start my classes off by having my students volunteer to Tell me something good. The good things could literally be anything, and they have ranged from I had a good breakfast this morning, to My football team won last night. If you want to add variety or switch things up a bit, the Bestow Team created a list of 30 gratitude games and activities for kids, accessible here: https://hellobestow.com/blog/gratitude-games/. Also, be sure that you are fully informed about what activities are offered or not offered for any who opt into remote or distance learning through the school, as this likely differs on a district by district or school by school basis. It is important to be fully informed of all legal and regulatory requirements prior to making your choice, so that you are making a fully-informed choice. When you are planning your days, you will first need to decide how much time you want (or need) to spend with your focus dedicated to your work (in meetings, for example), and how much time you want to spend homeschooling your child (or children). Khan Academy has provided help and getting started pages for their content here: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, and the lessons themselves are accessible here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Scholastic has provided schedules and lessons here: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html. The state regulations say that families MAY submit a Notice of Intent to homeschool and participate in portfolio reviews. Carter, Christine. Common Sense Media, for example, provides a list of Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sides, accessible here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html, Connectiond Academy. A lesson I learned the hard way many times is that they cant both be done (effectively) at the same time. (2020). The first major hurdle for the transition was figuring out what grade they should be in. For example, Connecticut only requires a notice of withdrawal, legally, but does recommend (only a recommendation, not a legal requirement) a notice of intent to homeschool and portfolio review. Yours will too. Educators have never taught during a global pandemic, much less taught remotely or taught some students remotely and some in person at the same time. What if schools are opened in a virtual-only format to start the school year and transition to blended or alternating schedule formats, or even full capacity later in the school year? Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. No one knows what the right answer is to any question or problem right now, BUT, we can all try things, fail, get back up, and try something else. The state, on the other hand, wants to have as much control and oversight as possible, in many cases. You can use an existing bingo card, plenty of which are posted for free online. (n.d.). (n.d.). In my personal opinion, consistency in accountability, especially for online learners, is fundamental to their success, I believe, but it takes everyone involved being on the same page to maintain an appropriate level of accountability. To this day, we stand by that rule and have had very few issues. If you want to really make it fun and engaging with everyone involved, you or the meeting organizer can make up a bingo card and send it out to everyone on the call. (n.d.). (2020). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.k12.com/. (2018). (2019). Coronavirus (COVID-19). What Ill provide below is a brief overview of some of the options for planning the work, starting with four considerations for doing so. Hopefully, you have found this content helpful, and are on your way to planning a (relativelythey are our awesome kids, after all) calm, fun and enjoyable adventure educating your children at home while working. This is a great time to have the conversation with your manager about the priorities of the work currently assigned to you, the hours they expect, or require, you to be available, and where flexibility does (and does not) exist in your schedule, workload and work-related responsibilities. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, Common Sense Media. It will make your planning much easier and less stressful if you acknowledge right now that you are one person and cannot be an effective fulltime teacher for 8 hours and full time worker for 8 hours, nor do you need to be. Others split them into pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-5 and grades 6+. There are many options for finding safe content online for kids. Homeschool Laws By State. While I worked and homeschooled, I had a variety of types of jobs, all technical/knowledge-working jobs, some with more flexibility than others. KEY POINT: You do not have to replicate your full workday and the full school day, so give yourself a break and get rid of that expectation right away. School and schoolwork does not have to be an all-or-nothing situation. What is Montessori Education? Calling it schoolwork for the toddler made her feel like she was getting to do something cool that her big sister was doing, while really just doing what she would have been anyway. Before you start, identify an award they will earn if you get a bingo and/or if they black out the entire card by meeting the criteria of each bingo square on the entire bingo card. If you have decided that you are not yet comfortable physically sending your kids back to a school building, thinking through some of the following questions might be helpful in deciding between distance learning (assuming this option is available/offered through your school) and homeschooling: 1) Do you want to choose your own curriculum, make your own lesson plans, etc., or do you want to assist your children in completing teacher-assigned activities? Organizing any extra items needed (for science experiments, for example) over the weekend for the entire week will also help make your work/homeschool days flow much smoother. 2) Block off the appropriate time for schoolwork on your work calendar and communicate these expectations to your manager and coworkers. No year, and no day, to be honest, looked the same for us, even when I tried to plan it to be the same, and my kids turned out just fine. (Note that we do still have the requirement that they add us on all social media accounts so that we can monitor their activities there if we choose to do so.) For example, if you choose to homeschool or opt for distance learning to start with in the fall, will you want to send your children back to school (this year or in the future)? As part of a successful, high-performing and well-functioning team, we have to work together as a team toward common goals, just like a sports team or a project team in an organization. 3) Clear out, setup and organize your dedicated storage area for your schoolwork and related supplies. at the schools themselves, but something to be aware of when asking them for assistance of any kind. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://welltrainedmind.com/a/what-are-the-non-core-subjects/?v=7516fd43adaa, Common Sense Media (n.d.). If you have chosen to homeschool instead of opt into distance learning through your school, and the option is temporary, you may wish to file the notice of intent to homeschool and proceed to work closely with the school to ensure the smoothest transition back into the school when the time is right. While you are on a conference call today, have your kids stand next to your whiteboard or sit next to you coloring or doing some additional activity, and work with them to complete a bingo card based on what is said or done on your conference call. Retrieved April 19, 2020 from https://grownandflown.com/soft-skills-for-teens/, Minecraft. The second is what is being referred to as remote or distance learning, or, in our district, cooperative distance learning, which I think describes this option very well. Coronavirus Closed Schools: 27 Activities to Keep Kids Busy During School Closures. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.roblox.com/, Wiess, S. R. (2020a). There are a few things to consider. If yours has not done so, or you would like to supplement the work provided to your kids, there are many approaches to doing so. (Many states do not allow homeschoolers to participate in activities at the public school, but some states do. They also expect to have to make up for missed learning in the fall for this last spring, especially for the younger students in lower grades. ), 2) Do you (and your student) want the ability or option to participate in after school activities? (Remember: If you dont know where you are going, any road will get you there. For gratitude, an easy option to start your day would be to talk about three good or positive things. We cannot control what this pandemic has become or is about to become or the ripple effects it may cause. In my previous post, I noted that some schools and some districts are providing work for their students, which is great! Trust that everyone is doing their best (whatever their best looks like on a given day) and trust that everyone has the childrens best interest at heart are a couple of others. (2020). If any of you are like me, you started your working and homeschooling balancing act by trying to explain to your children how important work is, and how you have to focus (and they have to be quiet) while you are on work calls. This includes finding appropriate websites, movies, games, and applications, teaching your children about online safety and digital citizenship, and knowing how to distinguish between free, safe content and free, unsafe content. Many other options exist, just be sure that you are accessing them through sites that you trust.