"At Home Learning" Success

Positive reinforcement: Many kids respond positively to affirmation. Take the time to see the positives in what your child accomplishes and point those out. Consider the benefits of at home learning and focus on those. “You get to go to school in your pajamas and study with your cat!” It’s easy to focus on negative things and the challenges, but taking the time to see the positive will bring positive results. This year, at home learning is dramatically different from last spring’s emergency learning. It will likely take 3-4 hours on “at home learning’ days to stay productive. Expectations are high, and your child needs to know you believe they can rise to the occasion.

Give choice within a daily structure: Help your kids create a daily routine while offering them choices within that structure. For instance, allocate one hour for physical activity and 30 minutes for reading each day while allowing them to pick when and what they want to do. Kids need and crave structure. Help them shape a daily work/rest/play schedule and stick to it. You’ll be pleased with the results.

Stick Together: Try exercising with your kids, even a brisk walk in the evenings will make a difference. Have them show you how Google Classroom works, and what they do to mark attendance. They will enjoy showing you all they know if they see you are interested. The more connected you are in what they do, the more successful they will be.

Competitions: A bit of healthy competition can be great for boosting motivation, as well as teaching kids the importance of learning from failures and losses. “If you make it all week without missing an assignment we can get ice cream Saturday!” “This week you kept to your schedule two of the three at home learning days. Next week if you go three for three we can have a pizza and movie night.” Connect with other parents and form a team. Have the kids compare schedules and compete for prizes by working hard and getting results.

Incorporate the “If/Then” Rule: One of life’s lessons is that we get paid after we do the work. So start saying things like:“When you finish your online lessons, you are welcome to watch a movie.” Or: “When you finish your learning time today, email me or send me a screenshot and I’ll see if you can go over to a friend’s house.”

Enforce this idea and stick to it. If your child does not yet have the necessary discipline, this will help to create it.

Identify a study spot: Your child may need a quiet location away from brothers and sisters to study. Creating a learning zone in your home can be an essential part of structure and routine. Kids and adults need designated spaces where they can focus. Who can study with the TV on?

To keep your child focused, you may need to sit with him while he does some work. Or you can have them text or email you screenshots of their progress. That way you can see that they are in the right environment and it will keep you connected.

Make sure they’re not hangry and slangry: If your child is not having regular meal times and a regular sleep cycle, they are likely unable to focus and give their best. They’re probably overly emotional and not listening well. Sound familiar? Your child likely needs 10 hours of sleep to really function well, and a balanced regular diet. Remember school lunches are available every weekday if it helps. Putting kids to bed on time is hard, but you’ll find the benefits are worth the effort!

Make sure students read the instructions. Sometimes we think we know what the teacher expects, but please read the instructions, just to make sure.

Weighted Grades means that some work/assignments/tests are worth “more” than others.

Teachers are available to ask questions during their google meets office hours, if you don’t know when the teacher’s office hours are scheduled, please ask!!

If you teacher posts a slide show, please watch the slide show in “present” mode, this allows you to hear the teachers comments and directions.