How To Successfully Remote School During Covid-19

Seemingly overnight, news agencies announced a near nationwide school shut down effective immediately.  This State mandated order is in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

The length of the school shutdown varies by State and even by County.  Some schools intend to be shut down for the next 6 weeks.  In most cases, there are already steps in place to allow students to continue their education at home. 

This transition to remote schooling comes at the same time that many parents who work outside the home are being allowed, and even encouraged to work from home. 

For those who aren’t sure how to juggle what is essentially a temporary homeschool situation side by side with their employment, it’s okay; you’ve got this! 

Over the last five years, while homeschooling children in three different grade levels, and simultaneously working from home, I’ve developed a successful routine that can be implemented into your household. With these helpful tips and guidelines, you can successfully remote school during COVID-19.  

Set up a schedule

This is a great opportunity to allow your child to learn in an environment suited to their unique learning style! Once the school has determined how they will integrate e-learning with each student and given you the parent the hours during which there will be online course work review with a teacher, you can then set up a schedule. 

Bearing in mind if your child learns best in the morning or afternoon, set up a start and end time to your school day. Additionally, schedule the amount of time to spend on each subject.  Make it as consistent as you can through the week.  You can see a sample of my own schedule here. If you want the ease of organization that a digital planner provides, there is a Distance Learning and a Homeschool option available in my shop! 

Take Breaks

Once you’ve established a daily education schedule, make sure that you include time for breaks.  Brain breaks or learning breaks are essential for good learning comprehension.  Physical activity breaks are necessary for mental and physical well-being. 

I’ve discovered that being immersed in school and work makes it especially difficult to remember regular breaks.  To combat this oversight, I use my Alexa app on an Echo Dot.  I’ve set up school routines, reminders, and timers.  It’s very effective! 

Run out of ideas to keep your kid’s engaged?  I’ve included the Boredom Brain Busters list in the subscriber library that we use at home.

These cards are another good source of practices and exercises for kids in the area of Mindfulness to help cope with any fall-out anxiety from the impact of COVID-19. For younger kiddos these articles on PBS Kids, “How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus“ and “How You and Your Kids Can De-stress During Coronavirus” may be helpful.

And don’t forget personal breaks! Whether it is a quick 5-minute workout, a cup of coffee in your bedroom/break room or an entertaining podcast on Vurbl be sure to step away for a little decompression throughout the day. 

Stay Connected

The extracurricular activities might be curtailed during this pandemic, but in our modern age of technology, they don’t have to come to a stand-still.  Try Google Duo, FaceTime, or Skype to connect your child with other students for class projects.  Or use these apps to allow your child to continue their music classes, dance classes – really any class where the instructor is willing to tie-in via a video conferencing type link. Additionally, while you may not want to visit your local library, you can access books via the app OverDrive. And PBS Kids’ new weekly newsletter also offers tips and activities to assist in your child’s education while at home.

Don’t Drop Rules

Is it a school night? Has your child completed their chores? Has their screen-time checklist been completed?  These questions that you ask before you let your child play outside to spend time on the tablet shouldn’t be abandoned. 

Sticking to your family rules regarding bedtime, screen time, and playtime will help to ease your child’s anxiety and establish normalcy for the entire family.  Want to see what our screen time rules or screen time checklist look like? Get them through the subscriber library link or through the sign-up form below. Sticking to your family rules will also give you the time to set aside your teacher/coach hat and have a little downtime in the evening, just like always.

COVID-19 is a pandemic that we wish weren’t a reality, but it is.  By fully cooperating with health officials, school officials, and government officials we do our part in the effort to contain the spread of the virus. For parents that are seeking further information on the day to day, see this article at Parents.com. And while remote schooling may not be your cup of tea, you can be successful! You might even surprise yourself with how much you enjoy both working and schooling remote.

Be safe everyone!