Here we go! COVID-19 has forced your children’s school to close, what’s the procedure? You still have to work from home, you have multiple kids, different ages, where do you begin? First things first, don’t panic. Schools just like many businesses across the world are closing and parents are now faced with the challenge of keeping children occupied and learning at home.
The most important thing to remember is that children need structure. Keep a routine going and stick to it! Keeping things as normal as possible is going to be important for your family during this time. If you normally wake the kids up at 7:30am, keep that consistent. Have everyone eat breakfast and get ready for school. No PJ’s will be allowed at school. This will help put children in the right mind set for learning.
Sit down and create a schedule with your children, set time for learning, lunch, physical education, and creative time. Make sure that you are allowing your children time to focus on things they are passionate about. This keep them looking forward to something! You can also use this time to work in scheduled chores, if it’s on the schedule it is just another thing that must be completed.
You’ll need to create a designated learning area in your home. If you don’t have a separate room for this, transform your kitchen table into the learning space. This is where school will take place, other activities will need to be completed somewhere else. It’s important to classify this area for learning. Create a “supply boxfor each kiddo, depending on their age they might need different things, colored pencils, highlighters, computers, calculators, anything they’ll need to be productive during school time should be located in this box.
Utilize things around your home to facilitate learning, for younger children you can ask them to count household items, this is something different than what they would normally count at school. For older kiddos, ask them to count all the windows in your home, what is the average number of windows in each room? You can also switch up the types of physical activity everyday, get creative with the spaces you have, and if outside isn’t an option, jump ropes are a great investment!
It’s going to be easy for kids to feel depressed and like they are never going back to school, and never going to see their friends again. It’s necessary to be cognizant and replace those negative feelings with positive activities and thoughts. Keep some sense of normalcy. Having children out of school for a long period of time can result in learning loss, that’s something you can combat with sticking to these practices.
You’re going to break down. Let’s face it, being under one roof 24/7 is going to be a lot, there will be good and bad days. However, practice daily positive affirmations. You should do this with your children, repeat affirmations 3 times out loud together. For example;
– I cherish the extra time I get to spend with my family and I am excited about creating more happy, unforgettable memories.
– I focus on opportunities over obstacles.
– I was created to blossom in my natural gifts and talents.
– I love my body for all the things it is able to do.
(Tene Edwards Self Love Advocate and Author of Walk With Wings)
We want to prevent children from “melting into blobs in front of glowing screens/a> and facilitate as much learning as possible. Make sure after creating your schedule you designate what is school time and when school is over. When the work is done for the day check out these tips on avoiding cabin fever during the Coronavirus! Hopefully these pointers can keep parents happy, and kids learning during the difficult time.