Schools and colleges all across the world have been shut down for months and many of them have opted to take the classes online to help their students stay safe and help them keep their education on track. It’s a unique opportunity for parents to be involved with their children’s education on a more personal level and evaluate how it’s going on for them. Here are 5 ways parents can help their kids taking online classes:
1. Dedicate a separate space for learning
A lot of parents have proper spaces in their house where their kids do their homework or study. Every home is different but parents can make an effort to put together space where they can minimize stress, conflict and distractions for their kids. This space doesn’t have to be a completely separate room. Parents can buy used furniture from online stores or borrow unused desks or chairs from friends and family. Another creative way would be to make DIY furniture with the children’s help.
2. Help the kids create routines
A lot of parents have tried to convert their homes into temporary schools with proper schedules for their children to follow. Instead of creating rigid schedules, what parents can do is try to make learning routines. The difference is that creating routines helps you guide your whole family throughout the day together while schedules can make them feel more isolated.
3. Arrange breaks
It is important, especially in case of younger children, to remember that more seating time doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re learning more. They work best in short spans of around 30 minutes. Even older teenagers don’t have a learning span of more than 40 minutes. It’s not sensible to replace an 8-hour school routine with 8 hours in front of screens on Zoom or Meet. Physical activities are extremely important for learning and online classes don’t affect their necessity at all.
4. Dividing tasks into smaller pieces
It’s not unusual for kids to experience stress or getting overwhelmed with studies. Homework can become extremely stressful if they have multiple deadlines to follow. Parents can cooperate with them to break their assignments down to mini-tasks that can be easy to process, manage and complete.
5. Talk to their teachers
Maintaining contact with the child’s teacher can help you stay in the loop and make it easier for your kids to understand their courses and homework. This assists parents in collaborating with the teaching staff in a more personalized manner and monitor their children’s progress in class. The teachers can also communicate to the parents about the areas of improvement for their kids and highlight how they can help improve the situation at home.
Apart from helping out with just assignments or homework, the parents can also seek the teacher’s guidance in identifying new behavioral patterns in the children and inform them about it. This sort of communication helps the teachers treat such students in a specific manner.
