Most of us are two days into our first try at home schooling and based on the Facebook posts I have seen, looks like there has been a lot of trial and error (and a bit of a mess, a lot of patience, and possibly a bit of wine afterwards) as we not only figure out how to continue education during this time of school closures, but also to adjust to life working from home. A walk in the park, right? Uh…. Well…..
Here’s a bit of my experience thus far and a few tips and tricks that have helped me get this train on the track. But before I share, it’s so important to know that EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT. What works for us may not work for you, or may work for you some of the time, or some of your kids –
Welcome to life as a classroom teacher! Could you imagine leading a classroom with 20+ absolutely unique kids at the same time? Now you know why I do believe that a day in teaching is more complex than a brain surgery.
While these tips may not work for your kid (I hope they do!), perhaps it will at least give you a good laugh at a 20-year-seasoned-educator/perfectionist teacher who has suddenly become her own child's teacher. The struggle is real.
I am SO thankful to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and their rapid response by launching the Instructional Continuity Plan (ICP). If you have not yet visited the web site, you definitely need to: http://icp.dadeschools.net/. This comprehensive site provides very clear charts that delineate all of the available digital programs available with daily tasks to help guide and structure distance learning. I started here to help design the day. I also commend the District for distributing over 11,000 hot spots for kids and almost 7,000 digital devices throughout the county in one day to mitigate the digital divide between socioeconomic groups. Teachers throughout the District also have daily office hours where they can be reached by phone or email, and folks in the Office of Academics have been working the phones to provide a helpline. Yes, you may call the helpline and the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction may answer the phone! Talk about service!
Alright… so what does it look like at my home…
In full disclosure I was a middle and high school English teacher for about 13 years, so homeschooling a first grader is whole new territory! Of note, my daughter is 6.5 years old, an only child, social butterfly, VERY active and has a pretty serious case of the “mamities.” She was elated to know she’d be home with me alllllll day…
Here are my successes and blunders so far…
Friday, March 13, 2020 (a great day to start, right!)
My daughter’s school was the first to close in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, so we did not yet have access to the ICP as the cancellation occurred in the middle of the night and before the rest of the District. Regardless, I knew starting distance learning today was critical to help her understand these are not “days off.” So we tried.
We started with what I knew was available—iReady and MyOn. As I juggled trying to work on a project for consulting, I also tried to monitor her. Between me trying to work on spreadsheets and her constant whines of “this is borrrrrring” as she melted out of her chair (see picture) and offers of rewards and breaks and penalties, I was beyond frustrated. Yet we stuck with it. I was not giving up.
At the end of the day, I realized her suffering was a result of not knowing how long she was going to be behind the computer. While I absolutely know more hands-on activities would be MUCH better for her engagement and for her learning—reality is (and for all working parents), I also need to work.
So over the weekend, we made a beautiful time table. I let her pick what subjects she wanted to learn when and even incorporated art, music, PE, recess, and of course breaks. I figured I would need work breaks, too, so I could find the time to step away to oversee an art project or play a bit in the backyard for recess. We pinky-promised our commitment to it and went to bed.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Rise and Shine! Because we started the day at 8 am with a walk with the dogs, she woke on her own excited. We were right on schedule. I prepped her breakfast and jumped on a conference call at 8:30. She had 30 minutes for breakfast and a little play. I set up her math worksheets that she was to start on at 9 am.
Well, the conference call last until 9:45 am. Of course, I couldn’t get her to start her math on her own and I was leading the call.
Fail on Day 2—already off schedule with our first academic subject. Sigh.
Off the phone, but with a ton of follow-ups to do, I set up iReady for her to get started. While she worked on iReady, I found the awesome ICP Dadeschools site with a lot more guidance. Now I had better clarity as to what I would do during these academic times.
Yet when I checked in on her, she finished a lesson in iReady Math, but not the recommended 45 minutes, and she wanted to switch to Reading. She was actually on task, so I didn’t fight it. She alternated between the two. That’s when I realized a checklist, instead of a time table, utilizing the guidance ICP would be the way to go.
Just like I did in the classroom—boom—I shifted gears and made a checklist. Now she was motivated. She could choose the order to complete the tasks and we took timed, 5-10 minute breaks in between tasks.
After lunch, I sent her outside to play for 45 minutes. Regardless of age, so much research exists to support that students need physical activity to stay focused. She went to the yard. Then I looked up and I could see her with her head in her hands sobbing. A very deep, heart-felt sobbing. I went out back to see what was wrong. She said she missed her friends at recess and PE. My heart broke. I forgot how hard this would be on her to not be with friends. After proffering a plethora of ideas to play (bike, roller blade, tennis against the garage) she wanted to play Bocce ball with me. Bocce it is! We had a great time and I, too, felt more focused and happy returning to work.
We managed to get through all of the tasks by about 5 pm. I will be honest, there were times when I had to literally have her sit in my lap while I worked on my lap top off to the side to keep her on task. We did it and we celebrated with a bit of ice cream and a dance party. Did I get my work done? Nope. I'm going to have to commit to starting work before she wakes up to get some time in.
Before bed, we talked about what worked well and what we should do tomorrow. She wanted to build a robot kit she got for Christmas for her science task, so we I took it out. She wanted to do yoga for PE, so she picked out her Cosmic Kids Yoga.
We can do this…. I think!
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
She woke up and we got dressed like a school day, minus the uniform (hooray! We are celebrating little wins). It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so she dressed up in everything green and funky and we made green pancakes. At breakfast she asked about the history of St. Patrick’s Day, so we practiced some research skills and searched the internet. We discussed how to pick a good web site or YouTube video. It’s astounding how intuitive and discerning these kids are regardless of age. As she picked what she was going to read and watch, I caught up on morning emails. Next came a barrage of questions about Ireland, so we took a Google Earth tour. While it sounds like a lot of time, this all took under 30 minutes.
Today was night and day from yesterday. She proudly worked on her task list and used a rainbow of sparkly pens to check it off proudly. Nothing too frustrating happened, although she did sigh a few times saying she missed her friends. So tonight she’s rewarded with a virtual playdate with some of her friends.
This may just get easier!!! I’ll let you know tomorrow!
My tips thus far:
1. Have a devoted work space, yet be flexible if they can work elsewhere in the house and still stay focused. I myself struggle to stay at my desk all day and appreciate alternative settings. My rule is—if you’re on task, you can work anywhere.
2. Establish routines. As much as possible. Where my first idea was to have definite start and stop times, this went out the door quickly. Routines don’t necessarily have to be time-based, but task-based will work as well. Figure out what works best for you kids.
3. Sitting still in a chair does not equate to comfortable learning. I learned this in my middle and high school classroom. Standing, laying, or sitting on the floor may work, too. Same rule as above—as long as you’re on task, you can sit or stand.
4. Physical activity is crucial. Physical activity positively impacts the brain and improves cognition, mood, attention and academic achievement in students. I would recommend doing something before “school” starts as well.
5. Breaks are helpful! This gives kids something to look forward to and to give them some time to get some energy out. I do not recommend taking away breaks for a punishment. This will only exasperate the situation.
6. Let them decide what they want to do for certain subjects. While many teachers have provided work and direction, there will still be opportunities for exploration. Look for these opportunities and let the kids choose the learning. This is a significantly effective, research-based approach to teaching and learning.
7. Social distancing is hard on them. I forgot about this one. Especially as an only child, most kids are very social and thrive on the interactions. We are going to make it a point to do virtual playdates and Facetime to fill this gap.
8. Remember, we’re all human and most of us are new at this. Have patience with you kiddos... and your self! No one is going to do this perfectly!
Even as a teacher, distance learning/homeschooling your kid is a challenge—and an opportunity to expose them (unexpectedly!) to an innovative learning environment. Remember, one size doesn’t fit all...Trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t while working at home is like building an airplane as you fly it! But you CAN do this!
Some cool resources I stumbled upon:
Nat Geo Kids makes it fun to explore your world with weird, wild, and wacky videos! Videos featuring awesome animals, cool science, funny pets, and more, are.
If you're feeling hungry for art while you're stranded at home, here are 12 museums that you can visit virtually right now:
Kids' author Mo Willems is here to make your weekdays a little better for a while: Starting today, he'll release a new “Lunch Doodle” video each day