(2019). Everything else is a bonus. (2020). (Remember: If you dont know where you are going, any road will get you there. 3) Clear out, setup and organize your dedicated storage area for your schoolwork and related supplies. (This is the option rated as highest risk by the CDC) (CDC, 2020). Best of luck with this years educational adventures. Calling it schoolwork for the toddler made her feel like she was getting to do something cool that her big sister was doing, while really just doing what she would have been anyway. Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for you and your children. (n.d.). Schedules created and posted in a common location provide clarity to everyone involved and help the parents avoid questions like what are we doing today? and what subjects are we working on today? There are many free printable planners and schedules available online. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, HSLDA. It is important to understand the risks and the comfort level you have with those risks, and, depending on the approach taken, the health risks for your children and for you (and for everyone in your household). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2218929/how-many-hours-homeschooling-per-day/. If you plan to homeschool long-term or permanently, focusing on this alignment might not be quite as important or impactful. There are many misconceptions about homeschooling, in general, but especially with working and homeschooling. CommonSenseMedia.org. Without clearly defined roles and goals, it is difficult to hold team members accountable for their contributions to the team and to the teams success. For those that had more meetings than others, I allocated the time for the meetings first, and then figured out what schoolwork I could fit in. Scholastic Learn at Home. The answer to this question can provide further guidance for what choice might be best for you and your family, on top of the obvious comfort level with sending them to a physical school building in August or September. Its important to have an honest conversation with your family and make the decision that is best for you, and to communicate that through these surveys. In the middle of the fall, we collectively decided that it was time for the girls to attend public school. With the quick pivot to distance learning in the spring, and the large disparities with technology access and related issues, the schools and districts are still working to get some students caught up on their work from the spring. You can ask the school about options for continuing distance learning (if they dont already include that as an option in their fall plans). (2020). Carter, Christine. For example, if you choose to homeschool or opt for distance learning to start with in the fall, will you want to send your children back to school (this year or in the future)? Its challenging to ensure everyone is on the same page during a normal school year, but even more challenging during a global pandemic. Thats all any of us can do, and the only way we are going to figure out what will work is for everyone to be comfortable communicating and providing constructive feedback when things are not working. Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sites. They are used to having their days and activities planned out for them months in advance. In my personal opinion, consistency in accountability, especially for online learners, is fundamental to their success, I believe, but it takes everyone involved being on the same page to maintain an appropriate level of accountability. (This is a big deciding factor that can save or cost you a lot of time and stress. You will need to determine, based on the number and ages of children, your work schedule, and any other constraints, what subjects you want to teach and can manage to do so with minimal stress. Coronavirus (COVID-19). Harvard Business Review. You will need to determine the best balance and schedule for your family based on the ages you are teaching, the subjects you have selected, and the modes you have chosen to use to teach those subjects. The truth is that our kids (or any of us, for that matter) have never learned or gone to school (in person, hybrid or online) during a global pandemic. Stay home and stay safe. 100 Things to Teach Your Teen While Youre Stuck at Home. ), As you think through the answers to these questions and others, I would like to share about our personal experience with the transition from homeschool to public school in Connecticut only a few years ago. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall if they are physically opened for attendance? For later years (grades 3-5 and 6-8) we elected to study math and language arts every day, and study science, history/social studies, art and music one day per week each, leaving the additional day (which happened to be Friday for us) for making up work we didnt complete earlier in the week. Some organizations group activities in the following age groups, for example, Kindergarten to grade 2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8 and grades 9-12. Common Sense Media. Retrieved April 19, 2020 from https://grownandflown.com/soft-skills-for-teens/, Minecraft. It is important to remain aware (and equally appreciative for any help they provide) that the schools and school districts are not required to assist homeschooling families, and that submitting an intent to withdraw (and/or an intent to homeschool) does have a direct impact on their budget, as they are funded on a per-student basis. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.roblox.com/, Wiess, S. R. (2020a). Instead of trying to convince your kids why they should be quiet and calm during your conference calls and hoping for the best, you might try giving them specific activities to keep them busy during these times. Another point to consider is that you have every right to make the time spent educating your children as high a priority as any other meeting, so schedule it. (n.d.2). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://welltrainedmind.com/a/what-are-the-non-core-subjects/?v=7516fd43adaa, Common Sense Media (n.d.). Decorating Amazon boxes and used soup cans make great arts and craft projects and excellent organizers! Some subjects that lend themselves to video lessons are art, music, history, and even physical education, for example. At this point, state and local boards of education are doing the best they can with the little information they have to plan for something none of us have ever had to deal with before. A template for this can be found on many of the CT homeschooling group websites or Facebook pages. Our girls were homeschooled since Kindergarten, and I chose materials for each individual subject for each girl, and planned the curriculum and lesson plans myself throughout this entire time. (2020). I will gather and post a list of the supplies I always kept on hand soon. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.k12.com/. If your remote/distance learning/homeschooling is only planned to be temporary, keeping as close to the curriculum their classmates are learning in school will make for the smoothest transition when the time comes for them to go to school and join their classmates again. You dont have to wait until plans for the fall are released to figure out what you are comfortable (and not comfortable) with. While you are on a conference call today, have your kids stand next to your whiteboard or sit next to you coloring or doing some additional activity, and work with them to complete a bingo card based on what is said or done on your conference call. If your student is overloaded with work, have them work with their teachers and administrators to request extensions or accommodations where needed. Either way, you will need to allocate time for schooling for your children and for your work. (n.d.). The state, on the other hand, wants to have as much control and oversight as possible, in many cases. 4) *BONUS* You can also take an inventory of what you have for school supplies (paper, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, glue, scizzors, stapler, tape, whole punch, etc.). Roblox. These can be accessed here: https://www.headspace.com/covid-19. A lesson I learned the hard way many times is that they cant both be done (effectively) at the same time. Small wins go a long way. The rule for our girls was that they had to look at all movies, games, and apps up on Common Sense Media and bring them to us prior to asking the question of whether they could play, watch or download something. Trust that everyone is working toward a common goal, for example, is one type of trust. Given the current closure of public schools, many publishers are providing content online for free, as well. schoolwork has to follow the school day/week schedule, the schoolwork has to only include academic subjects, the kids have to be working on academic work the entire time, socialization is an afterthought when homeschooling, the kids are responsible for schoolwork and parents need to continue all of the housework. When I started homeschooling and working from home, we had one preschooler and one toddler. 3) Identify the delivery mode you want to use for each subject and each child. Uncertainty and lack of direction and why can cause unnecessary stress and a lack of commitment. Examples of delivery modes include DVDs, online learning games, online video lessons, printable lessons, workbooks and textbooks, fully online classes, and instructions posted online that allow you to create your own. This includes finding appropriate websites, movies, games, and applications, teaching your children about online safety and digital citizenship, and knowing how to distinguish between free, safe content and free, unsafe content. (Dont forget to include what you used to keep your fort together tape, staples, clothes pins, etc. Looking at these from a more positive lens, as opposed to negatively identifying them as dysfunctions, the list of what teams need to thrive include: The foundation of working together as a group, especially in a stressful, unclear, unpredictable situation like remote learning during a global pandemic, is trust. Well, the best approach comes down to whether this is a temporary or long-term/permanent option for you and your family. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings, Common Sense Media. Although Im not fully convinced that this is the best approach to managing your time, the concept of Timeboxing is similar to the approach Ive recommended above. 2) Develop open lines of communication between parents, educators and administrators. Here are a few suggestions of where we might start: 1) Develop (and ensure everyone knows and understands) clearly defined goals. You dont need to go crazy buying organizing supplies. One combined list of these is accessible on EarthCam.com, here: https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/. To commit to common goals, everyone on the team has to be aware of the goals, understand why those goals are important, and be aware and accepting of their role in helping the team attain those goals. So, how do we, as a team of parents, educators, and administrators, work together as a high performing team and not fall into the 5 dysfunctions of a team identified by Lencioni? You can choose to homeschool your children with you being the primary teacher (as opposed to distance-learning where you are assisting your children with work assigned by their teacher). The activities in the basket could be anything from printed mazes, cut and paste activities, manipulative for counting, coloring books, etc. In Connecticut, the only thing you are legally required to do is file with your local board of education a letter of Notice of Withdrawal. One way to focus and be able to sift through all of the options is to decide what modes you wish to use to teach each of the subjects you selected, and limit your searches to the selected mode for each subject. How might it impact their learning? In my previous post, I noted that some schools and some districts are providing work for their students, which is great! Montana requires a notice of intent to homeschool to be submitted to the local Superintendent of Schools, but does not require any other forms or portfolio review, etc. Headspace, a mindfulness and meditation app, is providing a series of their meditations for free in the midst of the current situation. Then, your stress levels went through the roof when it didnt all go smoothly with calm, quiet kids and dedicated focus for you. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.connectionsacademy.com/, CRHE. You can use an existing bingo card, plenty of which are posted for free online. Or, are you not comfortable sending your children to school at all until there is a vaccine, for example? These are all considerations when building a foundation of trust in a remote or distance learning team with all parties involved. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall, as long as CDC guidelines for schools are followed (CDC, 2020)? What if schools open in a blended format, where schedules are alternating day to day or am/pm? SheKnows.com. (n.d.). If you would like to explore this option, a great start is to review your state on both the CRHE and HSLDA websites, start searching for local and regional homeschool associations (the HSLDA has a great resource for this, as well), and begin searching for curriculum options (which can come in fully pre-packaged curriculum options to fully customized curriculum that you pick and choose from resources on publishers sites and Amazon.com book sales, for example) (HSLDA, n.d.2). You are the parent, and you know what is best for your children. State Virtual Schools. Homeschool Laws By State. Commitment is built on a foundation of trust and constructive conflict. (Remember to make the award something you can make, give or do with them at home, and that they can have or do after your conference call is over.). What if schools are opened in a virtual-only format to start the school year and transition to blended or alternating schedule formats, or even full capacity later in the school year? (Note that this is not a comprehensive list.) Your next steps are: 1) Identify the age groups of the children you are educating and whether they need to be planned separately or if the plan and content can be the same. A few of the things that are currently within our control are: 1) our reactions to the current situation, 2) our attitudes, 3) our schedule and 4) our space. You can make, download and print your own bingo card at sites like BingoBaker, accessible here: https://bingobaker.com/ Yet another alternative is to keep your call off speaker, but let your kids mark off the square on the bingo, and you tell them when the criteria has been met. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://www.headspace.com/covid-19, Khan Academy (2020). What we sometimes forget, though, is that our kids are, as well. If you want to really make it fun and engaging with everyone involved, you or the meeting organizer can make up a bingo card and send it out to everyone on the call. Yours will too. Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, Center for Disease Control (CDC). Bauer, S. W. (2016). (n.d.). (Parents, dont be jealousyou can make forts, tooand even take your conference call from inside your fort, if you want to.). You will need to determine what is best for you and your children. The traditional homeschooling community is extreme in their desire to be unregulated and to have full freedom to educate their children however they wish, with minimal or no governmental intervention or oversight. We also chose to provide our girls with education regarding proper behavior online, rather than feeling the need to constantly police them and their online activities. Science and art took the most preparation because we conducted experiments and made a variety of art and craft projects, so we split these days, so that they were not back-to-to back, allowing for some planning and preparation time in between. Age-Appropriate Chores. (n.d.). at the schools themselves, but something to be aware of when asking them for assistance of any kind. Patrick Lencioni wrote a book called, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which gives a simple, straightforward way to think about what is needed for teams to function well and to thrive. Literally blocking it off on your calendar and communicating your schedule with your bosses and colleagues will make sure you are all on the same page and that everyone will respect that time. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. Here are a few options, as examples: CDC. AnimalCams. There are so many different aspects and layers of trust, as well. The second option is for grades 6-8, called Digital Compass, which is accessible here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass. As parents, educators, and administrators, (and our children) we are all part of a team with a common goal of ensuring that our children are safe, cared for, and that their learning is promoted and supported in all ways possible. 1) Draw out a rough daily schedule (or weekly, if your daily work schedules vary), allocating specific times for work and for schoolwork. Focusonthefamily.com. Grownandflown.com. The last thing we need is to waste time searching for books, pencils, paper and other supplies while we are trying to work and homeschool. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2173553/coronavirus-school-closings-keep-kids-busy/1/, Wiess, S. R. (2020b). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://hslda.org/legal, HSLDA. Coronavirus Closed Schools: 27 Activities to Keep Kids Busy During School Closures. It is also an opportunity for us to find ways for our kids to help around the house and to teach them new life skills that are no longer taught in schools. Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/, The new challenge to keep the kids occupied during conference calls is: FORT MAKING!!! Many other options exist, just be sure that you are accessing them through sites that you trust. https://medium.com/taskworld-blog/lencionis-5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-330d58b2cd81. A visual representation of the five dysfunctions Lencioni identifies is shown below. How We Rate and Review. Our toddler also participated, at an age-appropriate level, in virtual field trips, science experiments, and other educational activities with her sister. This is when choosing distance learning through the school, working with the school on curriculum or even taking advantage of optional portfolio reviews, or employing a certified teacher in a pandemic pod could work out better than doing what we did with creating a custom curriculum. The first major hurdle for the transition was figuring out what grade they should be in. No one knows what the right answer is to any question or problem right now, BUT, we can all try things, fail, get back up, and try something else. Best Kids Yoga Videos on YouTube. All movies, for example, have ratings from Common Sense Media, as well as a kids rating and a parents rating, but even more helpful are the details provided by Common Sense Media behind their specific rating. So, what options are there? When you are planning your days, you will first need to decide how much time you want (or need) to spend with your focus dedicated to your work (in meetings, for example), and how much time you want to spend homeschooling your child (or children). Lets face it, we are all in survival mode right now, and trying to claim anything else would be misleading. Accountability involves all levels, including our children consistently being held responsible for their work. In my classroom, I start my classes off by having my students volunteer to Tell me something good. The good things could literally be anything, and they have ranged from I had a good breakfast this morning, to My football team won last night. If you want to add variety or switch things up a bit, the Bestow Team created a list of 30 gratitude games and activities for kids, accessible here: https://hellobestow.com/blog/gratitude-games/. To avoid things becoming disorganized, piling up, getting dirty during meals, etc., it is best to dedicate a shelf or whole bookshelf to the schoolwork, books and all related equipment. (n.d.). (2018). (Also, in Connecticut, if your children were never enrolled in a public or private school, no notice of any kind needs to be filed. ), So, with this conflicting guidance and information, what should you do? On top of a foundation of trust is constructive conflict. (Various factors played into our decision, but one major factor for us was for the girls to have the option to participate in sports, clubs and other activities, and we were living in a location where they were districted into good schools.). A great list of them compiled by STEAMsational is accessible here: https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/. They already do for other meetings and for lunch, right? 3) All members of the team should remember that discomfort leads to growth and work on being ok with being held accountable, with hearing feedback that they dont really want to hear, and with giving honest, constructive feedback to other members of the team when things arent working well. Below, I will provide a few options and considerations for finding content for your children that is age-appropriate and safe for them, as well as being safe for you and your computer. Enjoy! (These are usually set at the state-level and enforced at the district or school-level. Considerations for Schools. SheKnows.com. 5) Choose activities to start your day off on a calm and positive note. There are a few things to consider. If you are homeschooling on your own, you and your children might be the only members of the team, but for others remotely schooling via distance learning options provided through their school or district, there are many other members of the team, as well. A big lesson learned in this transition is that no matter what homeschool curriculum you choose, there will be differences in what they learn there and what is covered in the public school curriculum, thus, some material will be repeated and there will be gaps to be filled in other places. If you are teaching more than one child, you will need to decide, based on their ages, maturity levels and possibly reading levels, whether you need to plan separate work for each, or whether you can plan once and have them all working on the same work. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, National University Library. This is not true, legally. If you have chosen to homeschool instead of opt into distance learning through your school, and the option is temporary, you may wish to file the notice of intent to homeschool and proceed to work closely with the school to ensure the smoothest transition back into the school when the time is right. It is also very important to note, especially when you are reading and researching your options, that there are two extremes to the homeschooling debate or conversation, especially in Connecticut, but it is likely evident elsewhere, as well. 2) Identify the subjects you would like to teach each of the children. Common Sense Media provides two different options for digital citizenship education. Game Reviews. Common Sense Media includes reviews of some books, as well. Current Homeschool Laws. (n.d.). (2020). If you want more information prior to pursuing this option, your best bet is likely to reach out to the school or district directly for more information about what the portfolio review might look like, what kind of support and guidance you can expect from them, etc. They are asking because they truly care about your children and your input. The first consideration is the age levels you are teaching. 5) Understand and be honest and open about what you (and your student) can and cannot reasonably take on and complete given everything you have going on outside of school responsibilities, and be open to working with your student and their teachers and school administrators. There are also many online tours of national parks, zoos, and aquariums. Awake and Mindful. Attention to results is the top and smallest portion of the pyramid. Florida is more strict, but does have umbrella schools that allow for smoother navigation of the requirements. For those who are not experienced or knowledgeable about publishers used for K-12 education, the National University Library System has a list on their website, accessible here: https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. What Ill provide below is a brief overview of some of the options for planning the work, starting with four considerations for doing so. Just take a few deep breaths and enjoy the time you have with your kids, because they really do grow up so fast, and this pandemic and chaos will eventually pass. For parents looking online for content for their children, who may not be familiar with different websites, movies or apps, or unsure how to tell what might be safe or age-appropriate, this post is for you. It is important to be fully informed of all legal and regulatory requirements prior to making your choice, so that you are making a fully-informed choice. While the kids play, you can plan your day(s). The second consideration is the subjects you wish to teach. On a sports team, each team member (player, coach, manager) has to understand their role in the teams success to be committed to being the best in that role that they possibly can, thus maximizing their contribution to the team and the teams progress toward that goal.