COVID-19 has caused all of us to find a new “normal” in the rhythm and structure of our daily lives. However, now that a new cog has been added to the wheel – the 2020 school year – it may be overwhelming to help everyone adjust. We know this is an usual year and with e-learning being much more common, it’s advantageous to have an outline of steps to help guide your at-home schooling endeavors.
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1) Create a Study Space Conducive to Learning
Help your child find and create a designated learning space to ensure focus and productivity. Choosing a specified area that your child will call “their study space” every day will prevent distractions and equally as important it will help their brain distinguish between home and “school”. If kids have a place to physically go to for their school day they will be more likely to turn on their brain for learning when in that space; while also helping them relax with a mind at ease when not “in-school”.
- Find an area with minimal foot traffic to prevent unnecessary distractions.
- Ensure the desk and chair are comfortable and allow for good posture (don’t let this space be in bed or on the couch – those should be their relaxing after school space).
- Assist them with organizing the space to make sure all necessary supplies are within reach and easily located.
- Allow them to add some decorations of their own. This will help them take ownership in the space and feel like it’s truly theirs.
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2) Outline a “School” Schedule
Plan out the days each week to outline BOTH school time and break times. But… don’t feel this is a rigid schedule, let it be flexible to fit the various needs and unexpected changes. Creating the schedule is meant to alleviate stress for everyone involved. Not only will you have a clear direction to follow each day, but they will also find comfort in a routine and knowing what to expect for the remainder of the week. As much as you can, create your schedule to fit your family’s individual needs to ensure it’s more successful for everyone involved.
Make sure break, snack, and lunch time are included in the schedule so they can get a sense of where they’re at in their day and not feel like the school day will be never-ending.
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3) Incentivize Your Child
Outline some fun rewards that your child might receive if they meet a goal you all set together. This will give your child something to look forward to as they progress through the week and it will give you a way to gently remind them of your expectations with only positive feelings on their end. Work with your child to choose what goals must be met to receive the reward, this way they will feel more involved in the process and ultimately lead to more success. You can also work together to determine what the rewards might be but in case you’re stuck on where to start, some fun ideas might be: extended playtime, them getting to pick the movie for family move night or choosing one chore to take off their chore board for that week.
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4) Have Some FUN Math-Centric Activities Ready
There’s bound to be some days where your child is needing a break from their regular school math class structure, but you want to make sure they still use these breaks during schooltime to learn and grow. When this happens don’t panic, with so many ways to work on math-centric topics in the “real world” the possibilities are endless.
From bill pay and budgets to recipe measurements and cost/item at the grocery store math is found everywhere in our everyday lives – it’s just a matter of involving your child in the process. This will allow them to learn math without realizing they’re doing it while also giving them real-life experiences and understanding as to how math shows up in the world.
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5) Teach Them HOW to Ask for Help
Most students are afraid to ask for help because nobody likes to feel like they don’t understand; however e-learning has added a stress of not knowing HOW to ask for help. Teach your child how to ask for help from their teachers. If you aren’t sure how this looks, just reach out to your child’s teachers and ask them. Outline the preferred method for asking questions from each teacher in a clear and concise format and make sure it’s readily accessible to your kiddo to ease the process.
Once they know where to submit their questions, help them find a way to track the questions they have as they have them. This will also provide you a snapshot of what is causing them troubles in each class, so you can track they’ve found and truly understand the answer. Being able to track their questions, in one place, as they have them will also allow them to more easily move onto the next problem or assignment as opposed to feeling like that one question prevents them from doing anything else.
We are always eager and happy to support students through their math education journey! Offering both in-person and online math instruction we are ready to help your family in the way that is best for you!
Mathnasium@home is our new program where we bring the Mathnasium center and the Mathnasium Method™ to you! Through Mathnasium@home we offer live math instruction to students from home. This is included in your Mathnasium membership at no additional cost. Give us a call or send us an email for more information regarding our in-person and online services.
Mathnasium of Cherry Creek
(303) 333-6284