The current situation of the world has forced many parents to adopt the role of supplemental teacher and tech support for their child’s education. Last spring many families experienced what the new online school was going to look like for this upcoming school year. Many felt that this education was lesser as some curriculum was cut and children were given a little slack. While during the beginning of the pandemic these changes were welcomed and allowed kids to be less stressed about school they undoubtedly received a lesser education. With all summer to prepare, many school districts have spent large amounts of money to allow for a better online education to be achieved. With more planning many schools are able to create specific plans of action to counteract the shortcomings of online school and even hybrid schools. Some parents have taken it upon themselves to begin homeschooling to ensure there are no lapses in education that would disadvantage their children later on. This is a large role to take on and homeschooling can be a lot of work. There are many different homeschooling parents can do to make the task more manageable but the best thing to do is to have a discussion with other homeschooling parents for guidance and how to navigate occal curriculum and test standards. Below are some tips and tricks to ensuring your child gets a great education from the safety of your home.
Plan
Planning is the single most important thing to do as a homeschooling parent. With taking on the additional role of a teacher it can be hard to know whether or not you are staying on track and getting the knowledge that needs to be learned to your child. Planning the school year and ensuring there is a good pace will set you up for success. By taking the first few weeks before classes start to get organized with lesson plans, units, the curriculum, and any state mandated standardized tests will save you a lot of stress in the long run. By having a gameplan everyday you are better prepared to have knowledge of the topics being discussed ahead of time and will give you time to brush up on some items that may be more difficult or unfamiliar. Planning should not only be with the parent as it is important that your child develops a way of keeping track of assignments and upcoming due dates. Teaching your child how to plan and budget time is a skill that will carry them throughout their education and beyond.
Engage
Any teacher will struggle in the beginning to keep student engagement up. This is especially true for some subjects like history that can be made very boring very easily. Rather than having your child read straight from a text book for a lesson it may be more advisable to make the learning experience more engaging by acting out famous historical scenes or by drawing pictures of famous historical events. The more ways you enable the student to engage with a set of information, the more likely they are to encode it and store it in long term memory. Utilizing supplemental online learning tools can make this a lot easier for parents. These tools will have activities based on subject and give the parent the activities they can do with their children. This removes a lot of work on the part of the parent and enables them to engage their child in the learning. These supplemental learning tools can also connect your child to other peers and allow them to connect with the content even deeper by giving them peers to discuss them with and learn from each other.
Schedule
Having a routine for your childs at home education is incredibly important to enable your child to succeed. A schedule is a common thing in many different schools and jobs because it gives a sense of consistency that better allows people to anticipate what their day will look like. Humans are creatures of habit and by creating a schedule you are creating a habit for your child to learn on a consistent and daily basis. Without a schedule students can get off track and can cause learning to be rushed which leads to typically poorer outcomes.
Overall it is a large task to teach your children but it is incredibly rewarding. When you are able to facilitate a joy and love for learning you are setting your child up for future success. By staying organized, utilizing your resources, and creating a schedule you are much more likely to be a more effective teacher and facilitator of knowledge to your child. In times like these it is important to keep the ones you love safe and opting for an at home education solution is a great way to do this and a great way to develop a deeper bond with your child.
