Distance learning isn’t a new concept. Almost every other person is well-aware of this learning pattern. But yes, in this age of lockdown and social distancing, distance learning has emerged as a highly popular way to pursue academics.
However, as a parent, no matter how informed you are, there are times when you may feel limited in certain aspects. And that is totally fine because, unlike teachers, parents aren’t fully trained. Besides, even trained instructors sometimes have trouble teaching their kids.
On the other hand, even kids are struggling due to their limited social life amid the pandemic. So, it is important to provide the child with a positive learning environment.
So, here in this blog, we have included some tips and tricks that will help you deal with the distance learning process:
Setting up for Success
1- Make a space:
Create a dedicated, personalized corner in a room for learning, creating, and reading. The notion here is to offer your child a space that makes him/her feel focused and ready to learn. This way, the child will not have to deal with uncertainty every single day. When the kid knows that a dedicated study space is allocated for educational pursuits at home, it will be a natural progression to look forward to a new day of studying, learning, and absorbing new knowledge.
2- Set a routine:
If you have little kids, then they will need more structure. So, invest your time in creating a visual schedule they can follow. Older kids in a secondary school can refer to a calendar, planner, or chalkboards to track what is happening every day.
Make sure that the kids follow the routine as if they are going to school. Ask them to get ready before the session starts instead of being in the pajamas. Also, focus on breaks too.
3- Review expectations:
Keep a check of what the school and teachers are expecting from your kids. Set your own expectations too. You can even create a timeline of what the kids will be doing the whole day. Make “must-dos” and “may dos” lists to cover important activities of choice.
If kids are sharing devices, then make them understand how the sharing will work and what they can do while on the device. This not only ensures better operation of the device, but the child will not feel left behind from other students or teachers who will log in at the same time for the class.
Staying Focused
4- Keep them close:
Avoid keeping your kids fully unsupervised. This way, it may become harder to keep track of them. Make sure you or another family member is always around. This procedure is extremely important if the kid finds it hard to focus. Keeping them close will assist you in proper nurturing.
5- Encourage self-regulation:
Talk to your kids about the various emotions they go through every day. Tell him what happens in their bodies when they feel sad, excited, or frustrated. This awareness will help your kids understand and manage their emotions.
Likewise, help them to overcome temptation by keeping away other devices like phones, remotes, etc.
6- Play pretend:
With little kids, you can do some role-playing. This way, the kids will stick proactively to a task.
With older kids, have honest conversations about taking up more responsibilities like doing chores, self-regulation, etc. You may be surprised to see how they respond to challenges.
Signing off
As a parent, your worries shouldn’t end with knowing the school fee structure; you must know if your child is comfortable with the education structure or not. So, use our tips and tricks to keep your child focused, interested, and balanced while he/she benefits from distance learning.