Planning Home Education during the Coronavirus
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How to handle School Closures due to the Coronavirus - Episode 079
How do I teach my children at home if school closes during the Coronavirus? This is the most common question parents are asking right now. I have reached out to my academic coaching students to devise plans, and with my students living across the country, I have heard many different school closure responses.
As such, I decided to record an impromptu podcast episode of School Counselor Gone Rogue to address what parents should consider if they are dealing with school closures or facing a closing after the break due to the Coronavirus. I'm the type of person who thrives on having a plan, but not just one plan. I like to have plans ABCD and Z. It's my security blanket, and it has been useful since we moved to Florida 12 years ago and met yearly hurricane warnings. But the Coronavirus is different. It's not impacting a handful of states; it's affecting the world. We're all in the same pickle, and in this episode, we discuss the common pickle of what parents can do if school closes due to the Coronavirus and our children are at home.
In this episode of School Teacher Gone Rogue podcast, we talk about:
· How parents can handle uncertainty during the Coronavirus
· Ideas for structuring schedules for children with learning differences
· The importance of planning even in the unknown
Does your teen need extra support during school closures? Click here to speak about academic coaching
Dealing with Uncertainty During the Coronavirus
First, we have to acknowledge that we are dealing with uncertainty. Stop trying to control anything about this situation. Trust me, I am a control freak, and even I have given up hope that I have any power in this situation (aside from buying toilet paper). Parents need to be mindful that hearing about closures in other states, or what the school the next district is doing might not be the same plan your school is following. We're receiving all this information through a funnel of other people, and we can only guess how it's going to impact us directly, and that's scary. But we have to accept the fact, especially if you're a control freak like myself, that there's going to be uncertainty. However, you can look at the things you can control, and that is your backup plan. We discuss in the episode the different situations, but what we can control at this moment is defining the structure our children will follow if school closes due to the Corona Virus.
Building Structure at Home
Having a schedule and structure will be vitally important. My daughters would gladly stay on their phones all day long- but guess what? By 2 pm, I still hear, "I'm booooored." I share on this episode of School Counselor Gone Rogue the conversation my husband (a teacher) and I had about the need for a schedule. The silver lining to this is that you can plan the schedule with your child and set it to their unique needs. If your child has learning differences, you have the freedom to set up their schedule to play to their strengths. Listen to this week's episodes for ideas. The goal is not to have them glued to a Netflix binge for the next two weeks, eight weeks, however long this is going to last. We want to keep their brains going. We want to keep them thinking. And even if your school does not have a plan in place. Gosh darn it, parents, we can do it.
Understanding how your Child is Responding to the School Closure
As I monitor my older daughter's text messages, I see memes and jokes flying among her friends. Their fear level appears to be low, but the structure is one way that we, as parents, can show our children we are taking charge of an unknown situation.
Monitor your child’s viewing of the news, but at the same time, ensure that they are not receiving messages from unreliable sources. A Tik-Tok guide to the Coronavirus might be amusing, but can also provide your teen with false information.
If school closes, it will not be like a snow day or having a substitute. Work will continue as usual. We need to prepare our children that school closures might not mean vacation. Your child’s school might want assignments completed, teachers grading, and students studying.
We can address their concerns but knowing that their home is a safe place will be key in times of uncertainty.
Take time to become Familiar with your Child’s Online Platform
If you are not already familiar with your child's online learning platforms, spend ten minutes to become familiar. Look at how to access files, where teachers post, how to submit files, and how to communicate. If your child is older, have them show you how to do it. If your child is in elementary school, they might not regularly use Canvas, Schoology, or the online platform the older students use -but I bet they have an account that until now has stayed empty. Take a look around it, because chances are if the school goes virtual, you might see assignments shared in those portals. But don't stress. Spend 10 minutes becoming familiar with it and also look at programs like Zoom, Skype and Google meetings.
Lean on your Community
Lean on your community. See who is able to help out or provide supervision if your child needs to remain home. Best case scenario, you will never need to rely on this plan. However, if you have something tentative in place- it helps reduce the stress of scrambling at the last minute. You can also reach out to local home school co-ops and see if they are accepting openings. Our local theater program is currently taking additional students for free to help families who have dual working parents.
In addition, think about what you can offer. Do you have lesson plans to share? Are you an engineer that can virtually teach a group of students a lesson on what your school path should be to obtain your career?
Think outside the box!
In Closing
For myself, structure and planing to the best of my ability feel pretty good during chaos. While our teens might celebrate a school closing and respond with jokes, they also secretly appreciate a plan. As parents, we need to show our children we are taking charge to the best of our ability. We can give a little bit of certainty in these next few weeks. And certainty, during the chaos, feels pretty good to me.
If you are in need of assistance (or educational entertainment) for parents during this time join us in the parent lab. The parent lab is a resource library for parents consisting of monthly live workshops for parents and monthly recorded mini-lessons for students and parents on a variety of learning topics. You can click here to join for a limited time at a lower rate use couponcode onlinelearning to join for $12/month. Gain immediate access to past workshops and mini-courses. Cancel anytime! . In addition, if your child needs support during school closures, click here to inquire about new packages created during this time for academic coaching.
Highlights
Preparing for an online education
How to create structure at home for online learning or virtual studying
Creating a plan for home eduation
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Marni Pasch| Host of School Counselor Gone Rogue| Academic Coach | Team Pasch Academic Coaching
I work with students in grades 6th and higher, who struggle with academic confidence and motivation. I help them survive school with less stress by helping them create concrete goals, tackle procrastination and learn creative study techniques. I empower students to take charge of their education and reach their goals. I do this through individual or group coaching so students achieve success in life, school, career readiness and their social endeavors. I provided in person academic coaching in Orlando, FL, but work with students across the country through Zoom!
