Routines for Distance Learning: Getting Set Up
The school year is already upon us! We start early down here. Monday to be exact! That’s why my brain is starting to think about routines for distance learning.
Our school puts out this schedule for families to use as a sample as they work to plan their own days. Matt is our dedicated homeschool parent because he only does contract work right now. However, I also want to make time to support some of the school work.
I’m thinking that I’ll work with them from 7am-8:30am every day. And then pick up again from 11:30am-1pm. I would still be able to fit in 8 hours of work a day.
Right now, it feels like the boys are getting way too much time on screens. They absolutely hate leaving the house, but it seems like they should get out at least once a day. Ideas include:
- Swimming in our backyard
- Secret Beach
- Spot in Pflugerville
- Skate Park
- YMCA Trail
- Bull Creek
I also want to do more find activities that are as relaxing for Matt and me as when the boys are on their screens. For example, I want to try 30 minutes of quiet time in separate rooms (with a snack). Tate is really into books; Henry is really into audio books. I also want to try out documentaries or educational videos instead of straight-up video games on an iPad when we are wanting to extend their screen time.
This plan is definitely not going to go over well with our children! They’ve been enjoying what feels like an endless summer.
How are you feeling about the 2020-21 school year?
4 Comments
Kate
Your kids are older, so your mileage may vary, but I had a huge amount of success with instituting a system of “movie tickets” in exchange for screen time.
Basically I made up a pretty comprehensive list of things to be done each day, some fun, some not: LEGO time, quiet reading time, complete three worksheets, do two chores, an hour of outdoors time, etc.
Once those were done each day, then my daughter could have screen time, no questions asked. It provided structure (same list of things to be done each day) and also choices (do them in whatever order you want).
It was a big enough list that screen time never happened before 3 pm-ish anyways (coincidentally when my work day always heats up, ahem), but after some experimentation, I gave her the option of two freebies each day. I thought she would use it for chores every time, but surprisingly not. Some days she really just wasn’t in the mood for outdoor time or more worksheets, and instead she got to read, build LEGO things, make a new piece of furniture for her dollhouse, etc.
If we go back to being under lockdown (thank goodness the kids in our country went back to school at the beginning of June), I will definitely update the slips of paper and put the movie ticket system back in play.
Sara Cotner
Thanks so much for sharing, Kate!
Vanesa
We started “school” last week. We’ve been trying to mimic the school’s schedule (I would really like to know how on earth they manage to keep the kids focused through the morning work cycle given what I’ve observed so far). As part of that, it’s no screens until after 3. Past 3pm, I have given up entirely on screen time restrictions. Kiddo is an only, so our biggest issue is that there’s no one safe to socialize with, which is desperately needed. I wish I could find something that would work on that front. In the meantime, he gets a lot of joy out of watching kids shows about friends doing random things together and telling us (in excruciating detail) about the game he’s playing.
One random thing I’ve been struggling with – I realize I have zero clue how to teach inclusive social studies to a young kid. I’m used to teaching against things (e.g. following up on “first thanksgiving” lessons from school), but it dawned on me that I don’t actually know how to start from scratch in a way that meshes with my values. You’d think this wouldn’t come up with a little kid, but he likes maps. I bought an innocuous looking geography workbook online, and it turns out to include “landmarks”. Page 4 is a celebration plymouth rock, and it just gets worse from there.
Sara Cotner
Home is such a different beast than school, Vanessa! Hang in there!