Starting your day with gratitude and calm activities has been said to start your day off on a positive note. One is that everyone (or nearly everyone) you work with is in the same boat right now, so they understand the need to balance, and you shouldnt be shy about sharing what you are trying to accomplish. While the kids play, you can plan your day(s). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/age-appropriate-chores/, Grown and Flown. Common Sense Media. (2020). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.k12.com/. ), Have your parent/guardian take a picture of your fort, with the list of equipment used and post it to Twitter using the hashtag #fortchallenge and tag @HomeschoolWork. With everyone rushing around trying to figure out what they are going to do for the fall, it is important to also pause, step back, and consider how the plans you make for the fall fit into your future educational plans. The ability to have an open and honest discussion with their teacher, administrator, or even boss, is a skill that will only help them in their future. (Remember: If you dont know where you are going, any road will get you there. It is important to remember this. KEY POINT: You do not have to replicate your full workday and the full school day, so give yourself a break and get rid of that expectation right away. As of now, you at least have an idea of how much time you want to allocate to work and to homeschooling and have identified an area where you can store and organize schoolwork and related supplies. A visual representation of the five dysfunctions Lencioni identifies is shown below. We made a decision years ago to provide some independence and ownership of content decisions to our kids, specifically for movies, games, and apps. Why not act like the dedicated school time is just another meeting? This is when choosing distance learning through the school, working with the school on curriculum or even taking advantage of optional portfolio reviews, or employing a certified teacher in a pandemic pod could work out better than doing what we did with creating a custom curriculum. Having a dedicated space will allow you to put everything away in a neat and orderly fashion after every day, so that it is available and easy to access the following day. The answer to this question can provide further guidance for what choice might be best for you and your family, on top of the obvious comfort level with sending them to a physical school building in August or September. They also expect to have to make up for missed learning in the fall for this last spring, especially for the younger students in lower grades. Just take a few deep breaths and enjoy the time you have with your kids, because they really do grow up so fast, and this pandemic and chaos will eventually pass. They had to tell us the recommended ages by Common Sense Media, parents and kids and were only allowed to watch movies, play games or download/use apps that were 2 years over the lowest age recommended out of the three. If any of you are like me, you started your working and homeschooling balancing act by trying to explain to your children how important work is, and how you have to focus (and they have to be quiet) while you are on work calls. Awake and Mindful. Its also important to understand what is and what is not likely to happen in the next year curriculum and academic-wise and how that might impact you and your children. If you have decided that you are not yet comfortable physically sending your kids back to a school building, thinking through some of the following questions might be helpful in deciding between distance learning (assuming this option is available/offered through your school) and homeschooling: 1) Do you want to choose your own curriculum, make your own lesson plans, etc., or do you want to assist your children in completing teacher-assigned activities? For those that had more meetings than others, I allocated the time for the meetings first, and then figured out what schoolwork I could fit in. It was between $3 - 4 dollars. If yours has not done so, or you would like to supplement the work provided to your kids, there are many approaches to doing so. Best of luck with this years educational adventures. Science and art took the most preparation because we conducted experiments and made a variety of art and craft projects, so we split these days, so that they were not back-to-to back, allowing for some planning and preparation time in between. (2020). Lets face it, we are all in survival mode right now, and trying to claim anything else would be misleading. In my previous post, I noted that some schools and some districts are providing work for their students, which is great! But, there is also so much that is fully within our control. schoolwork has to follow the school day/week schedule, the schoolwork has to only include academic subjects, the kids have to be working on academic work the entire time, socialization is an afterthought when homeschooling, the kids are responsible for schoolwork and parents need to continue all of the housework. Its challenging to ensure everyone is on the same page during a normal school year, but even more challenging during a global pandemic. You can ask the school about options for continuing distance learning (if they dont already include that as an option in their fall plans). Either way, you will need to allocate time for schooling for your children and for your work. There are a few things to consider. As parents, educators, and administrators, (and our children) we are all part of a team with a common goal of ensuring that our children are safe, cared for, and that their learning is promoted and supported in all ways possible. Its important to have an honest conversation with your family and make the decision that is best for you, and to communicate that through these surveys. No one knows what the right answer is to any question or problem right now, BUT, we can all try things, fail, get back up, and try something else. Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html, https://responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/current-policy/, https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, Common Misconceptions about Working and Homeschooling, https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2218929/how-many-hours-homeschooling-per-day/, https://welltrainedmind.com/a/what-are-the-non-core-subjects/?v=7516fd43adaa, https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education, https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2173553/coronavirus-school-closings-keep-kids-busy/1/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/age-appropriate-chores/, https://grownandflown.com/soft-skills-for-teens/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings, https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport, https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers, https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/, https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html, https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/, https://hellobestow.com/blog/gratitude-games/, https://www.dropbox.com/s/xbwyrg21rbg79fj/conferencecallbingo.pdf?dl=0, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_school_closures_can_strengthen_your_family, https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-timeboxing-works-and-why-it-will-make-you-more-productive. One way to focus and be able to sift through all of the options is to decide what modes you wish to use to teach each of the subjects you selected, and limit your searches to the selected mode for each subject. Before you start, identify an award they will earn if you get a bingo and/or if they black out the entire card by meeting the criteria of each bingo square on the entire bingo card. Headspace, a mindfulness and meditation app, is providing a series of their meditations for free in the midst of the current situation. (This is the option rated as highest risk by the CDC) (CDC, 2020). (n.d.). Montana requires a notice of intent to homeschool to be submitted to the local Superintendent of Schools, but does not require any other forms or portfolio review, etc. What if schools open in a blended format, where schedules are alternating day to day or am/pm? The piece will need good prep for sure. Common Sense Media includes reviews of some books, as well. This is a great time to have the conversation with your manager about the priorities of the work currently assigned to you, the hours they expect, or require, you to be available, and where flexibility does (and does not) exist in your schedule, workload and work-related responsibilities. Administrators need to be able to raise concerns when they see inactivity and absences, to agree or disagree with reasons behind them, and then for everyone to be able to constructively discuss options for solutions, and even test out different solutions (and yes, sometimes fail and try something else). Write a list of the equipment you used to make your fort. Resources for Families During the Coronavirus Pandemic. 2) Block off the appropriate time for schoolwork on your work calendar and communicate these expectations to your manager and coworkers. There are so many options available to teach every subject, and many are free. As part of a successful, high-performing and well-functioning team, we have to work together as a team toward common goals, just like a sports team or a project team in an organization. (n.d.). Here are a few suggestions of where we might start: 1) Develop (and ensure everyone knows and understands) clearly defined goals. As homeschoolers, they worked at their own pace in different subjects, which was great for their education and learning, but made the transition to an age-based grade-level determination a challenging one. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Khan Academy. Khan Academy Schedules for School Closures. The second consideration is the subjects you wish to teach. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2173553/coronavirus-school-closings-keep-kids-busy/1/, Wiess, S. R. (2020b). However, we can control our reaction to it by staying safe, keeping our family safe, and following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (2020) guidelines posted here: In my experience homeschooling and working full time (from various locations and time zones), the biggest lesson I learned was that I needed to be organized, but also flexible. Digital Compass. Remember the CDC guidelines and be innovative in your organization and space planning. We also chose to provide our girls with education regarding proper behavior online, rather than feeling the need to constantly police them and their online activities. For those who are not experienced or knowledgeable about publishers used for K-12 education, the National University Library System has a list on their website, accessible here: https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. The most effective approach I found was to create a basket of schoolwork for the toddler and let her choose her schoolwork from the basket. I doubt seriously that it's paint, and agree with grumpy that it's a kind of "coating" over plastic. While I worked and homeschooled, I had a variety of types of jobs, all technical/knowledge-working jobs, some with more flexibility than others. The one thing that all of those spaces had in common was a dedicated space to store all of our supplies and work. At this point, state and local boards of education are doing the best they can with the little information they have to plan for something none of us have ever had to deal with before. To commit to common goals, everyone on the team has to be aware of the goals, understand why those goals are important, and be aware and accepting of their role in helping the team attain those goals. ), 3) Do you think you might want to send your students back to school in person either some time this year or in future years? The second is what is being referred to as remote or distance learning, or, in our district, cooperative distance learning, which I think describes this option very well. (n.d.). 5) Choose activities to start your day off on a calm and positive note. We have never parented (or helped our kids with remote learning) during a global pandemic. It is nice to have a separate table, countertop, or other area that you could leave your work out on all the time, but in most cases, this is not an option. Digital Passport. Welltrainedmind.com. Administrators have never run schools, districts or boards of education during a global pandemic. (Also, in Connecticut, if your children were never enrolled in a public or private school, no notice of any kind needs to be filed. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport, Common Sense Media. One option is for grades 3-5, called Digital Passport, and is accessible here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport. 2019 Accord Touring Hybrid in Platinum White Pearl, Paint Protection Film, Husky Floorliners, VIOFO A119 Dashcam. Marc Zao-Sanders (2018) wrote an informative article on TimeBoxing, accessible here: Organizing your space is another aspect of your current situation that you have total control over. We cannot control what this pandemic has become or is about to become or the ripple effects it may cause. ), 2) Do you (and your student) want the ability or option to participate in after school activities? (n.d.). Accountability is the forth level in the pyramid identified by Lencioni, and aligns closely with constructive conflict and commitment. Awake and Mindful has collected five yoga videos for kids that might be one option for a calm activity to start off the day. Some subjects that lend themselves to video lessons are art, music, history, and even physical education, for example. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, Earthcam. ), So, with this conflicting guidance and information, what should you do? Sort of like some stainless steel finishes. If you want more information prior to pursuing this option, your best bet is likely to reach out to the school or district directly for more information about what the portfolio review might look like, what kind of support and guidance you can expect from them, etc. Retrieved March 19, 2020 from https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/, Bestow. Grownandflown.com. It is also an opportunity for us to find ways for our kids to help around the house and to teach them new life skills that are no longer taught in schools. Remember that you have options and that considering the short term and the long term will help smooth any future transitions for you and your children. Looking at these from a more positive lens, as opposed to negatively identifying them as dysfunctions, the list of what teams need to thrive include: The foundation of working together as a group, especially in a stressful, unclear, unpredictable situation like remote learning during a global pandemic, is trust. You might be able to repair this kind of problem with a film application. To step back and take a look at what this truly means, it is helpful to have a lens through which to view this team and the relationships and responsibilities of the members of the team. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, Common Sense Media. If your remote/distance learning/homeschooling is only planned to be temporary, keeping as close to the curriculum their classmates are learning in school will make for the smoothest transition when the time comes for them to go to school and join their classmates again. As you wrap up the day, after allowing your kids to play and relax for the first day, take three deep breaths and smile, knowing that you completed some planning and organizing, and that you are on your way. (2020). In these times, I found educational videos that could fill the spaces, where my children could still be learning, but I was able to focus on the meetings and my work. While you are on a conference call today, have your kids stand next to your whiteboard or sit next to you coloring or doing some additional activity, and work with them to complete a bingo card based on what is said or done on your conference call. Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, Center for Disease Control (CDC). You can research options for full-time online schooling, which some states offer for free (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2018). You can make, download and print your own bingo card at sites like BingoBaker, accessible here: https://bingobaker.com/ Yet another alternative is to keep your call off speaker, but let your kids mark off the square on the bingo, and you tell them when the criteria has been met. While you are working on a schedule more customized to you, your kids and your work schedule, two companies, Khan Academy and Scholastic, have recently provided lesson plans and activities free for children who are now staying home due to school closings. Common Sense Media provides two different options for digital citizenship education. 4) *BONUS* You can also take an inventory of what you have for school supplies (paper, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, glue, scizzors, stapler, tape, whole punch, etc.). Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://www.headspace.com/covid-19, Khan Academy (2020). I ended up lining the inside edge first which covered most of the silver but added another strip slightly overlapping the first one to cover the silver color. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. In the middle of the fall, we collectively decided that it was time for the girls to attend public school. (The first is required if choosing homeschooling and not purchasing a pre-packaged curriculum or enrolling your children in a full-time online school. Your next steps are: 1) Identify the age groups of the children you are educating and whether they need to be planned separately or if the plan and content can be the same. I wanted to add a little color to my center console so I bought some 1/4" white pinstripe tape at O'Reilly's Auto Parts. If you are teaching one child, you can skip this section. Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/, The new challenge to keep the kids occupied during conference calls is: FORT MAKING!!! I present to you the conference call activity challenge for today (03/17/2020): Conference Call Bingo (with your kiddos)! In work environments, especially when working on projects, everyone has clearly defined roles and responsibilities which are laid out on a project plan. Another point to consider is that you have every right to make the time spent educating your children as high a priority as any other meeting, so schedule it. State Virtual Schools. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/, Montessori Northwest. 2) Develop open lines of communication between parents, educators and administrators. The activities in the basket could be anything from printed mazes, cut and paste activities, manipulative for counting, coloring books, etc. CommonSenseMedia.org. Remote Learning with Khan Academy During School Closures. ), 4) If you choose homeschooling instead of distance learning, are you fully informed of any reporting requirements, regulations, etc. that you will be bound by? The state regulations say that families MAY submit a Notice of Intent to homeschool and participate in portfolio reviews. That is a great idea! A big lesson learned in this transition is that no matter what homeschool curriculum you choose, there will be differences in what they learn there and what is covered in the public school curriculum, thus, some material will be repeated and there will be gaps to be filled in other places. Age-Appropriate Chores. There are also many online tours of national parks, zoos, and aquariums. Our girls were homeschooled since Kindergarten, and I chose materials for each individual subject for each girl, and planned the curriculum and lesson plans myself throughout this entire time. I'm a clean freak, so you'll have to excuse my nitpicking. Focusonthefamily.com. What if schools are opened in a virtual-only format to start the school year and transition to blended or alternating schedule formats, or even full capacity later in the school year? (Note that this is an unpopular opinion and not promoted or frequently supported in the traditional, long-term homeschooling community, though, so questions about this option in these traditional groups or distribution lists may not be met with the most positive reactions.) Some of the common misconceptions include: Lets attempt to address these one by one. There are many misconceptions about homeschooling, in general, but especially with working and homeschooling. However, with everything clearly defined and with trust, constructive conflict and commitment, holding each other accountable for their respective parts becomes much easier, and does not need to involve finger pointing or other negative non-constructive behaviors. More details about the rating systems used for the Common Sense Media ratings can be found here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings. With some states canceling in-person schooling for the rest of the academic year and others extending the closures for additional time periods or indefinitely, but messages coming from politicians that we need to re-open the country, we are in a state of wait and see. They already do for other meetings and for lunch, right? Accountability involves all levels, including our children consistently being held responsible for their work. Find a fort posted by someone else and draw a picture of their fort and estimate how many people you think could fit in their fort. It feels more durable as well. These are accessible here: https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/. The reality is that we need to accept that nothing is going to be perfect in this imperfect situation, so for the perfectionists out there (like myself), if we are surviving and our families are surviving, we are doing the best we can, and that is good enough. If your student is overloaded with work, have them work with their teachers and administrators to request extensions or accommodations where needed. (n.d.). They are used to having their days and activities planned out for them months in advance. (Many states do not allow homeschoolers to participate in activities at the public school, but some states do. Patrick Lencioni wrote a book called, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which gives a simple, straightforward way to think about what is needed for teams to function well and to thrive. My next solution is to remove the center console, mask it and paint it properly with a matte clear coat to protect it. Yes, movies sometimes work, but how about something possibly more fun (for you and for them)? It will make your planning much easier and less stressful if you acknowledge right now that you are one person and cannot be an effective fulltime teacher for 8 hours and full time worker for 8 hours, nor do you need to be. Many other options exist, just be sure that you are accessing them through sites that you trust. New paint eats through the factory paint and makes a mess. Everything is falling apart. Best Kids Yoga Videos on YouTube. Note that this option and how it is implemented differs greatly per state. For other jobs, like when I administered analytics servers, I had more flexibility to design my work day around the desired school schedule. (2018). What we sometimes forget, though, is that our kids are, as well. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall if they are physically opened for attendance? The standard subjects tend to include math, language arts, science, history or social studies, art, technology, health, physical education, and music. Being completely clear on goals, roles, and contributions can promote commitment and team cohesion. When I started homeschooling and working from home, we had one preschooler and one toddler. Making sure others respect your time is actually easier than it might seem at first. With the quick pivot to distance learning in the spring, and the large disparities with technology access and related issues, the schools and districts are still working to get some students caught up on their work from the spring. 2) Identify the subjects you would like to teach each of the children. (These are usually set at the state-level and enforced at the district or school-level. Scholastic Learn at Home. When trying to decide what is best, there are always multiple considerations. 100 Things to Teach Your Teen While Youre Stuck at Home. Although Im not fully convinced that this is the best approach to managing your time, the concept of Timeboxing is similar to the approach Ive recommended above. Another option you can try is silver pinstripe tape. Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for you and your children. Our children need to be able to disagree and question things when concepts or instructions arent clear to them. Bauer, S. W. (2016). An example of this is a new kindergartener starting homeschool in the first year of school eligibility. What Ill provide below is a brief overview of some of the options for planning the work, starting with four considerations for doing so. Studying your picture, this COULD be a chrome plating over plastic, which is very hard to match with paint. These are all considerations when building a foundation of trust in a remote or distance learning team with all parties involved. A few of the things that are currently within our control are: 1) our reactions to the current situation, 2) our attitudes, 3) our schedule and 4) our space. Trust that everyone is doing their best (whatever their best looks like on a given day) and trust that everyone has the childrens best interest at heart are a couple of others. Organizing any extra items needed (for science experiments, for example) over the weekend for the entire week will also help make your work/homeschool days flow much smoother.