By Natalie Maughan
Hasn’t 2020 been fun?? I say that with a dollop of sarcasm when I consider how different my life is now to what I would normally be doing had the pandemic never happened. Right now, all six members of our family are home all day every day. My husband has been working from home since March and my kids’ school just went virtual a few weeks ago. I have three kids in school so that means four people in our home are using technology for the majority of the day. Our daily prayers include pleas that the internet holds up for another day! How our life has changed!
As our family is learning to adjust to school from home, PE lessons in the living room and everyone eating lunch at a different time, I’ve learned the value of variation and outdoor time. Sometimes outdoor play is more for myself than the kids. I’ve learned to adjust and work one day at a time. Here are a few things I’m learning that seem to work for us and hopefully they help you as well.
Connect Regularly
I’ve learned to make a point to discuss with my kids what their assignments are for the week. My older kids are pretty good to make sure everything is completed; however, I learned a lesson the other day. My older kids were chatting about things that happened during their class meetings and one of my kids said she was seven minutes late to a meeting because she forgot to set a timer and didn’t realize what time it was. I had no idea! Chalk that one up on the parenting fail list. Lesson learned: print off the schedule and make “Mom notes” to make sure they don’t miss a meeting.
Outdoor Time
I’ve discovered that outdoor time for all of us is vital. I love when I see parents going for walks or running with their kids during lunch time or after school. Even with the cold weather lately we know it’s not too cold to play outside. January maybe, but not December. For our family, we make a point to go for a walk just about every day as a family. Even in the dark last night, we headed out the door for one last walk around the block because it’s part of the routine now.
Evaluate
One thing that helps as parents is to recognize what is working and what is NOT working. Is your child distracted by clutter on their desk or by noises in another room or headphones that don’t feel comfortable? Take a few minutes to see where their eyes wander and what their hands are doing during a Google Meet. Kids may not mention it but body language can speak a thousand words.
Lunch Routine
My three virtual learners have lunch an hour apart from each other; they couldn’t be more spaced out if they tried. Lunch at our house lasts two and a half hours. I was talking to my sister about this and trying to figure out the best way to make lunch for everyone without feeling like I’m in the kitchen all morning. She has a friend that sets out a charcuterie board of snacks on the table for her kids to pick from throughout the day. So every morning I have started setting out a cutting board with various fruits and veggies on the table for them to eat. I make their “main dish” at the beginning of our lunch shift and then it’s available with the fruits and veggies whenever they need it. This works for us; what have you found that works in your home?
Setting Goals
Completing 20 minutes of reading each day is sometime a daunting task for one of my kids. We decided to get her interested in reading one of her books by challenging her to finish it by a certain date. If she did, she could stay up past her bedtime on a Friday night to watch the movie version of the book with mom and dad. We are not above bribery! I think the idea of sitting all day on virtual meets and then sitting to read for another 20 minutes just sounds boring in her mind. And I totally get that. At the same time, I know it’s important for her to keep up on her reading so we’re trying different approaches.
Build A Parent/Teacher Relationship
The last thing I have found so vitally important is open communication with my kids’ teachers. Emailing about anything, even just to say “Thanks for working overtime to keep my kid focused” has helped to develop a parent/teacher relationship even though I’ve still not met our teachers face to face yet. If your kid is really struggling with some aspect of a virtual meeting or they aren’t understanding math or whatever it may be, contact the teacher. Take advantage of teacher office hours. See if it’s possible to switch up a particular routine for your kid if it helps them focus more during school hours. And thank the heck out of these teachers!
I’m so incredibly grateful for all my kids’ teachers this year. I am recognizing more and more the hours and hours of preparation these teachers are needing to spend to make sure these kids are meeting their learning expectations day to day. I have always been grateful for teachers but I think all parents are in agreement this year that teachers are literal super human beings. Hopefully as parents we can do our part to help both student and teacher alike right now.
What works for your child? What great trick have you discovered? Leave a comment and share your experience with us!
