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At the time of this post, we are starting our fourth week of online school here in Orlando, and it’s FINALLY getting easier. These pictures were from the first day. Aedan SO excited to start Kindergarten, and Faye irritated that she can’t just read all day long. It’s been some ups and downs, but we’ve learned some tricks along the way.
First Things First
Our school is doing a return to school program called LaunchEd. Families were encouraged to keep their kids home for online school, but were welcomed back in-person if necessary. Since I work from home, we let the kids stay home too, although some days are harder than others! Aedan’s Kindergarten class is fully online, but Faye’s 2nd Grade class is split with half in the classroom and half online.
Make sure to ask for what you need.
With this being a new process, there’s been a BIG learning curve — for teachers and families! Our teachers weren’t aware of how their class structure translated through the computer. They have been super welcoming of suggestions on how to make this online structure work best for each family. Don’t overtake their classroom, but ask if you need help figuring out the new setup.
For example, with juggling so many people, I needed an official time schedule of activities and a daily homework list. At first, the teachers only told the students about required assignments, leaving parents clueless. Some parents have been sitting and participating in the full school day with their kids, but I have to work. With knowing the expectations of work assignments and meetings directly from the teachers, we’ve almost been able to keep up.
Google Calendar
The only way we’ve been semi-successful is by staying organized and knowing what’s happening in small time spurts. That’s where my Google Calendar has come in IMMENSELY helpful. I love paper planners, but with things constantly changing, I’d be scratching out so many pages! And paper planners don’t have notifications and alarms to remind me of the 1576th thing we need to do next.
Each person has their own calendar color so I can direct appropriately, and alarm notifications are setup on every device. Our Echo Dot has been awesome for last minute changes instead of having to edit the whole calendar. For example, Faye’s teacher will give the online students “Brain Breaks,” telling them to come back online in 15 minutes so they aren’t sitting on the screen the entire day. Instead of having to add that quickly to the schedule, Faye asks Alexa to set a timer to remind her to log back on.
Not related to school, but Google Calendar is also how I keep track of other family activities. This includes:
- Bigger project cleaning chores (sheets washed, trash day, clean bathroom)
- Meal planning (who is in charge of dinner each night)
- Bills (paid on Friday for the following week)
- Birthdays (extended family)
- Potential events (local festivals and activities, in case we want out of the house, with ideas mostly get from Fun4USKids)
Personal Responsibility
Sometimes I feel guilty about letting my kids figure things out alone, but it’s a necessity for our family. Working full-time and doing regular mom things tasks, my older kids are in charge of their own schedules, with only minor direction from me.
Watch Schedulers
We use the Octopus Watches, which shows the scheduled activity to the wearer, but the version we use is discontinued! They will be releasing a new version, but not until next year. I did find a similar version from Little Tikes though. And here’s a list of other kid smartwatches from Smart Geek Wrist. Maybe you will like the other functions!
To summarize though, you schedule activities via an app, and when that event happens, it notifies the watch. We used the watch to remind the kids when a new class was starting, or when it was lunch time. These watches have no tracking/phone capabilities, so probably not the best for older kids.
To-Do Checklist and Morning/Evening Schedules
My mom says that there’s nothing better than a to-do list and a good Sharpie. Enough that I bought her personalized markers for her birthday a few years back, because everyone kept stealing hers! My kids love checking things off a list. We found that to be the easiest way to get chores done, and to make sure homework is completed! Especially when there’s an incentive involved.
This summer they had to complete everything on the Morning Schedule before getting to watch TV or play video games. Get dressed, brush your teeth, play outside… Faye can read so the word assignments worked for her, but Aedan needed pictures to remind him of the tasks. It helped minimize the “Can I watch TV?” question too, because they knew what was required.
Take the To-Do Checklist and Morning/Evening Schedules below and make them yours! Laminate them to make them reusable! Use dry erase markers to show what’s been done, and then erase the page. We use the “lazy laminating” method and just use a strip of desk tape to make that check-box usable again. Just wipe off the strip of tape when you’re ready to start the day again!
Finding the Right Space
This was and still is the hardest challenge of online schooling. A family of five, we live in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1100 square foot house. And one of those rooms is my office! The first day of school was at the kitchen table, but it was distracting with others constantly around. The next day we moved the kids into my bedroom, using large storage bins for desks and pillows as chairs. Having a door helps them focus, without having to worry about what everyone else was doing.
But, our internet isn’t as strong in my bedroom, so their school lessons were choppy. Enough where Faye’s teacher asked me to talk to him personally about it. So back to the kitchen it was. I thought about letting them into my office, but I’m often on video and phone calls! Heading into the fourth week, the kids are more comfortable at the kitchen table. As long as I give them snacks.
“Get Back Up Again”
The biggest lesson from online learning? Make sure to give yourself some grace. Your kids may miss video calls because they signed into the wrong video call. The other kid may drive you crazy asking for his pencils, even though you bought him a pencil box. The internet will go out. You will get so busy that you forget to buy groceries, so you have to grab Wendy’s for lunch.
Just remember, it’s okay, take a breath, and start again.
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