Yours will too. romwe Everything you need to organize your area is probabily already in your home. 3) All members of the team should remember that discomfort leads to growth and work on being ok with being held accountable, with hearing feedback that they dont really want to hear, and with giving honest, constructive feedback to other members of the team when things arent working well. 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. If you are unsure, Common Sense Media is a great place to start. The state regulations say that families MAY submit a Notice of Intent to homeschool and participate in portfolio reviews. (n.d.). For example, one was created by E. Gilliam, and is accessible here: https://www.conferencecallbingo.net/blog with the printable version accessible directly here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xbwyrg21rbg79fj/conferencecallbingo.pdf?dl=0. Remember the CDC guidelines and be innovative in your organization and space planning. To avoid things becoming disorganized, piling up, getting dirty during meals, etc., it is best to dedicate a shelf or whole bookshelf to the schoolwork, books and all related equipment.

3) Identify the delivery mode you want to use for each subject and each child. Literally blocking it off on your calendar and communicating your schedule with your bosses and colleagues will make sure you are all on the same page and that everyone will respect that time. So, how do we, as a team of parents, educators, and administrators, work together as a high performing team and not fall into the 5 dysfunctions of a team identified by Lencioni? Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, Center for Disease Control (CDC). There are so many options available to teach every subject, and many are free. icjjl (2018). Scholastic Learn at Home. 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. Starting your day with gratitude and calm activities has been said to start your day off on a positive note. Best of luck with this years educational adventures.

The key is not to be happy or unhappy about the approaches, but to be informed. You dont have to wait until plans for the fall are released to figure out what you are comfortable (and not comfortable) with. But, there is also so much that is fully within our control. When trying to decide what is best, there are always multiple considerations. Game Reviews. (2018). Resources for Families During the Coronavirus Pandemic. 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. (Note that we do still have the requirement that they add us on all social media accounts so that we can monitor their activities there if we choose to do so.) 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. On top of a foundation of trust is constructive conflict. There are also many online tours of national parks, zoos, and aquariums. (n.d.2). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport, Common Sense Media. Best Kids Yoga Videos on YouTube. 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. Age-Appropriate Chores. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. A visual representation of the five dysfunctions Lencioni identifies is shown below. In sports psychology, life coaching and other venues recently, youve likely heard the term locus of control or phrases like control the controllables. Situations like the pandemic we are currently experiencing bring to light the true meaning of these phrases, as there is so much that is truly out of our control. The options are so abundant that it can often be overwhelming, especially for those new to educating their children at home. 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. 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. 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. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, Scholastic. 100 Things to Teach Your Teen While Youre Stuck at Home. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html, Connectiond Academy. You will need to decide, based on your family values and rules about electronics and screen time, your work schedule and flexibility, ages of your children, and learning preferences and styles, what modes are best for you for each student and each subject. Lets face it, we are all in survival mode right now, and trying to claim anything else would be misleading. 2) Identify the subjects you would like to teach each of the children. What Ill provide below is a brief overview of some of the options for planning the work, starting with four considerations for doing so. In my personal opinion, consistency in accountability, especially for online learners, is fundamental to their success, I believe, but it takes everyone involved being on the same page to maintain an appropriate level of accountability. If this was or is you, trust me, you are not alone. 1) Draw out a rough daily schedule (or weekly, if your daily work schedules vary), allocating specific times for work and for schoolwork. I will gather and post a list of the supplies I always kept on hand soon. The best resource we have found for determining age-appropriateness of movies, games, applications and some websites is Common Sense Media, accessible here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/. Stay home and stay safe. 2) Block off the appropriate time for schoolwork on your work calendar and communicate these expectations to your manager and coworkers. While we await final proposals for opening of schools in the fall from states and local districts, we are all asking what if? What if schools open as usual in the fall at full capacity? This is not true, legally. Educators have never taught during a global pandemic, much less taught remotely or taught some students remotely and some in person at the same time. There are a few things to consider. Below, I will provide a few options and considerations for finding content for your children that is age-appropriate and safe for them, as well as being safe for you and your computer. The first consideration is the age levels you are teaching. There are many misconceptions about homeschooling, in general, but especially with working and homeschooling. 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. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, HSLDA. If you are teaching one child, you can skip this section. Making sure others respect your time is actually easier than it might seem at first. Grownandflown.com. 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. There are many options for finding safe content online for kids. ), 2) Do you (and your student) want the ability or option to participate in after school activities? Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, National University Library. If you have chosen to homeschool instead of opt into distance learning through your school, and the option is temporary, you may wish to file the notice of intent to homeschool and proceed to work closely with the school to ensure the smoothest transition back into the school when the time is right. CommonSenseMedia.org. (Parents, dont be jealousyou can make forts, tooand even take your conference call from inside your fort, if you want to.). The one thing that all of those spaces had in common was a dedicated space to store all of our supplies and work. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2173553/coronavirus-school-closings-keep-kids-busy/1/, Wiess, S. R. (2020b).

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. (n.d.). (2019). While you are determining how much time you want to dedicate to your work, also consider if there are specific days or times of day that you have regularly scheduled meetings, deadlines for regular work, or other time-specific restrictions. https://medium.com/taskworld-blog/lencionis-5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-330d58b2cd81. We have never parented (or helped our kids with remote learning) during a global pandemic. (n.d.). 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. 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. At those times, my kids were at the ages where they needed more hands-on help and their school workload was higher, so it worked well for us. Many parents are waiting for the school or school district to provide the details of the lessons your children will be assigned while they are out of school. (n.d.). Why not act like the dedicated school time is just another meeting? Here are a few suggestions of where we might start: 1) Develop (and ensure everyone knows and understands) clearly defined goals. In all honesty, because we got sick of answering the question of Can we watch? questions, we came up with a specific rule to guide their choices. Current Homeschool Laws. Commitment is built on a foundation of trust and constructive conflict. 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. (2020). 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.

The fourth consideration is the schedule of the subjects you have selected to teach. You can research options for full-time online schooling, which some states offer for free (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2018). One option is for grades 3-5, called Digital Passport, and is accessible here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport. (2020). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://hslda.org/legal, HSLDA. You will need to determine the best balance and schedule for your family based on the ages you are teaching, the subjects you have selected, and the modes you have chosen to use to teach those subjects. Homeschool Organizations. Many other options exist, just be sure that you are accessing them through sites that you trust.

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. (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.) Administrators have never run schools, districts or boards of education during a global pandemic. (These are usually set at the state-level and enforced at the district or school-level. (This is a big deciding factor that can save or cost you a lot of time and stress. 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. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/, Montessori Northwest. They are used to having their days and activities planned out for them months in advance. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education, Roblox. (n.d.). Others split them into pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-5 and grades 6+. Digital Compass. Note that this option and how it is implemented differs greatly per state. Roblox. 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. You will need to determine what is best for you and your children. Think about other ways that you can work to promote trust, constructive conflict, commitment, accountability, and attention to results as part of your students learning team and pick one item to focus on at a time. Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sites. A great list of them compiled by STEAMsational is accessible here: https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/. One combined list of these is accessible on EarthCam.com, here: https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/. If you would like to explore this option, a great start is to review your state on both the CRHE and HSLDA websites, start searching for local and regional homeschool associations (the HSLDA has a great resource for this, as well), and begin searching for curriculum options (which can come in fully pre-packaged curriculum options to fully customized curriculum that you pick and choose from resources on publishers sites and Amazon.com book sales, for example) (HSLDA, n.d.2). 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. Common Core Resources: Textbook & Publisher Resources. 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. (Various factors played into our decision, but one major factor for us was for the girls to have the option to participate in sports, clubs and other activities, and we were living in a location where they were districted into good schools.). (n.d.).

Write a list of the equipment you used to make your fort. 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. (n.d.).

3) Clear out, setup and organize your dedicated storage area for your schoolwork and related supplies. I was in the same situation as many of you, having to figure out what to do to keep the toddler busy while working with the preschooler. We cannot control what this pandemic has become or is about to become or the ripple effects it may cause. 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. 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. (Note that this is not a comprehensive list.) How Timeboxing Works and Why it Will Make You More Productive. On a sports team, each team member (player, coach, manager) has to understand their role in the teams success to be committed to being the best in that role that they possibly can, thus maximizing their contribution to the team and the teams progress toward that goal.