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. 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. Our toddler also participated, at an age-appropriate level, in virtual field trips, science experiments, and other educational activities with her sister. 4) Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and identify how each will be held accountable and how opportunities for improvements will be identified, evaluated, and implemented. 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. You can research options for full-time online schooling, which some states offer for free (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2018). 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.
How School Closures Can Strengthen Your Family.
While I worked and homeschooled, I had a variety of types of jobs, all technical/knowledge-working jobs, some with more flexibility than others. Common Sense Media, for example, provides a list of Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sides, accessible here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.roblox.com/, Wiess, S. R. (2020a). 30 Gratitude Games and Activities for Kids to Practice Thankfulness. 
Always be appreciative.). These are accessible here: https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/. The key is not to be happy or unhappy about the approaches, but to be informed. Some subjects that lend themselves to video lessons are art, music, history, and even physical education, for example.
Lets face it, we are all in survival mode right now, and trying to claim anything else would be misleading. Bauer, S. W. (2016). A visual representation of the five dysfunctions Lencioni identifies is shown below.
In work environments, especially when working on projects, everyone has clearly defined roles and responsibilities which are laid out on a project plan. For other jobs, like when I administered analytics servers, I had more flexibility to design my work day around the desired school schedule. Small wins go a long way. ), 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. To this day, we stand by that rule and have had very few issues. Others may be planning their own lessons and activities. Digital Passport. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass, Common Sense Media. 3) Identify the delivery mode you want to use for each subject and each child. Headspace, a mindfulness and meditation app, is providing a series of their meditations for free in the midst of the current situation.
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. 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.
(These are usually set at the state-level and enforced at the district or school-level. (Parents, dont be jealousyou can make forts, tooand even take your conference call from inside your fort, if you want to.). Everything else is a bonus. (The first is required if choosing homeschooling and not purchasing a pre-packaged curriculum or enrolling your children in a full-time online school. (2020). 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. 5) Choose activities to start your day off on a calm and positive note. Its challenging to ensure everyone is on the same page during a normal school year, but even more challenging during a global pandemic. ), 4) If you choose homeschooling instead of distance learning, are you fully informed of any reporting requirements, regulations, etc. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/, Montessori Northwest. 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. It is important to remain aware (and equally appreciative for any help they provide) that the schools and school districts are not required to assist homeschooling families, and that submitting an intent to withdraw (and/or an intent to homeschool) does have a direct impact on their budget, as they are funded on a per-student basis.
This is not true, legally. (2020).
(n.d.). The second option is for grades 6-8, called Digital Compass, which is accessible here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass. One combined list of these is accessible on EarthCam.com, here: https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/. They already do for other meetings and for lunch, right? 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. Homeschool Laws By State. Age-Appropriate Chores.
There are so many options available to teach every subject, and many are free.
In Connecticut, the only thing you are legally required to do is file with your local board of education a letter of Notice of Withdrawal. ), As you think through the answers to these questions and others, I would like to share about our personal experience with the transition from homeschool to public school in Connecticut only a few years ago. What we sometimes forget, though, is that our kids are, as well.
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. We homeschooled in many different locations, including a multifamily house where we had a full room dedicated to homeschooling, my parents house where we had an area in the basement, our family members kitchen counters, and even an RV, when we traveled around the US.
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. The last thing we need is to waste time searching for books, pencils, paper and other supplies while we are trying to work and homeschool.
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. (2020).
How might this impact your childs motivation to do their schoolwork? This can be important if you are deciding between temporarily homeschooling your children and opting into distance learning (especially in middle school or high school grades). Instead of trying to convince your kids why they should be quiet and calm during your conference calls and hoping for the best, you might try giving them specific activities to keep them busy during these times. Or, are you not comfortable sending your children to school at all until there is a vaccine, for example? (n.d.).
Retrieved March 16, 2020, from, Zao-Sanders, Marc. When I started homeschooling and working from home, we had one preschooler and one toddler. For states who are planning in-person school options, many are still providing distance learning as an option, and homeschooling is always an additional option. Given the current closure of public schools, many publishers are providing content online for free, as well.
For example, if you choose to homeschool or opt for distance learning to start with in the fall, will you want to send your children back to school (this year or in the future)?
You dont have to wait until plans for the fall are released to figure out what you are comfortable (and not comfortable) with. 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. Everything you need to organize your area is probabily already in your home. 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!!!
https://medium.com/taskworld-blog/lencionis-5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-330d58b2cd81. Khan Academy has provided help and getting started pages for their content here: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school, and the lessons themselves are accessible here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Scholastic has provided schedules and lessons here: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html. You can then try to save each others sanity by intermittently saying or doing the things you know are on the card, so that everyone has a chance to keep their kids engaged, but quiet (because shhhwe have to hear what is going on, so we dont miss out on a bingo square!).
Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/kid-safe-browsers-and-search-sites, Common Sense Media. 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. When we homeschooled, for earlier years, where I had many conference calls, and the kids were younger, we used videos for most of the elective subjects and studied each subject almost every day. (n.d.). 100 Things to Teach Your Teen While Youre Stuck at Home.
You can ask the school about options for continuing distance learning (if they dont already include that as an option in their fall plans). SheKnows.com. The pause for them is a huge change and requires adjustment, but provides an opportunity for us, as parents, to teach them how to slow down and be ok with being bored or finding their own activities. Uncertainty and lack of direction and why can cause unnecessary stress and a lack of commitment. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://nu.libguides.com/CommonCore/ccss_publishers. 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. Why not act like the dedicated school time is just another meeting? Coronavirus (COVID-19). 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.). 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. The second consideration is the subjects you wish to teach. Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html, STEAMsational. Will you and your children be ok with this or able to handle any repetition or boredom by supplementing with other activities? 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. They are used to having their days and activities planned out for them months in advance. (n.d.).
Florida is more strict, but does have umbrella schools that allow for smoother navigation of the requirements. These options are completed at a time and location of your convenience and have assigned teachers for all classes, as well as providing official transcripts and grades, just like on-ground/in-person school options. 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. 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. It is important to be fully informed of all legal and regulatory requirements prior to making your choice, so that you are making a fully-informed choice. 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. Hopefully, you have found this content helpful, and are on your way to planning a (relativelythey are our awesome kids, after all) calm, fun and enjoyable adventure educating your children at home while working. Coronavirus Closed Schools: 27 Activities to Keep Kids Busy During School Closures. (n.d.).
Best Kids Yoga Videos on YouTube. Roblox. (n.d.). CommonSenseMedia.org. Game Reviews. If this was or is you, trust me, you are not alone. Decorating Amazon boxes and used soup cans make great arts and craft projects and excellent organizers! One option is for grades 3-5, called Digital Passport, and is accessible here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-passport. (2020). Free Printable Homeschool Planners. Minecraft Official Site. These extreme stances come with equally strong language, which can be misleading to the new or uninformed, so it is important to make sure you fully understand the true requirements before making decisions, finalizing your plans, and submitting any notices or documentation. All movies, for example, have ratings from Common Sense Media, as well as a kids rating and a parents rating, but even more helpful are the details provided by Common Sense Media behind their specific rating. 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. In my classroom, I start my classes off by having my students volunteer to Tell me something good. The good things could literally be anything, and they have ranged from I had a good breakfast this morning, to My football team won last night. If you want to add variety or switch things up a bit, the Bestow Team created a list of 30 gratitude games and activities for kids, accessible here: https://hellobestow.com/blog/gratitude-games/. Retrieved March 16, 2020 from, Center for Disease Control (CDC). For gratitude, an easy option to start your day would be to talk about three good or positive things. The one thing that all of those spaces had in common was a dedicated space to store all of our supplies and work. I will gather and post a list of the supplies I always kept on hand soon. An alternative is to make your own bingo card that might be more age-appropriate, like one with silly words or um and uh, for example, that might be easy for little ones to pick up on during the call. The state, on the other hand, wants to have as much control and oversight as possible, in many cases. These can be accessed here: https://www.headspace.com/covid-19. Scholastic Learn at Home.
We cannot control what this pandemic has become or is about to become or the ripple effects it may cause. Awake and Mindful has collected five yoga videos for kids that might be one option for a calm activity to start off the day. Many of our kids had packed schedules of school, sports, and other activities, with barely enough time to grab a sandwich in the car for supper. 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. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub, Khan Academy. Being completely clear on goals, roles, and contributions can promote commitment and team cohesion. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, Earthcam. (n.d.2). Attention to results is the top and smallest portion of the pyramid. 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. 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.
How We Rate and Review. 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. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/state-virtual-schools, HSLDA. 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. 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.
Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html, Connectiond Academy. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/, Common Sense Media. (n.d.). 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. In my previous post, I noted that some schools and some districts are providing work for their students, which is great! If you want to really make it fun and engaging with everyone involved, you or the meeting organizer can make up a bingo card and send it out to everyone on the call. 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. Yes, movies sometimes work, but how about something possibly more fun (for you and for them)?
If you plan to homeschool long-term or permanently, focusing on this alignment might not be quite as important or impactful. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews, Focus on the Family.
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.
Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/about-our-ratings, Common Sense Media. 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. Weathering the Storm. 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. 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. So, what options are there? Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.connectionsacademy.com/, CRHE. Kid-Safe Browsers and Search Sites. The options are so abundant that it can often be overwhelming, especially for those new to educating their children at home.
Retrieved March 19, 2020, from https://www.headspace.com/covid-19, Khan Academy (2020). 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. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall if they are physically opened for attendance? 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 March 25, 2020, from https://www.earthcam.com/events/animalcams/, National University Library. Greater Good Magazine. The state regulations say that families MAY submit a Notice of Intent to homeschool and participate in portfolio reviews. If you are teaching more than one child, you will need to decide, based on their ages, maturity levels and possibly reading levels, whether you need to plan separate work for each, or whether you can plan once and have them all working on the same work. (n.d.). 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. (n.d.). How Timeboxing Works and Why it Will Make You More Productive. (n.d.). 3) Clear out, setup and organize your dedicated storage area for your schoolwork and related supplies. The public school administrators where we are were extremely helpful in working with us to determine the best placement. 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. Digital Compass. Enjoy! (n.d.). We have never parented (or helped our kids with remote learning) during a global pandemic. A great list of them compiled by STEAMsational is accessible here: https://www.steamsational.com/free-printable-homeschool-planners/.
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. 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. Homeschool Organizations.
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. Its important that parents, educators and administrators clearly define what the goals are and monitor progress toward those goals. Some states and districts are surveying parents to find out their comfort level with the options listed above (or others, depending on the state and district).
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. 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? Resources for Families During the Coronavirus Pandemic. 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. 2) Block off the appropriate time for schoolwork on your work calendar and communicate these expectations to your manager and coworkers.
Retrieved March 19, 2020 from https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/, Bestow. (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.). 1) Draw out a rough daily schedule (or weekly, if your daily work schedules vary), allocating specific times for work and for schoolwork. In fact, they have created a launch page for the current times, accessible here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/resources-for-families-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic, Common Sense Media.
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. (2020). I present to you the conference call activity challenge for today (03/17/2020): Conference Call Bingo (with your kiddos)! 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? Educators need to be able to express concerns to parents and administrators when things arent working for them, their class, or even particular students. (Note that this is not a comprehensive list.) 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. You can choose to homeschool your children with you being the primary teacher (as opposed to distance-learning where you are assisting your children with work assigned by their teacher).
Either way, you will need to allocate time for schooling for your children and for your work. Here are a few suggestions of where we might start: 1) Develop (and ensure everyone knows and understands) clearly defined goals. Grownandflown.com. (n.d.). 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. Thats all any of us can do, and the only way we are going to figure out what will work is for everyone to be comfortable communicating and providing constructive feedback when things are not working. There are many options for finding safe content online for kids. Common Sense Media provides two different options for digital citizenship education. Are you comfortable sending your children to school in the fall, as long as CDC guidelines for schools are followed (CDC, 2020)? AnimalCams. A lesson I learned the hard way many times is that they cant both be done (effectively) at the same time. 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. 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. The CRHE and HSLDA do a great job of keeping up with the current state regulations and how they are implemented (along with your legal rights and options as a homeschooler) (CRHE, n.d.; HSLDA, n.d.). Parents need to be able to bring concerns to educators and administrators when things arent working for them and their children. What Are the Non-Core Subjects?.
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.