Preparing Your Kids for Online Classes

Gerald Lombardo
Posted by Gerald Lombardo
Updated on

Many parents are completely new to having to help their kids with online school. The Coronavirus has not made things easy for parents. But, thankfully, online classes offer an alternative to having to teach fully homeschool your child.

We don’t know how long kids are going to be out of school, so it’s best for parents to embrace online classes at home by starting to create systems to ensure their children get the best possible education. Here are three things you can do to help your child succeed in their online classes.

Create a Dedicated Learning Space

Will the couch work? Not so much! While your child might pick a busy place in the home, ideally he or she will need a dedicated workspace that is devoted to their online learning. No dedicated office space? No problem! Setting up something as simple as a card table in the spare bedroom with a notebook, pencils and other needed supplies will suffice. The point is that your child actually “goes to school” in that space.

Create a Concrete Schedule

Sounds so simple, right? For many online students, keeping a schedule is one of the hardest transitions because, in a traditional school, your time is set by the bell. Helping your child set up a weekly schedule is time-consuming, but after a few weeks of helping, you can then empower them to do it themselves. A weekly schedule should be very detailed, down to the exact hour they will work and what they will achieve.

Part-time students typically carve out about 45 minutes a day during the week or a few chunks of time over the weekend to complete coursework. Regardless of whether they’re taking one or all of their classes online, the key to success is helping your child not just block out time for each subject but also set specific assignments and projects to complete.

Remember that Communication is Key

If your child is old enough to communicate with their teachers independently, you should encourage them to do so. If not, you should help them out and keep in touch with their teachers. While this time is very difficult for teachers and you should certainly be understanding it is also part of their job to ensure they are keeping in touch with students and offering as hand-on an approach as possible. Simply remember that this situation is unique and difficult for everyone—both parents, teachers, and students. That does not, however, mean that we can’t all band together and make lemonade out of lemons. Show your kids by example how to embrace difficult situations and overcome obstacles by remaining calm, composed, and keeping your patience.

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