Three Ways to Use Homeschooling to Your Student’s Advantage

Life’s Messy, But Remote Learning Doesn’t Have to Be

I don’t know about you, but the past six months in relative quarantine have meant one thing for me . . .

Organizing.

I don’t consider myself a messy person—not even close. But back in April, the state of my closets here at home would have told you a different story. A cache of bits and baubles from years and years of “collecting.”  I knew I needed to get a handle on things, but always told myself I’d get to it later.

Well, later finally caught up to me in the midst of a global pandemic. Later came in the form of filing cabinets overflowing with receipts and warranties. Later came as sock drawers brimming with mismatched pairs and a kitchen pantry of half eaten cereal boxes. 

Later was a mess.

So, as I found myself knee deep in rolls of wrapping paper and Christmas decorations and a Halloween costume or two from yesteryear, I also reflected on the hypocrisy of this chaos.

How many times did I hound my students to keep their desks tidy, their binders neat, and their homework planners in working order?!

Guilty as charged.

You see, among the many phrases that I would use on repeat in the classroom (“Quick like a bunny” for example), “Square and corner your desks” was at the top. In a room full of 30-some-odd Seventh Grade students, order was a must. And that started with desk alignment. From there, my bulletin boards were black and the messaging on them was streamlined and simple. Bookshelves were arranged with the same size and type of book, together, spines all facing outwards and in the same direction. My podium at the front was an homage to Marie Kondo, long before I even knew (or worshipped) who she was.

But, hypocrisy aside, I do believe that our time of sheltering in place has given us the chance to assess. To take a step back, declutter and dust off our priorities, and help us approach re-entry (whenever that is) with a fresh and newfound perspective.

The same can be said for our children. Time spent in remote learning opens up the opportunity for teachers and parents alike, to really help our students build out a framework for success. Sure—we do this, and quite well, I might add, when we are on-campus and in the classroom. But there is always an element of frenzy. There are Math interventions to run, and Band-aids to apply, and discipline to administer, and social-emotional strategies to instruct. The amount of time that we have to dedicate to the implementation of organizational structures, or one-off conversations, or outlining the ideal routine for starting each day successfully, is diminished. 

Remote learning gives us the opportunity—a bit more breathing room, if you will--  to really sit back and evaluate what’s working for kids and what needs some revising.

Take, for example, their own organizational systems. Think back to pre- school closure. What was the inside of their backpack like? How about those binders or notebooks you purchased at the start of the year? Were they:

a.) A catastrophic calamity?

b.) Never used?

c.) What backpack?

d.) All of the above.

There is no right or wrong answer, mind you. Just a moment of reflection to think about how to best support your child in their approach to their learning materials. With them working from home, either full or part-time, you can see what teachers normally do. What’s their workspace like? Are they constantly coming to you for a missing supply or a misplaced assignment? How do they respond to the organizational systems you have around the rest of your house—in their bedroom or kitchen, for example?

After assessing these things, sit down with them, and their teacher if you are so inclined, and talk about what would be best for them moving forward. Color coded folders, each labelled for a specific subject, can be a great starting point. Go one step further and mark the pockets in each one for complete and incomplete work so that students can keep track of what they have and have yet to finish or turn in. Put a calendar up on the wall and use it to mark, together, when assignments are due, and count with them the number of days in between, strategizing a game plan for managing their time and the workload along the way. An old school planner—you know the kind, with every day laid out and divided up into subjects—is another great, tactile approach for students to commit to memory what they need to do by writing it down—pen-to-paper. 

How about your morning routine? You’ve definitely heard me mention this a time or two. That’s because it is so important! 

With distance learning, time spent commuting has likely gone out the window, leaving you with more minutes in the AM to build out a solid approach to your before school checklist. Determine, as a family, how much time it takes to get everything done that is essential to learning—waking up, brushing teeth, dressing for school, eating breakfast. Are lunches made the night before? Are snacks parceled out for easy access? 

How about an alarm clock that isn’t tethered to their cell phone so that they can truly have a digital detox when they head off to bed? Check out this one, perfect for younger kiddos, while this sunrise one is great for older students.

Even if your kiddos are walking down the stairs, across the hall, or traversing from one corner of their bedroom to the other for distance learning, get them in the habit of packing up their backpacks at night (or organizing their work for the next day of distance learning). This practice, though seemingly minor, can be a game changer for students. No missing homework assignments or frantic calls to your office (or interrupting your Zoom meetings) when they’ve left their Science book buried somewhere in the rubble of their room.

And finally—how are they doing? No, really. How are they doing with distance learning, and Zoom classes, and Nearpod activities and SeeSaw lesson submissions, and P.E. on a screen and lunchtime on their own? Some of my best memories when teaching in the classroom—and, being a Principal on campus—are those real conversations with my students. The ones where I get a true pulse of how they are feeling about life. 

They don’t have to be too serious, and they don’t have to end with anyone solving the mysteries of the universe. Just a chance to chat about how their day is going, and what was that Science test all about, and did they eat their carrot sticks for lunch? A dialogue, even just a few minutes in length, to inquire about how you help them edit a paragraph, solve that sticky situation with their best friend, and see what they think about the upcoming Talent Show.  

These are the conversations that really matter to them. The ones that they will remember. The ones you will, as well.

So, fast forward to today. My closets are still relatively clean, and I can, once again, find my electric bill in our filing cabinets. 

Terrific. 

But that shouldn’t define my success at surviving the quarantine. And how your kiddo organizes their desk at the end of all of this, that doesn’t measure their triumph either. Rather, how we head back into the world, prioritizing people over possessions, benevolence over the bottom line, and showing our students that while success comes in many forms and fashions, it is accomplished through hard work and trying their very best. These are the hallmarks of how 2020 will be remembered.