Take Time To Become Comfortable With The Technology
If you’re going to be working with new technology, you won’t want to use that tech for the first time on a school day. Instead, you’ll want to set aside some time to work with the technology and figure out the basics.
You may want to sit down with the technology and learn more about it. From there, you can use it with your child. If you figure out how the technology works ahead of time, you’ll have fewer distractions when your child attends school.
Prepare The Night Before
Make sure you’re ready to learn the night before a virtual learning session. You’ll want to plug in all your devices to ensure that they are fully charged. You should make sure that your fridge is stocked up with beverages and snacks.
Getting ready beforehand won’t take you a lot of time, and it can help you avoid major headaches on a school day. Do a quick check the night before to ensure that you’re fully prepared. If you find any tasks that you need to take care of, you’ll want to tackle those tasks right away.
Create An Environment That’s Perfect For Learning
Schools are designed to be learning environments. Unfortunately, your home may not be set up in the same way. You should work to build an environment that will help your child focus on their lessons. The fewer distractions, the better.
Find a comfortable chair for your child to sit in while they work. You may want to invest in noise-canceling headphones so that your child won’t be distracted by noises when they’re listening to their teacher. It’s a good idea to make sure your child is in your line of sight while they’re working.
Help Your Child To Engage With Classmates
Virtual learning can be isolating, which is why you’ll want to find some ways that you can help your child engage with classmates. Talk to other parents and see if you can set up virtual playdates where your child can talk to some of the other students in their class.
If your child is able to form friendships with some of the kids in their class, they’ll be more excited about attending online school with them even if children can’t talk to each other during class. School isn’t just about learning educational basics. It’s also about building social skills. Make sure that your child is able to form connections with some of the other kids in their class.
Open A Line Of Communication With Your Child’s Instructors
You should make sure that your child is in touch with their classmates, and you should make sure that you’re in touch with your child’s teacher or teachers. Ideally, you should be sending out an email to instructors once per week.
In the email, you can touch base and ask the teacher about how your child is doing. Find out if there are any issues that need to be addressed. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get more information about the subjects your child has been studying.
Set Attainable Goals For Your Child
It’s important to establish goals that your child should work towards when learning virtually. However, you also need to make sure that those goals are realistic. If your child already struggles to sit still for their lessons, you shouldn’t plan for them to take extra online lessons after school is over with.
Find reasonable goals that your child can work towards. Talk to your child about these goals and your expectations of them. You may want to offer some sort of reward that your child can earn if they complete those goals. Having something to work towards can be highly motivating.
Put Together A Daily Schedule
Children thrive on routine. While they’ll be able to follow a routine in the classroom, they may not have the same kind of experience while learning at home. That’s why you should work to build an everyday schedule that your family can follow.
Start your routine when your child wakes up in the morning. Try to have your child wake up at a specific time even if they don’t have to catch a school bus. You should try to have your child go to bed at the same time as well, even on weekends. This will help your child get a full night of sleep, which will allow them to focus on their work the next day.
Give Your Child Positive Feedback
Online learning can be discouraging. Many children struggle to stay motivated when they’re learning at home. That’s why you should make a point of praising your child, even for small things. For example, if your child has stayed in their seat for a long stretch of time, you should let them know that you’re proud of them.
Children want attention. If they don’t receive positive feedback from you — or their instructor — they may act out so that they can receive attention for their negative behavior. Nip this in the bud and praise your child when they’re doing well.
Find Ways To Make Learning Fun
Above all else, you should find ways to make virtual learning more fun for your child. If your child hates sitting in front of a computer all day, you should set aside time to go on walks and get some exercise. Look for educational games your child can play that will help them strengthen the skills that they’ve been learning at school.
Attending online school can feel like a chore, but with a little bit of extra effort, you can make these learning sessions fun for your child. Make sure you talk to your child about their virtual learning program so that you can find ways to make their experience better.
