Each morning, educators and students head back to the classroom, or rather the online classroom. For most parents, it is back to school as well as families work hard to help their children navigate the new structure of what school looks like amidst the current pandemic.

When I reached out to my class to gauge how they were doing in this new climate of learning, I was interested to learn that almost every family was dealing with the same two issues: how to keep their family on a schedule and where to find additional educational resources to keep kids learning. Here are a few tips to help you and your students adjust to the online classroom. 

Solution #1: Providing Structure and Consistency

We all know that children thrive in structure and consistency. It helps them feel secure and know what to expect as well as understand what is expected of them. Right now, our world seems very unpredictable and insecure, so I cannot imagine what it looks like from the eyes of a child.

I learned from my class families that at the beginning of social distancing and alternative instruction, my students were excited about the unknown, but even my most unstructured students eventually caved with the lack of routine. 

One parent even told me that her child, for the first time in his life, was setting an alarm, getting himself up, taking a shower and eating breakfast before settling down to his school-issued laptop to begin that day’s alternative instruction that is emailed out each morning at eight o’clock.

Think Like a School: Schedule Tips 

Every school and office functions better under routine. Remember that every classroom at your child’s school has a large daily schedule on display for a reason! If your home has been turned into a classroom as well as an office, this is even more important to do. Here are a few tips to get your family on a schedule: 

1. Sit down as a family and organize a schedule.

2. Create a poster, or for your younger children, create a color-coded clock using markers and a dollar store clock. Here’s a tutorial! 

3. Make sure your schedule answers the questions: 

• When will everyone in the family “go” to work or school? 

• What time is lunch? Feel free to even create a lunch menu!

• When will breaks or freetime be allowed? And what activities will be allowed during this time? 

• Where will everyone be working? 

• How can students interrupt or ask for assistance from a working parent if it is not an emergency?

• When are snacks available?

Solution #2: Providing Additional Resources to Keep Kids Learning 

I have to ask for a round of applause for my fellow educators who have stepped up to the plate and are trying desperately to provide support for your family at this time. It is likely that you are receiving constant communication from your school and child’s teacher to provide educational support during these times, but here are some additional options.

Online educational companies have done a wonderful job of allowing free access to their platforms during this time. Check out these options! 

Supplement Core Classes  

 Both of these platforms earn high marks for their individualized learning plans. 

• Freckle: This online platform lets your K-12 students practice math and English, as well as social studies and science through ELA articles, on their own individualized level. Right now, parents can sign up for a teacher account. 

• Prodigy: This individualized platform for first-eighth grade students focuses on math. They offer a separate parent account under the parent tab. 

Encourage Reading 

• Epic!: This online library has over 40,000 ebooks for students ages 2-12. You can add up to four readers under one account if you have multiple readers in your household. 

• Barnes & Noble: This bookseller has opened up access to over 5,000 e-books for kids that can be downloaded onto a Nook or accessed through the Kindle app.

Create Opportunities for Hands-On Learning 

• Music Activities: Chrome Music Lab lets students explore everything from rhythm to chords to harmonics and even lets users create their own song!

• Science Activities: Science Buddies is a great online resource to get you started on over a hundred STEM activities and experiments that can be done at home using household items.

• Art Activities: When it comes to substituting for art class, The Kennedy Center for Education has teamed up with author and illustrator Mo Willems to provide a daily segment called Lunch Doodles that begins at noon on their website. Mo Willems and his illustrations will be recognizable to your student from Willems’s children's books. Also, he is incredibly easy to follow and a ton of fun to listen to. 

• PE Breaks: For breaks throughout the day, or even some indoor exercise on rainy days, use the website GoNoodle. Their site offers a variety of activities from stretching and breathing exercises to workouts and guided dances for kids. 

Reach Out to Your Community! 

In addition, use the people around you and the ideas that they are posting on social media to get great ideas as well. For example, I know of a friend who has been posting about how she has added Home Ec to her children’s daily schedule. They work each day on a particular recipe and she gets additional help with lunch, snack or dinner for the day! It’s times like these when the most creative ideas and resources are imagined and the best memories with your family are made. 

Final Solution: Providing Perspective 

While you might remember this time as being constantly at your wits end, searching for any option to make your day less chaotic, your child’s favorite memory might end up coming from making lunch together over the next few weeks or that day you created a science experiment together. Keep things in perspective and don’t forget that your child’s teacher is out there cheering for you and wishing so badly that they could be back in that role for you!

Julya Gandy is currently in her 10th year of teaching and is a fourth-grade teacher at Pulaski Academy where she also taught PreK after seven years with Cabot Public Schools. As Arkansas transplants, her and her husband, Brock, both attended college in Arkansas and simply never left after deciding to make Little Rock home with their cat, Chloe, dog, Jack, and their baby girl who is on the way!