I may or may not have mentioned at some point that I am also a full time virtual school teacher. I started this blog in the summer so it’s likely that it subconsciously left my mind as I have been out of work mode since delivering Leila and my maternity leave beginning on May 20th. Anyway, I get back to it tomorrow, back to a grind that I am not exactly ready for but am grateful for.
Teachers, students and families around the world are beginning this school year with so much uncertainty. Teacher’s are stressed that they won’t reach their students, students miss their friends and socializing, getting out of the house and parents don’t know how they’re going to get their kids to listen to them and actually do their work, and also somehow manage to do their own work while their kids are now home full time beyond summer.
I’m grateful because I have always been a virtual school teacher (going into my 4th year at least). So for me, my students and my family, there isn’t much change. Sure, my kids aren’t going back to daycare and I have three kids three and under at home but my husband is amazing and is here to help. So as I go back to teaching my students through the computer and settle into my familiar routine, most of the world being impacted by education is in disarray.
As a mother and teacher, I’m hoping to provide as much support as possible in regards to preparing students for online learning, helping to engage students in a virtual setting, organizing time etc. My goal and please hold me accountable to it, is to make it here weekly to share one important tip, checklist, idea etc. regarding online learning in some way.
My very first tip is going to be this – give EVERYONE grace. Your child’s teacher is in a whole new world, give them grace. Your child misses his/her classmates and to be frank, is probably over being told what to do by you all summer long. They are also being forced to learn in a way that may or may not be best for them – give them grace. You have a lot on your plate- you continue to hold the role of parent, chef and chauffeur among so many others and now you’re starting a school year as your child’s teacher- give yourself grace.
Yes, your child has a teacher who will be instructing them but this is new to everyone, so expect to be providing guidance and a lot of support to help everything get started as smoothly as possible but please be patient with yourself and everyone involved. You will get frustrated and so will everyone else, give grace. Pass it out like candy and remember at the end of the day, that you will have a new day tomorrow and simply call that day a lesson learned. In the end, move on and be prepared for more challenges but also to find things that work well too.
Being in a virtual setting myself with families and students who are used to the system, we still have difficulties with students who need a lot of support at home. As a teacher on the other side of the screen, we cannot quickly identify when your child’s eyes begin to close, we cannot see a confused face as they read something new or are struggling with a new concept or new word and so we need your help to identify these things, we need your eyes and ears.
Some things I hope to share in this series are:
For Parents:
Things to do with your child weekly to help monitor their progress
Tips for helping your child stay on task throughout the day
Organizing your child’s work space and schedule
Activities to do at home to help make learning more fun
For Teachers:
Setting up your schedule
Setting up routines: morning procedures, attendance, exit tickets and more
Keeping your students engaged
Activities/Assignments that allow for easy monitoring in real time
Free progress monitoring programs
Stay tuned and if there’s anything specific that you want support on or would like me to write about, please comment below or shoot me an email at workathomechaos@gmail.com.
Now it’s off to bed for this mama so I can get an almost full nights rest before my first day back to work!
XO,
Work at Home Chaos 