Is your child complaining that they hate school because it’s virtual? We get it. Parents are forced to homeschool while many of them work full-time. Households across the nation continue to deal with financial burdens and/or health challenges. Covid-19 has proven to be the biggest online learning experiment in history to date. So of course, there will be lots of trial and error over the first year of learning online. As children and adults adapt, kids are missing what they remember school to be.
As we slip into 2021 with no foreseeable end in sight to online learning, we try to stay positive. We look for the good and realize that the children who spent lots of their childhood schooling online will be far more technically advanced than we ever were as kids. Perhaps this uncertain time will evoke more engineers, software designers, computer scientists, web developers, system analysts, and experts in the digital field.
But your child hates school now. Thankfully, there are many things you can implement to help your child learn to like and even love online schooling.
Set Up Different Work Stations Around the House
We know you’re balancing a lot, and you are a super parent! Kids of all ages like to be entertained, and the younger ones usually have shorter attention spans and get bored easily.
Before their schooling starts for the day, set up different activities around the house to keep them engaged. In the morning, they can go for a bike ride or play with chalk outside. Then later in the day they can work at the coloring “station,” etc in a particular place in your home. Free printouts for your child can be found here.
The point of the rotating station is that you give your child a change of scenery every half hour or so, depending on their age. Maybe the living room is where they work on their puzzle. Perhaps the dining room is where they get to play with moon sand or other age-appropriate sensory activity.
If you don’t have access to a large space, you can still work out a similar idea of a rotating station. For example, during lego time, you let the bubble machine run and play music. Then, while your child plays with their dolls or action figures, you can put on a disco ball or other colorful lights in the same room.
Changing the space will enhance your child’s learning experience. When it’s time to sit down with their teacher, they may feel more satisfied with their day already and be more willing to listen and concentrate.
Add Fun to Their Daily Routine
If you have ever read a self-help article, you have read about the importance of providing your child with a standard routine. You can read more about the importance or morning and evening routines here. But I want to touch on how to add fun to your child’s routine every day so they have something to look forward to after their online classes.
- Schedule in a nightly dance party. Have the entire family participate. Create a groovy playlist that really makes you move and enjoy 10-20 minutes of straight dancing each night. No phones, no tv, and no distractions. Just good music, smiles, and fun. If your child is older, maybe you can schedule in 30 minutes to one hour of expressive dance three of four nights per week. This will really get the endorphins flowing and prepare everyone for a restful night of sleep.
- Create a new recipe with your child at least once per week. Let them dress up in an apron and chef hat and help you prepare a meal for the entire family. This is a beautiful way to teach your child about the cultural traditions you follow in the kitchen. Cooking with you will teach them independence and autonomy and give them something to look forward to after a hard day's work of learning online.
- Host an at-home science competition on a monthly basis. Most kids love the science fair and work hard on their projects for long spans of time. Check out this website for eight simple science experiments you can do at home!
There are so many things you can incorporate into your child’s daily routine that will satisfy their curiosity. The purpose of adding in unique activities throughout the day is to keep your child happy and engaged. It reminds them that learning is fun. By the time they have to sit down for school, they will feel more fulfilled with their day-to-day quality of life. This will help them realize that there is a time for school where they need to be serious, and a time for play when they can let the sillies out.
Listen to Them When They Express Their Feelings About School
As parents, we always want to protect our children in any way that we can. But sometimes, the only thing that children need is for someone to listen to their complaints, fears, and dislikes. When people verbally express their feelings, it helps them process them and move on from them. When kids feel like their parent or guardian is trying to “fix” them, it just leads to more resistance and holding onto the pain.
- Try to have your child solve their problem on their own. This will provide your child with a sense of control over their day-to-day life.
- Encourage your child to speak with their friends about the experiences they are having. This will help them realize that they are not alone and they will get through it with the help of friends who are going through something similar.
- Try a Let-It-Go Board. This technique seems to be most effective for young children. If a child is working on an assignment, they have the chance to put it on the let it go board if they don’t feel like working on it at that moment in time. The child knows that they will have to eventually tackle this task, but it gives them a sense of control and takes some stress off learning.
Promote Motivation
Another reason why students may not enjoy school is because they lack motivation or have no desire to learn.
- Ask your child questions. Know what they want, what they wish to have, who they want to, and what they wish to accomplish in life.
Providing the space for your child to verbalize their ideas will help them realize that anything they want to do in life is possible. Ask them specific questions about the career and lifestyle they imagine for themselves and how they plan on getting there. Ask them how much money they want to make if they are old enough to understand the value of money.
Track back to the importance of learning in school as a child as the stepping stones for turning into a successful grownup. Just saying this aloud may cause the idea of hard work to really click. Actively work to find your child’s pain point so you can help them realize the value of going to school.
- Show your child what they need to learn in order to achieve their lofty dreams, goals, and wants. This will be most effective for older children and provide them with a loving reality check. It will help them realize that money doesn’t grow on trees and that they will have to work for it. The point of this is not to crush your child’s dreams. It is to help them map out what they need to do in order to obtain what they say they want.
- Teach your child from a young age that every single job they will have requires learning. If they want to be a rockstar, an astronaut, a doctor, a dancer, a chemist, an olympian, etc, it’s possible. But you would be doing them a disservice if you don’t help them understand that they will be learning indefinitely, no matter what job they have.
During this tough time, the teachers at Math Genie are working so hard to provide a positive and effective online learning environment for their students. We believe in teaching discipline from a young age, and encourage our students to believe in themselves. We invite you to schedule a free class and assessment for your child to figure out if Math Genie is a good fit for your child.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzgztl54WIA&ab_channel=Evolve%26Expand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZgY7uiH15U&ab_channel=RachelBailey
The Math Genie Team
