COVID has brought a lot of challenges in its wake and for most parents, the thought of virtual learning for their young children is a daunting task. It’s hard enough having to get your child to adjust to a new method of schooling, but when it’s the kids first time in a real learning environment (for the kindergartners and grade 1’s), having them learning via the computer poses additional challenges. This article will walk you through 5 ways to get your child comfortable and motivated with distance learning.
My son, Jahan, who is in Junior Kindergarten, is an overly active and extremely energetic, social child. The last thing he wants to do is sit in front of a computer for a good chunk of his day. He’s also quite bright so he gets bored very easily if he isn’t being challenged with the task at hand.
While we are still getting the hang of things, I’ve found these 5 tactics have helped immensely in getting my child comfortable and motivated with distance learning:
1) Instill excitement and hype up the schedule of the day
The day is broken up into 3 periods, each of manageable length, and each session has time for interaction and activities
Know the routine:
- Before class starts, I’ll get Jahan excited by talking about Oh Canada and the good morning song and asking him what he thinks the daily lesson will be
- Once the session starts and he gets antsy, I’ll bring up the time and remind him nutrition break is right around the corner and ask what he would like to eat. I’ll start preparing his snack for him
- During nutrition break, I’ll recap the daily lesson and give him positive reinforcement for participating. I’ll compliment him on all the cool things he drew and how much I enjoyed hearing him explain his art to the class. I’ll get him hyped up about the mindfulness and yoga session that will be coming up after break and how he will get to explore one of the learning centers – ‘oh I wonder which one we will learn today’! Then it’s reminding him lunch is coming up!
- The last part of the day is pretty exciting as they usually do a yoga exercise and a bunch of dances during the dance break session, so I’ll talk about that with him. Then its the end of the day!
Encourage them to stay focused:
Explaining the schedule daily will help them get into the routine and building the excitement makes it a fun process.
- Whenever Jahan really doesn’t want to pay attention, I’ll let him stand and watch the screen. I’ll keep reminding him of the time and what will happen at the next break so he’s got that to look forward to.
- When the class has break out sessions to work on their activity independently, moving your child to another room may help with a change of scenery. Just make sure you child’s teacher is okay with it.
These have worked for us and has really helped Jahan get comfortable with distance learning.
2) Provide lots of positive reinforcement
It’s a lot for these kids to take in this amount of information virtually and be expected to sit and pay attention, participate and get everything done. Acknowledging that and talking to them about it and being empathetic is key
- Cheering them on when they do share their stories and participate, and encouraging them with smiles and claps goes a long way. Even if they make a mistake or don’t present the way we would expect them to, never criticize. They are doing their best and are creative and bright in their own ways. I know it’s hard to focus on them and the activities that they are doing when you too are working parents on non-stop conference calls or working on your tasks. However, offering encouraging words and compliments when you do get a break will work wonders on both the child’s self-esteem and how they will view virtual learning
3) Don’t compare your child to other children
It’s hard not comparing your child to the rest of the class, especially if your child is misbehaving or having a harder time concentrating than other kids in the class. However, it is important that we don’t. This is a new skill for your child to learn and every kid has their own strengths and abilities that make them unique that they bring to the table.
- Focus on what they are doing well and any feedback that is given on ways to improve should be discussed in a tone of wanting to help them do better and learn more. Don’t tell them they need to behave like the other students do
4) Limiting Screen time during other times of the day
Jahan loves to watch Blippi and dinner time is his time to get to watch 30 minutes of it. However, with virtual learning we have found that we need to limit screen-time during other times of the day, for obvious reasons of not wanting a young child to be on their laptop too often and for overall health and wellbeing (think eye strain, etc.) Of course, that is easier said than done. Imagine telling a child they can no longer watch Blippi during dinner because of online learning, this will bring about the temper tantrums and of course the, well, then I don’t want to do the online learning!
Be consistent:
The first few days, there will be all that to deal with, as well as them just not eating all together. But, stick to the rule, and eventually they will come around (in a few days) Now we hype up the weekends–‘oh, it’s just 2 more days until Saturday, then you can watch Blippi. I think he has a new episode coming up, on visiting the farm, ohhhh, that’s exciting isn’t it’? Changing the focus to looking forward to the weekend when he gets time off from school and a chance to watch his show, usually does the trick. Consistency is key here, don’t give in.
5) Fostering independence
If you have other kids to manage at home as well, giving your child who is virtual learning independence with check in’s and being close by to answer any questions and to encourage them to stay on track helps. I have a 1 year old, Rivaan, at home so Jahan will often leave his computer to come and play with us and gets upset that I’m not sitting with him. It’s harder for him to know that we are having fun in the other room. I used to have Jahan set up in the play area so he can be in the same room as Rivaan and I but that had to change as he would just play with us and refuse to stay on the computer. He’s now in the kitchen which is in the next room.
Provide your child with space with scheduled check-ins:
As long as I check in on him and sit with him when Rivaan is napping (twice a day) and when Rivaan is eating lunch in his high chair, that seems to keep Jahan happy. I also explain to him that the times I cant be with him, is a time for him to practice his independence and help him prep for when he will inevitably have to go back to a school based environment. He seems to take that as a mini project and seems to pay attention when we are not right around him 😊 This has really helped him in getting both comfortable and motivated with online learning
As a parent, do you find it challenging to manage your time effectively? Check out my blog post here for 5 time management tips every busy mom needs to know!
Are you finding that your kids are getting bored with quarantine? Read my blog post on 7 staycation ideas the kids will love!
I hope these strategies help you with getting your child comfortable and motivated with distance learning.
What are some of the techniques you have used to help your kids transition into virtual learning? Sound off in the comments below!