The coronavirus pandemic has had a great impact on all of our lives. All sports have been suspended, businesses are closing, and schools have been canceled; well not exactly. Now, children are being required to learn from home as many schools across the world, and in Nebraska have gone completely online. This can be a huge change in which challenges may arise. As we are all told to stay home, all parents should be focusing on helping their children with this transition, as well as become educators. Here are some homeschool tips to help make the transition to online schooling better for your children. 

Create A Daily Schedule

One of the first items parents should look at is making a daily schedule. During the school week, students are very used to a set schedule. At home, you should try to follow this same schedule as much as possible. You can do this by laying out what times to work on certain classes, as well as make sure there is enough time for lunch and recess! This will help children adapt to online learning better, and will also create habits that can be used until schools reopen. 

Ask your school district for support

Another great way parents can help their kids transition to online learning is by talking with their school. Parents should reach out and talk to their kid’s teachers to find out and understand everything that is needed and expected. This will help you and your children stay on top of assignments, learn which supplies are necessary and determine with resources are best moving forward. 

Create a fun environment 

Another thing parents should focus on is creating a fun environment that is still open to learning! This can include fun interactive learning games found online, educational shows, movies, or videos and making sure to set time for “recess” or physical activities. This will allow your children to have fun, yet still, promote learning even from home. This is essential especially for younger children, who are often doing fun activities during the school week. 

Help your children continue to nurture friendships 

Although we are all asked to perform social distancing at this time, it’s still a great idea to allow your children to interact with their school friends for questions about school if needed. This is a very challenging time for everyone, but keeping friendships alive will help! Whether it’s by video chats or other forms of messaging, it’s important that your kids retain those friendships from school! This can play a very important role with their mental health! This is a very difficult time for all of us, and we must all come together to get through it. 

Online learning is something many of us were not planning for, however, it has become a reality. Using these homeschooling tips will help make the transition to online learning much easier for both students and parents! 

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