Don't Do It Alone! - Education At Home (for Students & Parents)

Within the span of a few days, homeschooling became the new norm.

WSU Assistant Professor Elizabeth Weybright gave some helpful insight from her research on leisure and boredom. She has been tracking boredom complaints on the Internet since stay-at-home orders were given. A WSU News article concludes with a quote from Weybright.

“The situation we are in is unprecedented,” Weybright said. “None of us were given any skills in dealing with a pandemic as individuals or as parents. We’re all struggling and acknowledging that is important.”

In this time, there is no denying that we are stuck and are unsure what to do. One of the particularly pressing issues is the rapid transition to education at home. Keep reading to learn what you can be doing, whether you're a student or a parent, to tackle the new reality of isolated, online schooling.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT. . .

You're almost at the end of the school year! No doubt you have had a lot of changes in your schedules and are still trying to figure out how to use this time. The New York Times recently released an article detailing students' reactions to the new era of "social distancing." Many responses highlighted the difficulty to use the new time and even the occasional "existential contemplation."

Here are two things to remember while you are at home.

STAY SOCIAL.
Your peers are an important part of this time of your life, so it is important to be in touch with them when you can. Find any sort of opportunities you can to be in face-to-face interaction with each other and to do things together remotely. Continue to meet over video with your classmates for projects, assignments, etc. Also, it is very beneficial to those you are connected to when you send messages of positive reinforcement every now and then.

STAY APART (AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME).
As strange as it sounds, the best thing you can do for your peers right now is to be away from them. Our priority is protecting those around us in any way we can, and we need to make sure we are all have this same goal and are doing whatever it takes to stay clean (for the thousandth time, thank you for washing your hands!) and away from those who are at high risk. Be sure to encourage others to adopt healthy habits if they haven't already. Remember - we are protecting each other by doing this!

IF YOU ARE A HOMESCHOOL PARENT. . .

[Personal preface. I was homeschooled for 12 straight years, and I saw my mom endure the constant work of teaching her kids of various ages, find new academic resources to help us learn in the best possible way, and coordinate with other homeschooling families in co-ops or online courses. Looking back, I realize how hard this was on her and how she did not do it perfectly, but I am extremely grateful for all the ways she helped me excel academically and creatively.]

If you're currently intimidated by the task or unsure of how to go about it, know that your kids are going to really appreciate and benefit from your direction as their new stay-at-home teacher. The responsibility is huge, but there are helping hands out there to give you a boost. Don't do this alone!Here are some useful, FREE resources you can use in your home to help your child's learning.

Khan Academy (All ages)
ActivEd Walkabouts (PreK - 2nd Grade)
Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (K - 12th)

Ambleside Online (K - 12th)

Newsela (All Ages)

Virtual Field Trips and World Tours (TripSavvy)

Scholastic Learn at Home (PreK - 9th)

Smithsonian Learning Lab (All Ages)

Funbrain (PreK - 8th)

Storyline 

Big History Project 

Chrome Music Lab 

Club SciKidz 

GoNoodle (PreK - 1st)

Bedtime Math 

Code.org 

YouTube 

826 Digital (1st -12th)

Starfall (PreK - 3rd)

AS ALWAYS, HANG IN THERE!

One of the biggest struggles for surely all of us in this time is having the motivation to finish this school year strong, whether you're a student or a homeschool parent. Nevertheless, if all of us are working together to fulfill the responsibilities in front of us, the results will definitely be rewarding. As Weybright plainly stated, we are all struggling, and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that to one another. Let's help each other in this time!