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How To Home School Your Child In The Era Of COVID-19

Candy Jenkins — Tue, 12 May 2020 01:03:22 +0000

I just want to share with you a great article I found about how to help your children with their schooling during this uncertain period that we all are going through.

This article has some great tips from an educator who has 20 years of teaching experience and two master’s degrees in the education field.

Here’s the article:

Across the United States, parents are settling into the idea that the current coronavirus outbreak will require many to take over for teachers and child care providers into the foreseeable future. On March 16, President Trump raised the possibility that the coronavirus crisis might last until August.

With schools across the country closed and unlikely to reopen soon, families are gathering teaching materials, setting up schedules, and looking for ways to keep kids engaged beyond the limited hours of remote-learning school days. Parents who are pros at packing lunches and juggling sports practices may feel overwhelmed at the thought of managing students’ school days at home.

My own children started their school’s remote-learning on March 16 and, even as an educator with 20 years of experience and two master’s degrees in the education field, organizing their schedule consumed my morning. So, I decided to create a few resources to help families manage the sudden demand for at-home learning.

But first, take comfort in knowing that school-based lessons rarely go perfectly even for professional teachers. Kids struggle with instructions and get frustrated, no matter how well we prepare.

But first, take comfort in knowing that school-based lessons rarely go perfectly even for professional teachers. Kids struggle with instructions and get frustrated, no matter how well we prepare. Teachers spend much of their preparation time analyzing activities to improve the next lesson. As families step into teaching roles, it’s crucial to treat inevitable missteps as learning opportunities. Trust me, this has already been a week of trial and error at my house.

Consistency helps students focus, so start with a daily schedule. Skilled teachers often begin the school year with a great deal of structure, because kids learn most easily when they know what to expect. A schedule also allows parents and other caregivers to share duties. By building in breaks, choice and a range of activities, parents can tailor plans to meet children’s individual needs.

But be flexible and keep your child’s experience and personality in mind. A child who has attended a Montessori program may thrive with several work centers spread around the home, while one used to a more traditional setting may feel comfortable with a tighter schedule. Either way, be ready to set up daily plans while adapting to what works well.

If your child’s school offers remote learning, use the provided assignments to create a basic structure for each day, supplementing them as needed with activities that round out the curriculum. Even the most thorough remote-learning plans won’t occupy students all day and most families will need to find additional activities. I have compiled a list of resources below to help your search.

You can give older kids a sense of investment each day by asking them to help formulate their own schedule.

You can give older kids a sense of investment each day by asking them to help formulate their own schedule. But don’t get too caught in your lesson plan. Listen to your child. If they say, “I don’t get it,” or, “I’m tired and I can’t do this,” hear them out rather than telling them what to do next. Once you’ve heard how they’re feeling, ask them to read the directions aloud, or point you to the section that’s confusing. This will show them you are listening and let them make progress.

Parents with children of multiple ages have the extra challenge of balancing multiple remote-learning plans. Delegate tasks to older students — added responsibility can be inspiring for kids, even if they complain about it. Once in teacher mode, try staggering school start times, setting up multiple learning areas, and matching the noise level of different projects so everyone is loud at the same time.

When teaching, wait for eye contact before giving verbal instructions to kids. After you’re done, ask them to restate the main points of what you’ve said. Get to the child’s eye level to help communication, and limit verbal directions to two steps for preschoolers and three steps for older kids. The remote-learning situation will test everyone’s patience, so remember to take time for yourself.

Structure academic activities around kids’ attention spans. Most elementary-school kids can work on assignments for around 25 minutes before they need a break.

Structure academic activities around kids’ attention spans. Most elementary-school kids can work on assignments for around 25 minutes before they need a break. Use a timer or time-management software to arrange breaks, which can also become transitions to new tasks. Or have kids do some jumping jacks, get a drink of water, take a short walk, climb stairs or play a game to help them refocus. Avoid online videos or graphic novels until the end of the day. These make good rewards, but can be distracting midday. For preschoolers, try a clean-up song or talking through the next activity to make transitions smoother.

A typical school day rewards students with opportunities to show independence, help friends and overcome challenges. The shift to learning from home still gives children the chance to develop autonomy, practice empathy and use their skills — particularly when parents set up structures, then stand back to let kids shine.

Special thanks to Katherine Hill of the New York Times for her great article. If you are interested in reading the rest of the article, you can find the article here.

When your child learns to read at an early age, it expands their vocabulary and opens up their love for learning. It helps build their confidence and vastly improves their learning abilities.

And based on my experience, having the right reading methodology when teaching your child learn to read makes a world of difference.

I should know as I made that mistake. 😢

In fact, you can read my story about my child’s struggle with reading here and how we were able to help my child become an advanced reader here. 😀🤗

The post How To Home School Your Child In The Era Of COVID-19 appeared first on ChildLovesToLearn.com.

Child-Led Learning: Is It Worth Trying?

Candy Jenkins — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 17:34:21 +0000

Learning should be fun. In a child-led learning environment, it is. The child is in command of the learning environment and the parent is on the side.

Child-led learning is an interesting concept. The first time I heard about it, I became curious about it. The fact that the child is in command of the learning is enough to catch the attention of any parent. One thing for sure, it caught mine.

If I had known about it earlier, I would have tried it on my daughter. It’s a bit too late now that my daughter is already in grade 2. Nonetheless, I think the concept is worth sharing with other parents out there.

What Exactly Is Child-Led Learning?

I came across this article that perfectly defines and describes child-led learning. The article is written by Amanda Stockdale, who is both a mom and an early childhood educator. She helps the little ones learn at home using the child-led learning approach.

According to her, the interest of the child comes first in a child-led learning environment. In due time, the child will show signs of readiness in learning academic skills. These learning outcomes will stem from a child’s curious mind.

Sounds pretty simple, right? It’s not as simple as it seems since we, as parents, aren’t exactly on the sidelines.

Creating The Right Environment

I must admit that the child-led learning approach is something new to me. I would also have to agree with Amanda that the child-led learning approach does sound confusing and scary. Having the child lead the learning can test any parent’s patience.

While it may seem like a different kind of learning approach, it works. As long as we, parents, create the right environment for it, child-led learning can work.

We, parents, play an important role in child-led learning. Even if it seems like we’re just on the sidelines, we have to make sure that we put importance on academic subjects such as math and reading.

Such parental behavior is critical in a child-led learning environment. As a child recognizes how his or her parent puts importance on academic subjects, he or she is bound to model the same behavior. We should also provide fun and interesting materials to encourage learning.

Those are the simple ways we can make child-led learning easy. The urge to learn naturally follows.

The Benefits Of Child-Led Learning

While it may seem challenging to implement child-led learning, it’s worth giving it a try. After all, it’s pretty hard to ignore the benefits of it.

One such benefit is that the learning is based on the child’s experience. That makes learning more lasting.

Another benefit is that learning is stress-free. The child is not pressured to learn. Since learning is based on the interests of the child, there is no pressure at all.

The child-led preschool environment could easily thrive at home. Since the child learns at his or her own pace within the confines of home, the learning never stops. This motivates the child to learn further.

The learning that takes place in a child-led environment is deep and profound. Since the child is given the chance to experiment, to explore, and to investigate; the learning outcome becomes ingrained. It’s going to be pretty hard to unlearn it.

Probably the most outstanding benefit of child-led learning is that the child develops a genuine love for learning. Since the child is given the freedom to learn, he or she naturally becomes curious about the world. When a child is curious, learning follows.

These benefits of child-led learning are pretty hard to set aside. As a parent, I think it’s worth giving it a try.

As a parent, I am always in search of the latest tip or technology that can help enhance my child’s learning. With child-led learning, there’s no need to look far and wide.

Every single activity with a child can be spent as a learning moment. If we try harder to connect with our little ones and model the right learning behavior for them, it won’t be hard to implement the child-led learning approach.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy; I don’t think it will be. I know for sure that it’s going to test every parent’s patience. At least, at the start, it will.

However, it’s an approach worth trying since it can create a loving bond between the child and the parent. In an environment where love, trust, and support thrive, learning just happens naturally.

When your child learns to read at an early age, it expands their vocabulary and opens up their love for learning. It helps build their confidence and vastly improves their learning abilities.

And based on my experience, having the right reading methodology when teaching your child learn to read makes a world of difference.

I should know as I made that mistake. 😢

In fact, you can read my story about my child’s struggle with reading here and how we were able to help my child become an advanced reader here. 😀🤗

The post Child-Led Learning: Is It Worth Trying? appeared first on ChildLovesToLearn.com.

Toddlers Learn A Lot Through Playing

Candy Jenkins — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 01:03:30 +0000

Toddlers love to play. That’s all they ever do in a day. If they’re not playing, they’re either eating or sleeping. Their daily activities are pretty simple.

We, parents, take these simple daily activities for granted. When our kids are running around, perspiring from playing, the last thing that comes to our mind is that they’re learning. In my case, what comes to my mind is that my toddler should stop and take it easy.

As a mom, I had always thought that it was reasonable to stop and to calm my precocious toddler from playing. I found out that wasn’t exactly the most reasonable thing to do. According to this article, toddlers learn through play.

They can learn a lot by playing by themselves or with their friends. It is through play that they can express themselves. Instead of stopping them, our job as parents is to encourage them to play more.

Easier Said Than Done

The concept of learning through playing makes a lot of sense. It’s easy to understand how toddlers learn through play.

Appreciating it is a different thing. As a mom, it’s not easy to appreciate the endless play of my toddler. In all honesty, it’s exhausting!

For a mom like me, endless play means endless mess. That can get pretty stressful. It’s not easy cleaning up after a toddler. Every item that I stow can easily be undone by one little toddler. It just amazes me how that can happen in a blink of an eye.

Well, no one said that it would be easy raising a toddler. However, the article sheds some light on the reality of raising a toddler. It states that raising a toddler could be done through a child’s play. I agree. However, it’s easier said than done.

How Toddlers Benefit From Playing

Aside from the endless fun they get from playing, they, unconsciously, prepare themselves for school. I never really thought about that until now.

Even if kids play by themselves, it still prepares them for school. The reason for that is because play is what glues kids together. Since every kid loves to play, it’s what draws them together.

The simple act of playing allows toddlers to interact with each other. Whether they get along or not, they are interacting with each other.

As they are interacting with each other, they are dealing with their feelings. That, in itself, is a learning moment for a toddler.

I find that very interesting. I never thought about it before, nonetheless, it makes a lot of sense. I consider it a crucial moment. As a mom, I must be able to identify, process, and reinforce those moments to my toddler.

Simple Tips To Make It Easier

Toddlers can explore and eventually, learn through play. Hence, is the reason why we should allow plenty of time for them to play.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to deal with the mess that comes with playtime. What might look like a huge mess for a mom like me, is a learning environment for a precocious toddler.

Luckily for exhausted moms like me, there are simple tips to make it easier to deal with the mess.

One of the simple tips that can make it easier for moms, like me, is to find an interesting activity. That activity should be interesting enough for both me and my toddler. One good example of such activity is cooking. Since I love to cook, I could use it as a play activity for my toddler as well.

We could pretend that we are cooking together. Since it’s the kind of activity that’s close to my heart, I could have a lot of fun playing it out as well. Toddlers must see how much fun we’re having while playing with them.

Of course, cooking is just one activity to consider. Toddlers get bored right away. They need a variety of activities to enjoy their playtime. Hence, having a long list of fun and interesting activities can help transform their playtime into learning moments.

The Best Tip For Moms

I think the best tip for moms who find it challenging to keep up with toddler’s play is to find time for self-care.

Playing with toddlers can get pretty draining. It’s tiring and that could make us lose our patience easily. Hence, is the reason why we have to find time for self-care. If we do, we’ll have more energy to deal with our toddler’s playtime.

Again, it’s easier said than done. Considering how toddlers learn through play, we just have to find time for self-care. That way, we can keep up with a tireless toddler who is busy playing and learning at the same time.

When your child learns to read at an early age, it expands their vocabulary and opens up their love for learning. It helps build their confidence and vastly improves their learning abilities.

And based on my experience, having the right reading methodology when teaching your child learn to read makes a world of difference.

I should know as I made that mistake. 😢

In fact, you can read my story about my child’s struggle with reading here and how we were able to help my child become an advanced reader here. 😀🤗

The post Toddlers Learn A Lot Through Playing appeared first on ChildLovesToLearn.com.

The Calming Effect Of Reading Aloud To Kids

Candy Jenkins — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 03:53:21 +0000

Kids are naturally hyper. They’ll run, jump, and skip to entertain themselves. It’s pretty hard for them to stay still. That’s just the way they are.

Demanding that they stay still is not good for them. They’ll just end up doing the opposite and we’ll just end up getting more irritated.

If we want our kids to stay still, we shouldn’t tell them to do it. Instead, we should find an activity that can get them to stay still.

One activity that can help kids stay still is to read aloud to them. According to research, engaging kids in activities such as reading can have positive effects on their behavior. The research adds that literacy isn’t the only positive outcome of reading aloud to kids. I agree.

Improved Behavior

The research was pretty simple. It focused on a study called Reading Aloud, Play, And Social-Emotional Development.

What the researchers did was to group families into two. They videotaped the interactions of the two groups of families.

One group of families had parents interact with their kids through reading and playing. This group also had some intervention from the researchers. They provided positive feedback and reinforced the interactions between parents and kids.

The other group did not receive any kind of intervention from the researchers. It also did not get any feedback and reinforcement from the researchers.

A little more than a year after the study, the researchers found that the kids from the intervention group were more behaved. They also had better social skills as compared to the kids from the other group.

The Importance Of Reading And Playing With Kids

The study shows the positive effects of interacting with kids through reading, playing, and talking. Child expert, Alan Mendelsohn, cites an important thing about the study.

According to him, the study proves that kids can be better prepared for school if their parents spend some time reading aloud to them. Other interactions such as playing and talking can benefit them as well.

He also cites that kids can further develop their capacity to pay attention and to sit still through reading, playing, and talking. By reading aloud to them, they can enhance their capacity to engage with the story. These simple skills will prepare them for the big school.

Both reading and playing can facilitate conversation between parents and kids. No matter how simple the conversation is, words are exchanged to express feelings.

According to Mendelsohn, that’s important. That is what gets the kids to stay still. He further adds that when kids begin to internalize the language, they don’t usually get angry with another kid’s behavior. Hence, they become more tolerant. That also explains why kids become more behaved.

The Magic Of Face-To-Face Interaction

More than anything else, the parent and the child can spend quality time together when they read and talk to each other. That bond is also strengthened when they play with each other.

The face-to-face interaction that happens when parents and kids read and play together is crucial. It’s a far cry from the digital interaction kids get from screen time.

I would have to agree with the researchers of the study. If we could spend more time reading aloud to our kids, we could help channel their energy into something more productive.

An interesting book can keep the kids engaged. They’ll start to think about the story; unconsciously, focusing on it. As time goes by, they will be able to associate the letters and the photos of the book to the story. Just like magic, they’re going to end up loving the same book over and over again.

At that point, that’s where we, parents, have to read the same old book over and over again. That’s okay. If doing that can contribute to the positive behavior of our kids, then it’s worth doing it all over again.

There’s no doubt about the calming effect of reading aloud to kids. As shown by the study, kids not only come out literate. They also come out as calm and behaved human beings. That’s great news for a parent, like me.

When your child learns to read at an early age, it expands their vocabulary and opens up their love for learning. It helps build their confidence and vastly improves their learning abilities.

And based on my experience, having the right reading methodology when teaching your child learn to read makes a world of difference.

I should know as I made that mistake. 😢

In fact, you can read my story about my child’s struggle with reading here and how we were able to help my child become an advanced reader here. 😀🤗

The post The Calming Effect Of Reading Aloud To Kids appeared first on ChildLovesToLearn.com.

How To Find The Time And Patience To Read Aloud

Candy Jenkins — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:25:07 +0000

Ten minutes. That’s all we need to read aloud to our kids. Just ten minutes a day of reading aloud to our kids will make a huge difference.

I enjoy reading aloud to my son. It relaxes me. Unfortunately, some moms find it hard to read aloud to their kids. They can’t seem to find the time to do it. When they do find the time, they lack the patience to make the moment enjoyable. That’s sad.

What the use of reading aloud to kids when the atmosphere is not friendly? Kids will associate reading with the unfriendly atmosphere and that could get pretty traumatic for them.

Reading aloud should be fun. We, moms, should make sure that our kids enjoy the moment.

Quit Thinking Of The Benefits Of Reading Aloud

I understand why some moms find it difficult to read aloud to their kids. Considering the daily workload of moms, it’s not that easy to set aside quality time to read aloud. I should know because I’ve been there.

I tried everything to allot some quality time. Unfortunately, I would end up falling asleep while reading a book.

It took a lot for me to read aloud to my son and for a brief moment, I thought I was going to give up on it.

There was a nagging voice inside me that told me not to give up. If I did, I would be a horrible mom for not spending some time to read aloud to my son. So, how could I not do it?

I was pressured by that nagging voice. It kept on reminding me of the benefits of reading aloud to my son and at the same time, kept on nagging me not to give up. I wanted to yell, “Stop!”

I thought to myself, “How could reading aloud be so stressful for a parent?”

Then I blocked the nagging voice in my head. I stopped thinking about the benefits of reading aloud. Suddenly, reading aloud became more relaxing for me. It became easier for me to grab a book to read aloud to my son.

There was no more pressure for me to make it a learning experience for my son. I became more relaxed. I just read aloud a story to my son. I stopped worrying if my son missed out a word or an event in the book.

I just went on to read aloud. I found that my son appreciated that manner of reading aloud more. He, too, was more relaxed.

Don’t Overdo It

Some parents get overly excited about the benefits of reading that they end up overdoing it. I was guilty of that as well.

I committed to reading aloud for an hour every single day. If reading aloud is good for my son, I should commit at least an hour a day to do it, right?

Well, I was wrong about that. In my case, I found it very hard to read aloud for an hour a day. It was doable for the first few days. Then it became too stressful and tiring. I was also having a hard time finding more books to read.

I was reading aloud too much information to my son to the point that he got bored. Another thing I realized was that there was no way I could let my son sit for an hour straight. As a five-year-old boy, his attention span is only good for about 25 minutes at the most.

Instead of boring my son to death, I resorted to reading aloud to him for just ten minutes a day. Yes, just ten minutes a day. It worked. Since that day on, it was a lot easier for me to read aloud to my son.

Reading aloud for ten minutes a day is backed up by the National Adult Literacy Agency. According to their article, all we need is just ten minutes a day to read aloud to our kids. Those ten minutes will make a huge impact on our kid’s learning development.

With just ten minutes of reading aloud to them, they can learn new words, come with ideas based on the story, and predict what’s going to happen next. The short period can spark their curiosity to think.

Based on my experience, the best way to avoid overdoing the task of reading aloud is by committing to do it for just ten minutes a day. It’s easier for both the parent and the child.

Keep It Fun And Simple

Parents are always trying to find ways and means to read aloud to their kids. I don’t blame them. What I have learned from finding the time and patience to read aloud to my son is to just keep it fun and simple.

If we prioritize the fun part of reading aloud, then everything else will follow.

When your child learns to read at an early age, it expands their vocabulary and opens up their love for learning. It helps build their confidence and vastly improves their learning abilities.

And based on my experience, having the right reading methodology when teaching your child learn to read makes a world of difference.

I should know as I made that mistake. 😢

In fact, you can read my story about my child’s struggle with reading here and how we were able to help my child become an advanced reader here. 😀🤗

The post How To Find The Time And Patience To Read Aloud appeared first on ChildLovesToLearn.com.