A practical how-to guide filled with links to buy what you need if your child is doing distance learning. Here are simple things you can do to make at-home learning more effective and to make shifting between online learning and pencil + paper less chaotic.
Learn
To ensure effective and successful learning among children – where minds and hearts are truly open and ready for learning – it is important to establish a relationship of trust and respect between a child and their teacher (and/or parent in the case of at-home learning). Creating a safe and comfortable physical learning environment that reflects how your family values learning is a big part of ensuring that.
While a home should not look like a classroom, there are things parents can do to make at-home learning more effective, and to make shifting between online learning and pencil + paper less chaotic (i.e., those moments when a child shifts their attention between screen and traditional school work and the transition may feel chaotic, confusing or distracting).
Your Back-to-School Checklist for At-Home Learning
Core Marbles
- Create or revise family agreements
- Set up a learning space
- Stock up on learning materials and supplies
- Create a calming place for your child to settle and reset themselves
- Create or revise family agreements
- Now is a great time to create family agreements or update what is already in place. Given the current context of families together for extended periods of time, it is helpful to set clear expectations for behavior and reaffirm your family’s core values. Think of any sticky spots in the spring and consider incorporating specific ideas to address these into your agreements. For example, if sibling squabbles were frequent, consider putting “Keep bodies and feelings safe” at the top of the list. Post your Family Agreements in a high traffic area.
- Set up a learning space
- Consider how your child’s sensory processing system impacts how they learn – Understand how your child uniquely interprets their environment (for example to noise, space, movement, touch and light) and factor this into their learning space, so that their attention is optimized, and their emotions and behaviors are regulated.
- Plan! – Consider how to organize your home and workspace to provide a consistent sense of structure and order for the entire family. Having a designated school space, along with a routine, provides children with a sense of security, safety and stability – all critical for ensuring their minds are ready for learning.
- Designate a single place as the primary learning spot – Consider how your child learns best and whether their learning space should be at a desk in their bedroom, or in a more central place, like at a kitchen or dining room table – and balance this with where you need to be to best support your child’s learning, while maintaining your own work needs and/or the needs of other family members.
- If you have multiple children, it may work best to have the same designated space to centralize ‘school’ or it may work better to have children separated, based on how their at-home learning is structured. Regardless of what makes the most sense for your family, try to ensure that all materials are organized and easily accessible.
- Nothing is permanent – if you try something and it doesn’t work, change it! Flexible thinking is key.
- Stock up on learning materials and supplies – Be organized, be consistent. Keep all supplies (see below) in the same place, including electronic devices; label bins, baskets and storage containers, if necessary. This makes clean-up easier and empowers children to be independent learners and accountable for their materials.
- It is important to hold children responsible for maintaining their workspace, just as teachers ask of them at school. This helps children cultivate respect for the process of learning and their learning environment.
- Being organized is an important part of executive functioning, the set of cognitive skills that guide us successfully through life.
- Create a calming place for your child to settle and reset themselves – Children experience big feelings on a daily basis, typically even more during stressful times and confusing transitions. It can be helpful to create a safe space, a Cozy Corner, where your child can independently take a break when they need.
- Post a feelings poster, a Body Engine Checker tool and a go-to list of calming strategies to help your child identify and articulate their feelings.
- Provide a variety of soothing sensory tools to help your child self-regulate.
- Snug, sensory-friendly seating can go a long way in creating a haven that opens a child’s mind to learning (see below).
Every home and child will be beautifully unique through this process. There may be lots of experimenting and lots of trial and error. You know your child best – do what works for you and your family.
Do
Stock up on key supplies and learning tools that can help optimize your child’s at-home learning. We’re saving you time with quick links to buy what you need.
Essential Academic Learning Tools
- Math – These foundational tools are key for helping children understand how to sort, count and value the magnitude of numbers: rekenrek, base 10 blocks, attribute blocks, unit cubes, counting and sorting manipulatives.
- Reading – These foundational tools are key for helping children learn phonics and spelling: magnetic letters, word-building letters and activity cards, Vowel Owls game, ABC Alligator puzzle.
- Writing – With the increase in screen use for at-home learning and the decrease in fine motor practice, handwriting challenges can present in different ways. Strengthen hand muscles with Therapy Putty and consider pencil grips to help with overall grasp.
- For some children, learning to write is hard. It doesn’t come easily and the output may be messy. Keep writing practice playful and fun with these colorful tools: Woody Crayons, Crayon Rocks, Giant Colored Pencils, Mess-Free Paint, Magical Felt Pens.
- Create a ‘Creativity Station’ – With increased screen time, it is vital to encourage children to stimulate their creativity and brain development in a hands-on, playful way – to pause, rejuvenate the mind and tinker. Here’s how:
- 1) Fill storage caddies, containers, boxes – whatever you have lying around – with ‘stuff’; 2) Display them in a place that is visible and accessible (your child’s desk, eye-level bookshelf, dining table, etc.); and 3) Set aside consistent time each week or day to tinker. Fun ideas for ‘stuff’ in your containers: random LEGO pieces (no kits), pattern blocks, ready-made craft kit.
Key Organization Tools
- Tablet case and stand – Ensure that your child’s hands are free of distractions, and their attention is focused on being ready to learn.
- Dry-Erase Boards or Wall Whiteboards – Encourage your child to write on a vertical surface to develop their dexterity and core, shoulder and arm strength, which leads to improved fine motor skills. Whiteboards are helpful for practicing big thinking skills from spelling to math problems, and they minimize paper-use. Also, dry-erase markers with built-in erasers make life easier.
- Utility Cart – Use a mobile cart to store materials and your child’s favorite water bottle. The mobility makes it easier to switch-up learning spaces if your family has competing virtual sessions or your child needs a change in scenery.
- Use organizers to store notebooks, workbooks and papers, and small storage boxes to keep school supplies organized.
- If an entire cart does not work for your space, consider a portable caddy to keep supplies handy.
- Consider gifting each child a special back-to-school pencil case to keep frequently-used items by their side.
- Clipboards – Use clipboards to keep pre-printed materials easily accessible. Designating one clipboard for each subject can help keep papers sorted and help your child prioritize what worksheets to focus on. Simply place in sequential order the worksheets your child needs for the week on the clipboard. (An expandable or pocket folder, divided by subject, are good alternatives).
- Adjustable work lamp – A well-lit environment is an important part of stimulating the mind.
- Analog clock – Teach your child to manage their time by giving them a visual tool that allows them to see the volume of time, while tracking and planning their time. Time management is an important part of executive functioning.
Supportive Learning Tools
- ‘Big feelings’ tools – Help your child express and articulate their various feelings throughout the day by using tools like: a Worry Eater soft toy or a Kimochi plush toy with mixed feelings.
- Weighted lap pad – Place it on your child’s lap to maximize their focus when they are reading or sitting at a desk or table. Or, use a wobble cushion to help your child sit still on a chair.
- Calm down bubbler – Help your child self-soothe. Research shows that slow, rhythmic input can have a calming effect and help children regain focus.
- Sensory sack or balance pods – Encourage frequent body breaks during your child’s day to stimulate their mind. These are great sensory tools that can be used indoors.
- Balance chair ball – Get the ‘wiggles’ out! Improve your child’s focus by increasing their blood flow. This tool strengthens core muscles to build a healthy posture, which supports the development of gross motor and fine motor skills.
- Reading pillow – For some children, a cozy, secure space can optimize their learning, attention, regulation, and emotional and behavioral reactions.
