Home but Not Alone
Clearly the Corona virus has changed the way in which we interact both professionally and personally. Many of us are now working from home. However, working from home has new meaning as the children are no longer at school or childcare. They, too, are home. Whether the children are too young to have homework or are actively involved in school assignments, the impact is still significant to the working parents who are situated at home. There are some recommendations to help everyone work more effectively. With children, it is called parallel play. In today’s quarantined families, it is called parallel occupancy. This allows each member of the family to do his or her own work in relative isolation, depending on the level of supervision necessary for children’s safety.
Step one: establish a work/activity schedule for each child. For small children, just detailing their eat, sleep, play schedule gives parents some relatively predictable windows of operation where they can actively work from home, independent of distraction. For elementary students, writing down assignments and timelines for completion each day will help ensure that days do not pass with accumulating work due. Furthermore, incorporating some fun time in the students’ schedules will help motivate them to get their work done in a reasonably
Rquick manner. While there may be a series of activities or worksheet practice required at this age, it is also important to intentionally build in scheduled activity breaks. Rather these breaks entail a walk around the block or a game of Hungry Hippos, they are necessary to allow the children to refocus on their work when the break ends.
With middle and high school students, the parents need to make sure that the children have all the necessary devices or materials needed to complete their work and/or interact with the teachers. If Internet access is not available in the home, parents need to communicate this to the school to ensure that alternative approaches are available. Furthermore, at this age the schedule becomes especially important. However, rather than the parents developing the schedule, it is essential that the students develop a work/break plan that meets the parents’ approval. This way the students are taking an active role in their learning and simply given oversight by their parents to make sure that everything can be completed in a timely manner. For parents of this age child, breaks are still important. However, they may want to discuss with the students what activities work for breaks during the school schedule. Rather they, too, enjoy a quick stroll around the block, or a family game, or a digital visit with their friends, establishing these times and limitations in advance, will greatly facilitate the effectiveness of the overall home experiment.
Step two, ensure that the students are also engaging in healthy habits during this time of quarantine. Part of establishing a successful student game plan is ensuring that they also maintain a reasonable sleep schedule and a healthy meal plan. Ignoring the typical school day routine entirely can allow students to establish negative habits where they sleep well into the day and snack intermittently. This disrupts the overall balance necessary to maintain some semblance of normal during this time of quarantine. Naturally, some flexibility can be given to what one wears during homebound lessons. There can also be some opportunity to share in the preparation of a meal and discuss the day’s events. While today’s quarantine definitely offers some challenges, there are always some roses among the thorns. Enjoy the family time, use some free time to check on those who may need support, and be thankful. Whether these are the best of times or the worst of times, many times depends on one’s attitude. Be safe, be kind, and be at home. God bless.