How to help DS with homeschooling

[carolinamama]

I see people all over saying things like this and I wish it was that easy. But our teachers and district have not relaxed their expectations of the kids and they have made that very clear. What will happen next year if I don't force my kid to do his online learning? He will still be expected to know the material at some point.

For a second grader who already does pretty well in school? I absolutely believe that we should give them grace (and their parents). All kids are facing this unprecedented situation and many are living in homes that cannot help with homeschooling for so many different reasons. You are correct that it isn't that easy when teachers and districts are pushing too hard. But seriously, for a young elementary kid who is at or above grade-level, I suspect some good quality reading each day would be enough to bridge at this point. Throw in some math problems for good measure.

I think we are taking a position in the middle. I have one child that is struggling in the same ways as the OP's DS. He is in 5th grade. Typically a good student and could finish much faster than he does. Plus he is requiring me to almost hand-hold while he is working. It's exhausting. What has helped so far is for me to simplify the instructions for him on a list that he can check off one by one. I do not require my kids to do zoom pe or specials. We are covering art, pe, cooking, meditation, current events, letter writing, and music almost everyday. I've always said that no grade is more important than a kid's mental health and this experience is really putting it into perspective. Our kids need love and support more than math problems and multiple choice questions right now. They have lost almost all control without any experience to process it. As a family with educated parents and resources, we can figure out the rest when we aren't in crisis mode.

Hugs and support to all parents. No matter how you are handling parenting and schooling right now, you are doing awesome!!

[niccig]

I wouldn’t be using the current situation has an opportunity to teach him”grit” and not giving up. That’s something that can be worked on when the rest of his life is normal. This is not normal times, and our kids do not have emotional maturity to deal with it as an adult can. Heck, some adults can’t cope.


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[Kestrel]

We are doing very little pieces at a time.... set a timer for 20 minutes of focus/schoolwork for an hour off, and try for four sets of 20 minutes per school day for our 5th grader. Maybe something like that could help?
Honestly, if you're struggling that bad, tell the teacher that and see what they say! When we were having problems, our teacher dropped the reading assignments entirely from DS's workload and cut science in half (both things he was ahead on), so we focus on what he needs to learn (math and writing).

[niccig]

Yes, our school has a facebook page run by the principal herself and no, expectations here have no relaxed. I got a personal phone call last Friday (end of spring break) reminding me that all students are expected to be logged into their chromebooks during school hours (unless work is completed before 3:15) and that this is being monitored and will be included in their 4th term grades. My 3rd grader has 7-9 assignments to complete each day. Realistically, he could probably finish them all in about 3 hours but he just doesn't have the attention span to sit in front of a computer for that time without a lot of breaks so it drags on all day. I'm sick of it. I wouldn't mind homeschooling, but if we did that we wouldn't be filling out slides on classkick and google slides. I also wouldn't mind *some* assignments because it is nice to have something productive for him to do, but they are trying to re-create a full day in the classroom and it isn't working.

Push back!! Tell them, “No, this isn’t normal and it won’t happen.” You are not the only family struggling. In our teacher staff meetings, our principal keeps reminding us to take it easy on ourselves and for our students


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[bisous]

I have started and erased many messages.

Heres what I want to say in gist.

This is a tough time. Your child is young. It is ok to change the curriculum to fit what he needs. Teachers in my area are very understanding of this. I am not impressed by schools that expect children to be logged in at set times every day. So, background, I'm the daughter of an educator and everyone in my family has advanced degrees. I guess I'm probably obnoxiously overconfident and snobby about these things but I'd just flout rules that hurt my younger elementary children and would be prepared to very vociferously defend my behavior when this all shakes out.

My mom is a retired elementary school teacher. She really believes that younger kids need to be reading, writing and doing math every day. And that's it. I think in times like these it is helpful to remember that there have been great minds that have been shaped merely through reading. If that's all you can do at this time, that's actually not the minimum, that's the BEST thing. And what's great about it is that it doesn't even have to feel like a requirement. OP, your DS loves baseball, have him read about that. He may find things to love about this period of confinement. It can calm and open his mind and definitely enlarge his brain!

I do think educators are worried about the months off from school that are kids are getting but not for some of the reasons that I see parents worried HERE. My mom taught kids that didn't have any books at their home or didn't have any places with peace or quiet to be able to read them. My sister teaches kids in high school that have only ONE book at their home, and no access to internet or a computer. These are the kids that are most likely already behind and the gap will get worse! If you are a typical BBB home full of books and board games, and the internet (clearly) and have highly educated parents then teachers are not worried about your kids! (This may not be the case for special needs--but for the rank and file among us this is true!)

OP, I know you're worried about grit. I do know why this can be something you want to think about. I think you need to balance it in terms of his and your mental health and see what is the greater need at this time. But I don't think there is any merit to the argument that he will fall behind academically.

petesgirl that's obnoxious. I would flout. If you need help in September to meet with teachers/principals and 'splain yourself, I can drive up there and attend the meeting with you.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yes, our school has a facebook page run by the principal herself and no, expectations here have no relaxed. I got a personal phone call last Friday (end of spring break) reminding me that all students are expected to be logged into their chromebooks during school hours (unless work is completed before 3:15) and that this is being monitored and will be included in their 4th term grades. My 3rd grader has 7-9 assignments to complete each day. Realistically, he could probably finish them all in about 3 hours but he just doesn't have the attention span to sit in front of a computer for that time without a lot of breaks so it drags on all day. I'm sick of it. I wouldn't mind homeschooling, but if we did that we wouldn't be filling out slides on classkick and google slides. I also wouldn't mind *some* assignments because it is nice to have something productive for him to do, but they are trying to re-create a full day in the classroom and it isn't working.

I meant a page not run by admin where parents could honestly share experiences and ask questions without fear of how it looks.
Their expectations are crazy unreasonable!!!!


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[doberbrat]

I DO think kids need to be working. But if PE over Zoom isnt working. SKIP. tell him to run a few laps around the house. If he's not playing an instrument... music is another skip. Art is something we do for fun - if its not fun or too stressful? SKIP. Do chalk art instead. finger paint the bathroom with those bath paints. play with shaving cream. take pictures

Focus on the things he need to focus on. Reading, writing and age appropriate math. Count legos - add the blues and greens. subtract them. compare piles. Write a letter to someone. Keep a journal. Some teachers are having kids keep a journal in their agenda book - short and sweet. Writing and a record of stuff b/c someday we'll all be primary sources.

[PZMommy]

Don’t force him to do it. Schools need to realize that school can’t continue as normal, when life is not normal right now. My district is awful, but they finally came to this realization. What happens if a family member gets sick? They still expect you to be online all day? What if both parents are working and kids are being left with babysitters?

Parents need to push back. Make your voices heard that this is too much for your family, and your child will not be doing all of this work. They can’t fail your child based on this quarter as there are so many inequities that can not be rectified.

[AngB]

Yes, our school has a facebook page run by the principal herself and no, expectations here have no relaxed. I got a personal phone call last Friday (end of spring break) reminding me that all students are expected to be logged into their chromebooks during school hours (unless work is completed before 3:15) and that this is being monitored and will be included in their 4th term grades. My 3rd grader has 7-9 assignments to complete each day. Realistically, he could probably finish them all in about 3 hours but he just doesn't have the attention span to sit in front of a computer for that time without a lot of breaks so it drags on all day. I'm sick of it. I wouldn't mind homeschooling, but if we did that we wouldn't be filling out slides on classkick and google slides. I also wouldn't mind *some* assignments because it is nice to have something productive for him to do, but they are trying to re-create a full day in the classroom and it isn't working.

That does seem excessive!
Can you ignore the calls/crap and let them "fail" meanwhile do the best you can (this may vary by district/state but in general they really hate to retain kids and especially wouldn't retain them for not doing enough during the pandemic.) DS1 is in third and completes his work in about 2ish hours. He listens to a chapter, answers questions, is working on researching an endangered animal and writing a paper on it, basic intro geometry with some easy online quizzes, and that's about it. I assume it's going ok. I am not really looking over it unless he tells me he needs help.
My first grader is torturing us all and making getting him to do 30 minutes of work take about 6 hours of harassing/consequences/encouragement/etc. He is also unphased by the "threat" that he will have to stay in first grade next year if he doesn't do work this quarter. Still, even with his struggles, his teacher is pretty "do the best you can, thanks" about it all.
I am entirely ignoring the lesson plans from their specials teachers. I know they have to do them for their job but they are excessive and no.

[DualvansMommy]

So my kids are in same range of age and grade in my household. 3rd grader and kindergarten. They have their assignments, zoom meetings with instructional time, specials 2x a week.

Do what your son enjoys and just stick with the basics. For us it means reading, writing, & math. Some days they do it with gusto and some other days, hardly any motivation. I let it slide. Now is not the time to teach him grit, he’s missing his friends, routine, school and anything else that he normally get to do. Ds1 is so unhappy not to be playing soccer this season with his team, so his coach have set up few zoom meetings with exercise. Worked out great! Lifted everyone’s moods. I recall your DS loves basketball? Have him play virtually with his friends online and just enjoy the Easter holiday weekend off unplugged.


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