Spring experiences with remote learning pushed many families to their limits. This fall, parents hoping for a better experience supporting kids’ growth can focus on organization, learning strategies, and the “coach approach.” In mid-March, I published a piece in The New York Times outlining “How to Home School During Coronavirus.” Little did I know at the time that many families would still need this advice six months later. The original piece covered the importance of schedules, the seemingly contradictory need for flexibility combined with consistency, and how to supplement emergent online curricula that weren’t always complete.
A return to school-from-home calls for an update. I’m a learning specialist, a teacher who focuses on helping students with learning disabilities and attentional issues learn successfully. The strategies I use in my work can actually help any student — not just those with learning differences — and anything that helps kids helps parents, too. Setting children up to learn smoothly and independently frees parents to focus on work and family needs, reducing stress for everyone.
Let’s discuss organization first. Many families have already located desks, whether that means Ikea, or repurposing a table found curbside. No matter where in the home a student is learning, they need easy access to school supplies. Store these in a bin if a dedicated cupboard isn’t available, and designate a weekly time to reorganize and refill these materials. Kids need to access their supplies independently, so store them in an accessible location.
Kentucky special education teacher Angelina Harper designed desk organizers to give her own kids more privacy while they learn. Cardboard trifolds such as Harper used can be bought pre-made, or repurposed from delivery boxes. Families can attach a calendar, schedule, holders for paper and pencils, and visual aids to give students a sense that they have a dedicated place to learn.
Kids’ need for organization extends beyond physical space to corralling their to-do list. Parents can ask kids in 6th grade and younger to review the next day’s schedule the previous day, while older students can graduate to a weekly review, when they show they’re ready. All students should physically write down their to-do list, preferably in a paper planner, since research shows that writing tasks and due dates — and crossing them off — creates stronger connections in the brain.
But don’t just tell kids to write down their assignments and stay organized. Instead, ask students how they plan to complete tasks like listing homework in their planner and checking to ensure they’ve handed in assignments. Parents who communicate through questions — what I call the “coach approach” — reduce friction, help kids develop executive function skills, and create a collaborative, problem-solving relationship.
What if a student identifies a plan that a parent thinks will fail? Asking more questions about the plan can help the child refine the steps they intend to take. At a certain point, though, kids do need to be free to make decisions and experience the consequences. Allowing students the freedom to do tasks their way builds self-confidence. It also shows the parent believes they can do it, a key element of developing resilience and a can-do attitude. Another benefit of holding a daily or weekly organizational check-in is the opportunity for parents to prompt kids to review how assignments went. Focus on the process, not the grade or outcome. Ask, “Would you do it that way again?” or “What part of the assignment interested you the most?”
Parents supporting students learning at home will benefit from understanding a few of the strategies learning specialists use to help kids do their best at school. First, break tasks down into steps. Questions like “What do you plan to do first?” help initiate this process; for students who need more support, writing down the steps or removing materials that aren’t needed yet make tasks more accessible. Second, when students feel frustrated, ask them about the assignment directions. Read these aloud, or ask the child to do so. Explain that most people need to read directions three or four times to understand them well. Third, form stronger connections to material by recalling it. Ask kids to tell you two things they remember from a lesson, or have them teach you what they picked up from that morning’s class.
Many aspects of remote learning feel hard for parents, yet connecting with kids’ curricula isn’t one of them — these conversations may actually be much easier when kids’ learning takes place at home.
