Around this time every year, department stores feature row upon row of colorful folders, binders, notebooks, backpacks and lunch totes. There seem to be back-to-school sales everywhere you turn, whether in person or online. And you might spot a few dejected faces among the kids in your neighborhood as they count down the dwindling days of summer vacations.
This back-to-school season, things are a little different. Kids still need those pencil cases and composition notebooks, but there’s not as much call for backpacks or new kicks.
Whether your child is going to be attending school on a 100% remote basis or will have some in-person instruction, it’s important to set some ground rules to ensure that they have optimal opportunity to succeed in their studies.
Today we’re looking at a couple of the issues that parents across the nation are facing as they send their children back to school — but in the living room.
A Schedule Is Essential
Your children’s school is doing everything possible to keep standard operating procedure well, standard. Daily and weekly schedules are crucial to making everything feel as normal as possible. Just because students are at home doesn’t mean they can be tardy to homeroom or take their time transitioning from one online class to the next. Get a copy of your child’s schedule and ensure they stick with it.
The same goes for homework and independent study. It’s not a good idea to let your kids leave assignments for the last minute. Designate a period of time either before or after dinner to schoolwork that they must complete on their own.
Set Up a Desk
Just as adults who telecommute are most productive when they have a space that serves as their home office, so too should kids have a study space. This could be a chair and desk in their bedroom or a guest room, or a spot at the dining room table. In a pinch, you could even press a card table or similar into service and tuck it in the corner of the living room, behind a folding screen.
It doesn’t much matter where the desk is; the important thing is that the kid has someplace to go when they go to school. Getting into this habit helps them to make the mental shift from home/leisure time to school/study time.
Get Them Dressed
When it comes to establishing a learning mindset, another important factor is your child’s clothes. You may know from your own experience that changing out of pajamas each morning and donning real clothes to work in even if it’s leggings instead of pinstripes is a great way to signal to your brain that it’s time to pay attention and buckle down.
Kids might balk at this one, but buying them a few new back-to-school outfits will sweeten the deal, particularly if you opt for these cute tween dresses for girls.
Organization Is Key
In one way, it’s easier to keep your brood’s books, folders, and pencils organized now that they’re no longer leaving the house each morning. Cutting down on the distance they travel means a significant drop in the number of lost worksheets and reading journals.
On the other hand, however, you are now responsible for storing and organizing all of the materials that would otherwise stay in the classroom: crayons and construction paper and paste for the younger crowd, calculators, highlighters and microscopes for high schoolers.
If at all possible, stash everything in or near the kids’ study zone. Use large, plastic storage bins with lids. Divide supplies according to subject matter or class, each with its own smaller box, tray, basket, or other holder.
Cubbies with folding fabric storage cubes also work well to contain the clutter while also keeping your living room looking like your living room and not like Mrs. Carroll’s third grade classroom.
Conditions are a little cramped? Press a rolling cart or drawer organizer into service. When the school day is done, these can be easily wheeled back whence they came, and your space reclaimed.
No Distractions, Please!
When your kids are in the next room, it can be tempting to talk to them, bring them a steady stream of snacks, or let the cat go sit on their lap. But resist these temptations. They will only serve as distractions, and derail your young student’s progress.
Keep the dog in a different room, restrict drinks and snacks to dedicated break time, and employ a Do Not Disturb sign when necessary to keep others from wandering into your child’s room just as they are connecting on Zoom.
Get Ready to Crush Back to School Season!
We get it starting a new school year in which you are playing the roles of parent, principal, teacher, and lunch lady all at once is a daunting proposition! But it honestly doesn’t take that much effort to set up an environment that is conducive to learning. Employ some time-honored methods for motivating your children and encouraging them to develop good habits.
Once you get into the swing of things, sticking to a schedule and changing into school clothes will become second nature!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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