We’re all just trying to get by as best we can. But all this distance education is enough to drive any parent absolutely BONKERS! Which is why I’m sharing my stay sane learning plan for the pandemic.
Your Stay Sane Learning Plan for the Pandemic
We’re in this for the long-haul right now. So it’s important to set healthy boundaries that make sense for you and your kids.
Follow These At-Home Education Guidelines
Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be actively engaged in traditional learning all day, every day. Not even a little bit! You’re welcome.
Instead of the 8-4 traditional learning schedule, you can follow these guidelines:
- PreK-Grade 2: 1-1.5 hours
- Grade 2-4: 1.5-2 hours
- Grade 4-6: 2-3 hours
- Grade 6-8: 3-4 hours
- Grade 9-12: up to 5 hours
And that just the average time spent daily. Some days you might be doing more and others you’ll be doing less.
Plus, those hourly recommendations are the maximum hours you really need to spend. Seriously: the MAX. If you can get the stuff done in less time, go with it!
Why At-Home Learning Takes Less Time
You can blaze through a whole day of learning in way less time than in the regular classroom. Mostly because you can be flexible and focused.
Think about it. Teachers have between 20-30 kids in a class, all with different learning needs, some with education plans, and all with different learning styles.
Just getting a few kids to do one activity, following the correct steps, can be a monumental task. Remember your child’s last birthday party when you wanted to do a cute craft? Yeah, like that.
But you have just your child or children. So you can tailor how you present information, the pacing, and the schedule for your child’s unique learning needs. And you can change how things look or work day to day!
What Your Daily Stay Sane Learning Schedule Can Look Like
Remember: this is just a guideline. Your days can look the same or different as you need or prefer.
I love using a printable weekly schedule to help organize my days. It’s easy to use and quick to set up. Plus, when I use the same format every week, I can get into my scheduling groove super fast.
Grab your FREE printable schedule here!
I like to jot down a few things that we need to do every day. I usually include:
- Chores
- Reading/Writing
- Math
- Science OR Social Studies
- Online Learning
It’s not a lot, but it covers the basics. My kids take walks every day for PE. We listen to music during quiet time and do lots of drawing, painting, and sculpting with play dough.
I also have a big goal for the week. This week our big goal is to talk about the difference between weeds I’d like to get rid of and plants I’d like to keep in the garden. That’s it.
My kids are pretty little though, which makes my life easy in terms of the content. It’s mostly keeping them occupied that’s the struggle. For parents of older kids, the content might be where you’re hitting a wall.
Check out these online learning resources for help!
Issues You Might Run Into While Learning at Home
Okay, so this plan isn’t foolproof. Teachers and schools are still figuring things out as you’re reading this.
They still need to show that they’re hitting learning standards or making adequate progress. Mostly, it’s a giant experiment.
They might also be erring on the side of giving you more than they think you need just in case you’re looking for ways to keep your kid occupied while you’re working from home.
Don’t be afraid to talk to the teacher and let them know what’s reasonable for you right now. Explain how you’ll be switching things up, pulling back, or otherwise making learning work for your child and family.
Mostly, I think they’re going to be pretty understanding. After all, they’re also juggling their work from home life with their family life and still doing all the normal at-home tasks they used to save for after work.
We’re all just trying to get through this rough time.