Virtual school is difficult for students and their parents. There have been many articles written about how this can be done effectively. This article does a nice job of summarizing some of the main ideas.
Virtual learning is fertile ground for over parenting. This creates a number of emotions including: anger, frustration, confusion, and learned helplessness. Here are some things to remember that may help reduce stress and add accountability on your child’s part.
Your child is capable of doing virtual schooling. They have been doing it since March. Although it is challenging it definitely is something that can be done. If your child is struggling this is a great time to reinforce self advocacy. Have your child reach out to their teacher to receive the support they need. Teachers want to help and when you, as a parent, become your child’s resource they will rely on you instead of others.
Set up expectations. Let your child know what your expectations are and what the consequences will be if they are not met. Treat this just like you did in person schooling. An example of this would be: “I trust that you are completing your homework. On Fridays I will check to make sure everything is complete. If it is not complete then you will be doing that this weekend instead of……(video games, movies etc). Then, sit back and allow your child to either do, or not do, their homework. This puts the responsibility on your child where it should be.
When your child is learning from home it is tempting to micromanage them. If they were at school they would have to manage homework, tests, projects without your help during the day. During the day allow them the opportunity to work on their own. If you see that they are not doing their work during the day put into place a natural consequence. An example of this could be: “when you are done completing all your work you can use your (phone...video games...go outside…..) If your child does not always tell the truth you can change the wording and say, “when you show me that your work is complete you can……)
Allow your child to ask you a certain amount of questions per day. This makes them think of other resources they can use to get answers. Remember, every time you give an answer you are training them to ask you and not work it out themselves.
Don’t let your kids trick you into thinking that they are not capable. They are. Allow them to show you!