Helpful Hints for Homebound Students and Parents

    By Kristy Houle

    As a former principal and now homeschool mom, I know how hard it can be to experience the unexpected and keep your sanity at the same time.  As a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, schools may be closed, and you and your children may now be learning from home. In addition to resources and assistance you’ll receive from your children’s teachers, Educate.Today is also committed to being a resource for families to keep kids learning at home.  Educate.Today can also be a welcome distraction for parents, allowing you to enjoy time with your kids as you watch and discuss online resources together.

    To help, Educate.Today provides hundreds of videos, lesson plans, and reading lists to supplement your child’s curriculum while working at home. Below, we have provided a list of helpful hints that can make these unexpected changes a little easier.

    Don’t Stress

    When parents seem anxious or uneasy the kids pick up on those feelings as well. Try to remember that we are all experiencing this unexpected change together and your priority is to keep your mental and physical health in check.  So, don’t stress, we are here to help!

    Educate.Today Can Easily Align Curriculum with Content Areas

    While using the Educate.Today resources, you can choose from our seven content areas to supplement and align with your child’s current school curriculum. We offer hundreds of standards-based videos in the areas of Arts, Arts Integration, Humanities, Social Studies, STEM/STEAM and Career Exploration. Along with the videos you will find in each content area, we have also created lesson plans, vocabulary lists, student writing activities, hands-on activities and recommended reading lists. This wide variety of resources will make it easier when planning your child’s educational activities while at home. Begin your search on our home page.

    You can also join our daily live stream featuring some of our favorite archived videos. Now, your at-home learners can get free scheduled programming all day, every day through our daily schedule: Monday, Language Arts/Literacy; Tuesday, STEM; Wednesday, The Arts; Thursday, Social Studies; Friday, General/Career Exploration. You can watch at www.educate.today, or tune in to Spectrum channel 989.

    Connect with Other Parents

    We are all going through these uncertain times together, so reach out to other parents in your neighborhood and community. Organizing student work groups and activities can help keep your children active and not feeling isolated. Educate.Today also offers Student Study Topic Resource Packages that are useful for multiple activities and student groups

    Keep a Simple Record of Work

    Have students use the Journal Entry Teacher Tool available on the Educate.Today website to keep a daily record of work completed and thoughts for the day.  Keeping this daily information will make it easier to communicate with teachers and to reflect on lessons and activities completed.

    Working with Multi-Age Children

    Many of you will be faced with the situation of working at home with children of multiple ages. Most resources provided on the Educate.Today website can be used for elementary to high school age students. The lesson plans and activities can also be easily adapted to any age student.

    As always, we at Educate.Today are here to help. If you have any questions regarding homeschooling or would like more information regarding our online curriculum, please reach out through our website, at www.educate.today.