Supporting Your Child in Remote Learning | Vancouver, WA Family Photographer

August 31, 2020 • 2 Comments

Are you getting ready to support your child(ren) with remote learning?

Yes, I'm a photographer but it just so happens that I was an elementary teacher for many years and now I also train elementary teachers for my "day job. " So, I don't know about you, but remote learning has been weighing on my mind A LOT lately. Have you been thinking about it, too? I've been worrying about a few things... 1) Managing my own work and their learning. 2) Will they be challenged enough in this environment? And 3) Will they stay motivated and engaged?

If I'm going to manage my work and support them as learners, I need them to be independent. And frankly this is better for them as learners anyway. And while we, as parents, might think their teachers want us to support them in creating perfect work, they really want us to get out of the way so they can see what our kids can do. So here's some tips to help you (and really to remind me) grow independent learners to help maintain all our sanity.

Work with your student to create a learning space that works for them and you.

I already started this step. "What space will help you stay focused on your work and free from distractions? What do you need in that space?" When I was a teacher students had a home desk but they could usually work where ever they wanted. We called it their "bubble spot." Acting crazy will pop the bubble and that means I get to make a choice for you. Kids would be diligently stretched out across the floor, under desks and tables, in corners, with a partner or by themselves. And as long as they were hard at work, the choice was intact.

Recognize that stamina doesn't just happen because we say so.

Kids don't go from watching TV and playing all summer to suddenly reading books for 30 minutes just because we tell them too. That kind of stamina takes time to build. If you find your student isn't ready for the full "on-demand" or "asynchronous" time they are given to work, then set goals with them. "Today you were able to focus on your work for 5 minutes. Tomorrow, how long do you think you can try it for?" Amazon has reasonably priced visual timers and there are also digital ones available like these.

Slip in and out, don't hover.

Okay, this one is important. Check in briefly, make sure they understand the task and then walk away, stating confidence in them to try out whatever they are working on. My students often worked hard to keep me around when they were struggling with something. But here's the thing, I don't want to walk them through everything step by step. I want them to have the confidence to try some things without having to check with me every step along the way because failure is okay and, yes even good! I want to give them just barely enough to get them "unstuck," and then I want to quickly walk away with a, "I'll check back later after you've gotten started."

Accept and submit mistakes.

Make sure your student's work is their work, not yours. It's really important that our teachers get to see what our kids can really do, not what our kids can do with tons of help from us. If everything they submit is perfect, the teacher won't know that your student needs additional support in that area. It's not about grades. It's about learning and growth. Plus, not checking every little thing frees us up to do our own work!

At the end of the day here's some questions you might ask:

What worked well for you as a learner today?

When did you have the hardest time sticking with your learning?

What helped you get back on track?

What did you enjoy most about learning today?

What do you need to have a great learning day tomorrow?

I hope those offer you some ideas as you get started. In the end, just have a little grace for yourself, your kiddos and your teacher. This is challenging stuff and we'll all get through it with a little compassion and understanding. Come back again and I might address my other two worries about remote learning!

Add your questions to the comments below OR if you want to get off your screens for a bit and enjoy the beautiful outdoors, click to book YOUR family photo session!

And now enjoy some photos of a lovely family I recently photographed...