Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dumb technology question. In the spring I would always be able to remind them "5 minutes until your zoom starts", for example. But I won't be able to do that in the fall. Since they may need several similar reminders during the day, just setting a regular timer won't help . What can I use to schedule alarms that specify "Larla's math zoom" or "Larlo's reading group" etc.

I want this too, and not in a phone. Kids are 3rd and 1st and I need them a hair more independent, but can’t trust them to watch the clock.

Is there a good watch that does this? One you set up from an app, not manually. Those manual alarm watches are a pain to set.

We use an Alexa and label each alarm. Worked well in the spring.

Anonymous wrote:This method worked out great for my 3rd grader last spring:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kanban-kids-how-i-used-agile-become-homeschool-parent-meghan-mcinerny

I printed her weekly assignments for her, and each day, she organized the post-its to show what she needed to do (in addition to schoolwork, it included things of her choosing, like "play!" and "lunch break"). She approached them in the order of her choosing - outside of scheduled zoom calls - and moved the post-its around to reflect progress. This allows the kid to see what needs to get done and have some choice on when to do it.

I recommend!

This is really helpful. Thank you!!

This method worked out great for my 3rd grader last spring:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kanban-kids-how-i-used-agile-become-homeschool-parent-meghan-mcinerny

I printed her weekly assignments for her, and each day, she organized the post-its to show what she needed to do (in addition to schoolwork, it included things of her choosing, like "play!" and "lunch break"). She approached them in the order of her choosing - outside of scheduled zoom calls - and moved the post-its around to reflect progress. This allows the kid to see what needs to get done and have some choice on when to do it.

I recommend!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going to put a new desk and chair in one of our rec rooms, along with a bookcase and a cabinet for school supplies, so our tutor will have everything she needs to teach our rising 1st grader. It's so important they have a dedicated space for school work to help with concentration.

Wow hardcore supermom. Give me a break for a kindergartner . Can’t imagine what you will do when your kids in high school

Burnout.

What??? She is buying a desk and a book shelf and sticking it in the corner of a playroom? How is this tiger parenting??? Like 20 minutes and $150 on the IKEA website.

I just got my ADHD rising 3rd grader a small balance ball to sit on, rather than a chair. She's using it for summer school, and it really does seem to help her sit still, well, at least in one place. It also works on her lack of core strength, so win/win!

Anonymous wrote:Dumb technology question. In the spring I would always be able to remind them "5 minutes until your zoom starts", for example. But I won't be able to do that in the fall. Since they may need several similar reminders during the day, just setting a regular timer won't help . What can I use to schedule alarms that specify "Larla's math zoom" or "Larlo's reading group" etc.

Google calendar! I used it with online school for kids, each child had a different color, and I had the same notices on my computer.

We also put up a huge clock in the office, and had a calendar for each day on a clipboard on the wall (easily changed).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are all of you SAHMs or have easy jobs?
I will be managing this without much ability to supervise.
I don’t know what to do. I have a home office in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I cannot move it downstairs because of meetings and phone calls. I might be able to change the extra bedroom across the hall into a classroom. I do not want kid’s computers in their bedrooms. I really hope this doesn’t last long.

Which is exactly why we are brainstorming now, 6 weeks in advance to try and get all this together, set up and systems in place. Failure to plan is a plan to fail and all that jazz. You don’t need to dig at SAHMs in your own quest for help.

You need to be in the same room. Put headphones with mics on the kids.

Anonymous wrote:We’re outfitting each kid with laptop and headset with mic.
They’ll work in the dining room so I can supervise.

Still need some kind of cubby/organizer system for their supplies and mounds of paper, binders and textbooks.
Any recs?

Bookshelf and one tub per child, plus one extra. Each child should have their own supplies (crayons, pencils, etc), but some can be communal (scissors, pencil sharpener, tape, glue). Each child has 1-2 shelves to keep their school supplies.

Anonymous wrote:I would love suggestions on desk/school space set up for virtual learning. 8yo going into 3rd grade. So far I’ve had her in the kitchen at a play table that she has just about outgrown, with a crate next to it for her notebooks and workbooks and such. She has been keeping all markers/crayons/pencils/glue stuff on top of the table. We make her straighten it every other day or so. (We aim for every day.)

Get a box to hold all the supplies, with cups or open boxes for each type. It’s her responsibility to move it to wherever it’s home is once she’s done for the day, and it’s her responsibility to keep it neat/tell you when something is running out (you’ll still need to check quantity at least monthly).

Anonymous wrote:So, if you're planning to do all virtual school this fall (or even if you're not), how are you going to manage it? Are you making any changes/buying things your children might need? Thinking about changing up our small office space so it's more like a classroom, with supplies out, etc. Are you planning on taking regular days off to just do something fun with your kids? Going to travel around (will certainly be easier if everything is online)? Signing them up for fall sports?

I'm a working mom and have been home since March like most of us. DH still going out to work. It's been a struggle, but I'm looking for systems to help DC and I thrive. She's not very organized and has ADHD. We've been at each other's throats off and on since corona started. Don't have family nearby. Need to bring some harmony back. Thoughts welcomed.

Skip distance learning and homeschool. Let her choose the order for her subjects, provided she covers them all. Either invest in a good curriculum or commit to spending time each night/weekend making sure everything is ready.

In my experience, it works best to have the child set up in the office with you. You need a shelf (or portion of the desk against the wall). At minimum, she needs a folder for the day’s work, an index card box (if she does well with index cards), a binder for completed assignments, any notebooks or workbooks, any novels for school, a pencil cup, possibly a laptop or tablet. By keeping her in the office with you, you’ll know if she’s working, and she’ll know she can leave as soon as she’s finished.

The best thing for a child with adhd is to allow her room to structure the day in the order she wants, with only one day’s worth of assignments for perusal, and someone who can be available either to help or to keep her on task if she daydreams for more than 5-10 minutes.

Mom of older kids here. For younger kids, I would worry less sbout the curriculum and the zoon. Do what you can. But din’t kill their love of learning. Focus on getting them good books to read and if they are reluctant readers, set up an incentive system. Buy some fun math games—sum swamp, clumsy their, sleeping queens, etc.—and find some good online math games (prodigy, splashmath, etc.). The goal is just to not have them fall being on the 3 R’s and not to start hating school.

Anonymous wrote:What are parents doing specifically with young elementary kids? Our rising third grader can be somewhat independent, but we practically had to strap the rising first grader to his chair to get through his one Zoom of the day back then. The thought of four or however many hours of Zoom MCPS settles on for both of them has me panicking, and I'm not a panicky person by nature.

DH and I both telework FT, but he's in an essential sector and can't do much childcare. So it's almost all going to be on me, and I'm not sure how that's going to work for a full year or more.

+1

We have a rising first grader and PK kid who will likely have lots of zoom on and off throughout the day - trying to figure out the best way to make sure they don't distract each other (or get distracted by their toddler sister), but also be able to keep an eye/ear on them periodically. Debating setting them up in one room with headsets/mics (we would need to purchase) or putting them in two different spaces and just checking in on them. First grader got decent at this during spring DL, but still needs some help. PK kid is likely to struggle with it all. Anyone have anything they tried that worked some during spring? We have a guest room that one of us has been working in, but we assume there is gonna be some trial and error here and are prepared to mix it up as needed. We know we are privileged to have the option for us all to be working from home, and we are grateful for that at least.

stay strong everyone, this is hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going to put a new desk and chair in one of our rec rooms, along with a bookcase and a cabinet for school supplies, so our tutor will have everything she needs to teach our rising 1st grader. It's so important they have a dedicated space for school work to help with concentration.

Wow hardcore supermom. Give me a break for a kindergartner . Can’t imagine what you will do when your kids in high school

Burnout.

We are likely getting my rising 3rd grader a desk for his room and a place to store supplies. My kinder kid will work next to me at the kitchen table. I wanted them to be able to have separate spaces so they could have live learning at the same time without disrupting each other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dumb technology question. In the spring I would always be able to remind them "5 minutes until your zoom starts", for example. But I won't be able to do that in the fall. Since they may need several similar reminders during the day, just setting a regular timer won't help . What can I use to schedule alarms that specify "Larla's math zoom" or "Larlo's reading group" etc.

I want this too, and not in a phone. Kids are 3rd and 1st and I need them a hair more independent, but can’t trust them to watch the clock.

Buy each kid an alarm clock with multiple alarms. This is an example of one that can set 5 alarms:
https://www.amazon.com/Nument-efficiency-medicine-remind-nursing/dp/B00JDFU080/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Nument&qid=1595173964&sr=8-1

THANK YOU. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Even better would be something I could program to do different times every day (if DL is like last year, the schedule won't be the same each day), but even reprogramming it each day is better than what we were doing.