Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
This post was written by Investment Partner Holly Jacobus.
Like it or not, COVID has ushered in a whole new era of homeschooling. While, as someone who was homeschooled, I am a big fan of homeschooling, it's hard work for everyone involved. It can also be one of the most effective and gratifying versions of education. I'll never forget doing my first math problems with chocolate chips with my dad, and reading my first Nancy Drew books with my mom, carefully sounding out each word. For those going through this for the first time now, it may be difficult, but try to enjoy the experience.
A little background -- I was homeschooled most of my life on a farm in California, starting with my parents and then eventually through Stanford’s EPGY Online High School. I was 11 when I started at Stanford, and that's when things really got real: late nights with Dad working through proofs, texting with professors between volleyball matches trying to keep up with the workload. It was definitely a sort of "wild west" on the learning front. At the time, Stanford was one of the first institutions to do online courses, so we had to create rules of engagement for the first time.
Friends of mine who are parents asked me to put together some of the rules and principles we followed at Stanford. So, here are my “tips and tricks” for homeschooling under duress:
1. Schedule lessons for the appropriate time of day (for everyone's sanity)
Statistically speaking, everyone learns better in the morning, including kids. Unless you need to accommodate multiple time zones, try to focus the most difficult learning in the mornings when your kids are the most alert. Afternoons best for creative, mind-wandering time - great times for outdoor activities. That can be physical, like practicing a sport, or it can be just reading under a tree.
2. Establish clear communication rules for online engagement
Because we were one of the first online schools, my instructors at Stanford and I had to create our own rules for interacting. We found that having guidelines (and eventually, emojis) for our written communications helped tremendously as we built online relationships. How many times have you misread a text message that didn't have appropriate punctuation or emoji use? Think about how much harder that is on kids building new relationships with authority figures. Here are some standard formats we followed to express feelings, limit confusion and encourage respectful communication during our lessons:
CAPS = angry yelling, frustrated
! = urgent, heightened stress
? = I don't understand
Smiley face = happy, pleased
Raise your hand icon = question
Clap = clapping, well done
You can of course expand beyond this, but having specific, clear indicators for the virtual classroom tends to make everyone feel (and function) better.
3. Set expectations
Homeschooling is an incredible privilege, but it is still school. It's meant to challenge your kids and will be challenging for the parents as well. When was the last time you had to properly diagram a sentence or write a proof? Setting expectations and talking about problem-solving tactics upfront can eliminate a lot of frustration that comes with self-guided learning. Common questions you should cover:
1. Can I Google the answer?
2. When should I reach out to the teacher?
3. Is it ok to move on to other questions and come back to earlier ones if I can't figure out the answer?
4. How long should I work on a problem before taking a break?
5. What food is optimal for learning? (high protein, lots of veggies/fruits, limited carbs)
6. Is it ok to spend the whole day on one subject if I'm on a role?
7. Am I falling behind if I don't finish my work each day?
Many kids will worry about how they measure up to their peers. Remind them that it’s important to try to keep up with the pace of the program, but not to worry about the others in the class. The upside of homeschooling is you can work at your most optimal hours - if you're able to get into a quiet room, there are no outside distractions, and there is no wasted time traveling to and from school. So you're actually likely to get ahead of the curriculum, as opposed to falling behind, if you follow the rules.
If you're looking for additional online resources for your kids to assist with the homeschooling process, here are some wonderful options from our portfolio:
Classkick is a real-time help and feedback platform for teachers, students, and parents - Read our blog post about how they’re making an extra effort to assist families and educators during the current crisis.
Epic is an award-winning subscription service that gives millions of families and classrooms instant, unlimited access to thousands of books, videos, and quizzes from leading publishers. Their entire library is now free - read our blog post about why they chose to make this decision.
KidzToPros KidzToPros is a platform that provides enrichment programs focusing on sports and STEM. They just launched a special live program that kids can attend from home - read our blog post about this helpful opportunity.
CourseKey is a learning intelligence platform proven to lift retention and improve outcomes through location-based attendance, auto-graded assessments, interactive textbooks, engaging social channels, and powerful analytics. You can access their online teaching resource blog) for free.
ThingLink allows educators to easily create visual learning materials and virtual tours, empowering students to work on projects and assignments using text, voice, photos, and video.
MontiKids empowers families to start learning at home with the world's leading infant toddler curriculum, a subscription beginning at birth with Montessori toys for children, video-based guidance for parents, and expert support.
Bark helps protect children online from cyberbullying and online predators.
I hope these anecdotes and resources from my experience are helpful to all the parents out there attempting to homeschool. Remember, learning together is a rich opportunity to connect with your child. In the long term, your kids -- however much they grouse about it now -- will treasure these moments with you.
By Investment Partner Holly Jacobus