Supplementing Academics While at Home

Now that most schools in the US are closed for at least 2-3 weeks and some for the rest of the school year, there are some things you can do to make sure that your child won’t fall behind and to give them a head start next year. While this interruption in school affects the whole country, it doesn’t need to handicap them if we use this time wisely. Don’t be fooled to think that your children are okay because their teachers won’t test them on material they didn’t cover due to school closures. They may get A’s on their spring report cards, but they still need to learn the concepts they missed. When students miss a month or more of school (and classes aren’t conducted every day at the same caliber as they are when they’re in classes), they will be behind next year when their teachers expect that they had learned a bank of concepts the previous year. This is the real problem.

You don’t need to be a mathematician, physicist, or published author to support your children’s academics. All you need to do is organize their time at home. They’re already used to a routine at school, so give them some structure to help them stay on task and to ward off anxiety and depression. Set up a schedule for them to wake up, have breakfast, and get ready for the day – yes, get them out of their jammies!

Then, layout their academic or school schedule if they don’t have online classes with their teachers at a regular time. This gives you the unique opportunity to fine tune what they will learn and to give them support in areas where they may be weak. If they need to build a stronger math foundation, set up math drills using online math games (MathBlaster) or math programs (Khan Academy) to give them mileage so they can be successful in math when they return to school.

For students who need to build reading comprehension skills (all ages; and it’s great for SAT prep too!), give them books to read. Yes, lots of books! Here is a list of summer reading that I recommend for elementary, middle, and high school students. Block off 45 minutes to an hour for reading without distractions (cell phones, video games, TV, radio). Have your children start a journal to document their experiences and to give them free reign to find their voices while using complete sentences (no abbreviations or text-message style). The best way to improve writing is to write!

Hire online tutors or teachers to teach difficult concepts and to give your children exercises to build their skills in these areas. These teachers can pick up where the classroom teacher left off, and continue to cover all chapters and concepts that the students will miss. This will ensure that they do well when they return this semester and that they’ll have the foundation they’ll need to proceed in all classes next year. Merit offers both tutoring and one-on-one accredited classes taught by real teachers in Google Hangouts.

Besides academic learning, you can also block off time for your children to explore art and history museums online. They can start a vegetable garden. Children and teens can also learn how to crochet and knit blankets. Pull out puzzles to give them a long-term challenge – and to get them off their computers. Create a list of movies and documentaries you’d like them to watch.

The opportunities are endless. Just make sure they stay home or in the yard – don’t take them out into the public. We all need to work together to make sure that we aren’t carrying the virus and spreading it to others. So let’s use this break from school to prepare our children with the additional skill-building they’ll need when they return to school in a month or next year.