As a parent, it can be a challenge to enroll your child in online school without having an educational background to help them when things get tough. But you don’t have to be a teacher to support your child in their mission to be successful online students. Here are a few ways that Acellus Academy recommends that can help you help your student succeed in online school.
1. Get Started on the Right Foot
During the first few days of school, your student should be putting in extra effort. This is the perfect time to make sure that you know when coursework, papers, and projects are due. Read through all of the information given on the first day regarding what will be going on throughout the course. Then, you can make a calendar with your student to make sure that they always know when things are due.
Reading the syllabus is a great place to start. You could also contact the teacher and introduce yourself at this point so that if there are any questions later on, you already have a relationship built. Doing little things within the first week can really set your student up for success down the road.
2. Create a Schoolwork Space
It is going to be really challenging for a student to get schoolwork done in a high-traffic area of your home. Instead, you need to find or create a space that allows for a quiet, productive work zone. When possible, make this space one with a door that can be closed. This way, when things get loud in the house, there is an area that allows for peace and quiet without distractions.
Many people would not recommend setting up a school space in your child’s bedroom. There are a lot of distractions in the bedroom. However, if that is what works best for your student, then there is nothing wrong with setting up an area of the bedroom for schoolwork.
3. Figure Out Family/School Balance
When classwork is done in the home, it can be hard to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of school time and family time. Having a dedicated school space, as recommended above, can help with this potential problem.
A lot of online school parents like to make sure that their children are done with schoolwork at a certain time or on certain days to ensure that there is still adequate time to spend together as a family. Since you aren’t on a traditional schooling schedule, you can make whatever schedule works best for your family.
4. Keep Them Motivated
Not all students are self-motivated. If your child isn’t a self-motivator doing online school, you might need to find ways to encourage them to get their coursework done. You might want or need to offer incentives for your child to help them get through the lessons that they don’t naturally enjoy. For example, maybe they get a reward for getting A’s throughout the school year or when they complete an especially challenging project or lesson.
5. Consider a Tutor
There may be times when your student needs a little extra help with a certain subject. If you aren’t comfortable helping with the topic, it is a good idea to hire a tutor to help. Some online schooling programs have tutors available to help. Check out your options and find someone who can help your child succeed even when you can’t.
6. Be Available
Sometimes, your child will need you to help them with a lesson or be there for encouragement. It may be that they need a break, and they want to talk to you about what they are learning. No matter the reason that your child needs you, be there for them during their schooling.
It isn’t easy doing online school. It isn’t nearly as easy for online schoolers to have conversations with other people throughout the day, so the parents and other family members are who they turn to for support and guidance.
Online schooling can be a great option for children of all ages. When you decide to do online schooling, it will take an adjustment, but when you are there to support your child, they can find a lot of success in this non-traditional schooling technique.
