Making your home school friendly is a tall challenge

Covid looks like it’s going to be around for quite some time, not disappear instantly. Therefore it’s important that you be prepared for the current situation to accommodate the children’s needs for an extended period of time. Investments are therefore justified. Obviously, as this is coupled with a work from home situations it definitely implies that more room would be needed. That typically leads to purchasing a larger home. -this is partly what is behind the current hot real estate market- But not necessarily so at least not necessarily right now. While it is important to prepare for that larger home, let’s review what can be done instantly to adjust the existing place. We’ll review three things: Principles Organization and Practicalities.Principles: several facts will govern your choices: the age of the child, space available and also how much support the child needs. Some of the objectives need a little bit of work to be reconciled: for instance, you need to keep an eye on the child, but at the same time they need to be away from any potential distractions to allow them to concentrate. Similarly, the environment should as much as possible remind the child that he is at school. Typically children differentiate between the school environment dedicated to learning and home environment dedicated to relaxing and unwinding. In that case the home will cover both needs therefore the work space has to be structured in such a way that it says “school“. At least that he feels that way. A creative use of space might be needed: the proverbial dining room where nobody sets foot except on Thanksgiving might actually be devoted to the learning space

Organization: Homeschooling might not mean total isolation: school pods, where several families pool their resources to teach the kids concurrently allow the parents to alternate between homeschooling and working: Should three families pool the resources and time, while one family is in charge of homeschooling, the others can go to work or work from home more efficiently. Schedule has to be agreed-upon to define who is in charge of homeschooling when. Similarly, for the child to learn, they need to keep focus and concentration intact. That means that that there will be needs for recess, probably quite frequent ones. No one expects a child to concentrate for six hours a day in front of a screen. So each learning session should last less than an hour and be complemented with time to unwind and re-gather concentration for like 10 to 15 minutes. Indeed, it should happen outside in the yard if at all possible. In any case it’s important that the kids become physically active during that particular period of time to expend energy.Practicalities:The space devoted to learning should be away from other family members and potential distractions. This will of course depend upon the age of the child and the amount of supervision that they need. In any case some special space should be constructed by using even some thing as mundane as a display board behind the computer today to delimit the space as working space and block out potential distractions. Office supply stores provide several options from this standpoint. Evidently, noise management will be critical. Some mention that soft background music or a white noise machine might help. Different possibilities will need to be tested to find one that fits. Of course, the work table should be clutter-free and appropriate furniture is needed. Specialists mention a need for the 3×90° angle: Feet flat on the ground, comfortable seating with a straight up back and elbows on the table. When several kids are involved it might be a good idea to sit in between them to prevent unwanted interactions and distractions. The idea is to keep them separated in makeshift cubicles to foster concentration and limit disruptions.As mentioned, this makes up for a tall order. The present home might be difficult to reorder to meet those objectives, and the interest of the kids may well mandate moving to a more appropriate dwelling arrangement. This is where my role is to serve you: cashing out your built up equity in the present home and taking advantage of the historically low rates to upgrade to more appropriate space is the right move.

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