Let's be honest. This is probably gonna be a crazy school year. Get ready! And help your kid or kids get their heads back in the game, too. Dr. Wendy has a few tips:
1. Invest in a desk and good chair. No learning from bed or moving around the house. Isn't it easier for you to have your own dedicated work space? So, yeah.
2. Start an online study group (small groups can help satisfy their needs for social support).
3. Do as much work as possible using paper and a pen or pencil. Use those hands, look at something besides a screen, shape those letters to make those words. This is also a form of learning that helps many kids assimilate and retain information.
4. Enforce “no phone during class” rules. Boundaries and discipline are also part of a student's learning experience.
5. Keep track of their online schedule and schedule family work, meals, and other activities around that. Send the message that school comes first. HINT: Use a whiteboard to make a household schedule for computers and spaces.
6. Buy a couple cute new school outfits! It helps to create something fun and special - like it would feel if they were starting a new year in person. There's also the fact that our clothing transforms us and helps us transition from one frame-of-mind (sleeping) to another (learning).
7. Model a positive attitude. Try your hardest to not let the burden be a burden - or at least hide the burden as well as possible!
To hear more tips listen to Dr. Wendy's full segment below!