In view of the COVID-19 situation, almost everyone is doing home learning. I found a lot of comments online about the difficulty of having to handle their children's "academic" tasks. It can be overwhelming but there are several ways to handle this perception. After all, there is so much we can do for our families.
Let me share some insights.
1. Home time is family time.
This is an opportunity to spend quality and fun times with your loved ones. Everyone's home, no one is allowed to go out, for safety sake. With Luzon on a community quarantine (lock down right? why play with words?), we ought to stay home. Make your time with your kids fun, meaningful and light.
2. Support your child's online conference.
If your child's school has a set schedule for their daily classes until April 15, please make sure you give them the space they can use for online conferences AND the necessary WiFi connection. In our home I had meeting with my three teenagers, my wife and my 8-year-old and asked them to log-off from the internet once they see me running my online conferences with my students. I have had a couple of students struggle and miss our conferences because their internet connections were bad. It pains to see my students worry about these missed conferences. You might as well call your child's home room teacher and ask about your child's online learning program...if there's one.
At Blank School where I teach, we are using Zoom for online conference with Google Suite as our smorgasbord we can choose from. Google classroom and Google hangouts are very useful and easy to use. By default, I have Managebac platform for uploading tasks and submissions. We have used Managebac in the last several years and its only logical to continue using it. As a teacher and a father, I don't want to add to confusion to my students' learning by introducing other platforms that are otherwise served on MB.
3. Reading with your children.
The older your children gets, the more independent they become. This holds true to reading and other academic responsibilities.
Here's a great reminder: YOU CAN ENJOY READING with your CHILDREN at any age!
And here's something that works well, with my children, my nieces and nephews and during my storytelling gig at The Children's Library by The Gokongwei Brothers Foundation:
"Tell a story from your own childhood, your own life experiences and stories you've heard from your childhood...these personal stories are more meaningful because they evoke emotions and bring you back in time when life was simple, innocent and full of wonder".
4. Do workouts and other goal-oriented physical activities.
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| Me in white shirt and Bunso with the 2 Balls |
With the 24-7 time we have at home, there is no excuse for missing physical fitness and workouts. You have a bonus his time: Workout with your children and wife. It is time to bring out and use that treadmill you bought a couple of Christmases ago. Let that gluts (Maximus and minimus) and traps (Trapezius right?) do their work in a repetitive movement.
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| Our Scholastic Basketball Camp and PIT Workouts |
Ok you have younger than 10 year-old kids? Then it's more fun having them around while they mimic your reps and sets. You don't have space for these activities? Then do some stationary workouts like jogging in place, high knees, butt kicks and push ups.
It is important to to keep in mind that making these times fun and light will give your child the opportunity to spend more time with you. And keep them away from worrying about COVID-19.
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| Workouts Anytime, Anywhere |
If you have, in some way, read up on the life of St. John Bosco of Sales, you would know how St. John utilized and cherished music in his half-way homes for the boys ( I guess its the same with the girls). Let me cite some quotes on the power of music by St. John of Bosco of Sales:
"The music of the young should be listened to with the heart and not with the ears."
"A school without music is a school without a soul, for music aids education. It is a most effective means to obtain discipline, morality, and help good feeling..."
"An Oratory without music is like a body without a soul."
Caveat: Your child may or may not be the next Mozart, Cayabyab or Leah Salonga but this SHOULD NOT STOP you from enjoying music with them. Sing songs with them from TV commercials and jingles. Hum hymns and beats from Sunday service and Holy Eucharist. Listen to sounds coming from the environment: water dripping, iron gates clanging and banging, car motors broom-broom and people talking with different accents and intonations. Sounds are the basic build-ups of music. Heck, those hip hop rhymes might eventually improve their vocabulary and music sense. (wink!)
6. Art and all the (fun) work that goes with it.
Once you realize the power of DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE Learning and Teaching, everything else will be easy. The same goes with art development. Exposure and the opportunity to work with different art materials and different genres, coupled with fun times with mom, dad and siblings, it will be a breeze.
Bringing awareness to your kids of the subtle color and hue changes, to those classical masterpieces of Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Michelangelo may sound weird or even pretentious but hey, you'll do anything for your children right?
Since museums and other artsy places are probably closed, why not make your own masterpieces with your child? These artworks can come in different forms. The more practical outputs would be t-shirt paintings or doodles, tie-dye shirts and shorts, paper and pencil drawings, heat transfers with personalized designs and lately, hydro dips.
Check out my daughters' work on my phone case:
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| Pat and Fides Hydro Dip Work |
As early as 2005, five years into my teaching gig, I came across a workshop that promotes household chores intentionally given to students with a simple premise: "children who grow up in families that ask them to do household chores become more responsible and confident adults". There were various studies and surveys cited in the workshop and it makes sense.
One interesting study cited was the comparison of five boarding school student population where a third of the subjects were asked to do chores while another group was not given any household chore related and still another group were given the option to participate in household work if they want to or can opt out of the chores if they want to.
The study was carried through and the subjects were followed through their adult lives. Guess what happened to the students who had to do chores? Let me give you a hint: adult living requires you to manage responsibilities from different areas of life. Adult life will almost always ask you to follow through, commit and give best effort to be successful.
Which group do you think had 4 to 6 years of doing work with expectations from school admins and house mothers?
Here's one I got from Australian Parenting Website:
"Children can learn a lot from doing household chores.
Doing chores helps children learn about what they need to do to care for themselves, a home and a family. They learn skills they can use in their adult lives, like preparing meals, cleaning, organising and keeping a garden.
Being involved in chores also gives children experience of relationship skills like communicating clearly, negotiating, cooperating and working as a team.
When children contribute to family life, it helps them feel competent and responsible. Even if they don’t enjoy the chore, when they keep going they get the feeling of satisfaction that comes with finishing a task.
And sharing housework can also help families work better and reduce family stress. When children help out, chores get done sooner, and parents have less to do. This frees up time for the family to spend doing fun things together. "
Washing the dishes, doing the laundry, preparing the dining table, preparing the dish for lunch, wiping and cleaning the window glass, disinfecting the doorknobs and sweeping the floor...there's just a lot of work that can be accomplished at home.
The bonus? Spending time with family and cleaning up the sanctuary called home.
8. The family that prays together, stays forever.
Whatever religion you may be part of, or philosophical adherent you choose, or any cultural membership you are with, all of these require you to reflect, meditate and pray in a superiors intelligence or presence.
Even those that claim to be an aetheist or agnostic, these guys would often look back, review and ponder upon life's situations.
In moments of disillusion, look back and savor your life's consolations. And in moments of achievements and comforts, look back and do some contemplation.
It's never too late or too early to introduce the power of meditation to your family.
Pray. Pray unceasingly. Pray like it will be the last time you will be able to do so.
Homeschooling.
It's a great time to be dipping your fingers into your child's education. This is the best time to share your love for reading, counting and all sorts of stuff. Now's the time. Take the chance. This is it. The most opportune time show another side of you to your children.
When the going gets tough?
Take a break. You are not in any way expected to go crazy while teaching your children.
Enjoy your family time.
And be safe, Stay safe.
Semper Ad Meloria.
