How To Successfully Navigate Remote Learning Fall 2020

We’ve teamed up with Verizon 5G #AlwaysOn to provide you with some tips for a successful school year from home.

2020 has been a very odd year that has come with many challenges and obstacles to overcome. As parents of 4 children, 3 of whom are in elementary school, remote learning has been a major adjustment for us. After being thrown into this situation last Spring, we’ve learned a great deal. Today I’m going to be sharing with you our tops tips that will hopefully make this semester, or year, of remote learning a bit easier or at least less overwhelming.

1.) Have a sense of humor! There can and WILL be difficult days learning from home. It will be frustrating for your child and frustrating for you as a parent or caregiver. Sometimes you just need to pause for a moment and laugh at the mess, laugh at the chaos, laugh at whatever you need to. I truly find that laughter can be the best medicine when your in a tense or frustrating situation and can help to improve your mindset. A better mindset will help you get back on track more quickly. Remember, remote learning is not the ideal situation and this is only temporary. The kids WILL be back at school one day, I PROMISE!

2.) A solid, reliable internet connection is key. Almost all of our children’s instruction is done online, so we can’t afford to have a faulty or slow connection. Verizon 5G service is the fastest available with max speeds up to 1 Gbps which is insanely fast! 5G service from Verizon is available in Chicago, Houston, + Detroit. Check here https://omm.media/jen to see if 5G service is available at your location.

Lets face it, in this new remote learning climate, we are reliant on our home WI-FI service. Obtaining reliable, fast internet service is a simple way we can all help our children’s success with remote learning. All of our children’s teachers had stressed to us just how important a good internet connection is. There’s so much to worry about right now but with Verizon 5G, the fastest internet service available right now, there is one less. It uses 5G Ultra Wideband to power all of your homes devices and can handle a bunch of devices running at once. This is so important to our family right now since it’s not uncommon for us right now to have 5 computers all running at the same time. Don’t forget to check https://omm.media/jen to see if 5G Service from Verizon is available at your specific address. You may even be able to qualify for special offers like one year of Disney+ & a free Stream TV courtesy of Verizon.

3.) Keep the learning environment consistent. If you have extra space in your home and can set up some desks that is great but don’t worry if you don’t. Learning can be successful in more unconventional places like the kitchen table, island, or even on the couch. Just wherever you choose make sure that they are set up in the same exact spot each day. Having devices charged and ready to go at their workstation is very important as well.

4.) Lay out clothes for your kids the night before and set the expectation that the kids are dressed and ready to go for school each morning. Yes, it may be tempting to let your kids learn from home in their pajamas, but don’t do it. It may sound silly to some, but this one little thing can make a big difference in your child’s attitude. We all tend to be more productive when we’re dressed and ready to take on whatever the day brings.

5.) This next one is pretty basic but so important, STAY HYDRATED! When the kids were attending classes in person, they always brought a water bottle with them to drink throughout the day. It’s no different at home, fill up those bottles at the beginning of the day and make sure they are drinking them. Being hydrated helps to improve brain cognition and mood. If there’s something that will help make one of my children possibly be less cranky, I’m all about it!

6.) Now, let’s talk lunch! Since you’re home with your kids, you might be tempted to cook them a hot meal everyday. For a good routine and for your SANITY, skip that. Instead, pack a cold lunch for your child every day. This will save you a ton of time throughout the day and will allow you to have a little break as well. Plus, I find that the kids enjoy seeing what I packed them for lunch every day.

7.) Be flexible and expect change. Change is inevitable and as remote learning progresses through the fall your child’s teacher will 100% make changes as they fine tune remote learning. The teachers have all been working so hard to ensure that this year’s remote learning goes off without a hitch, but remember this is new to everyone. Teachers are navigating this new world right along side us, and to be successful we need to be able to adapt to whatever changes come our way. Remember, the teachers and staff are all looking out for our kids and if they find a better way of doing something along the way and want to implement it don’t resist. Instead, let’s be grateful that they’re finding better, faster ways to do things. Yes, it may be a pain in the short run, but we’ll all be better off in the end.

8.) Don’t forget to speak up. The teachers are looking for ways to innovate but so should we. This means our children should be looking for ways to improve up what they are already doing and as parents and caregivers we should too. When teachers, parents, + students all work together we can create the most successful remote learning environment possible.

If you have any other tips you’d like to add I would absolutely love to hear from you! As a community we can all learn together and help to make remote learning successful!