Setting up a home office when you are teaching remotely can be a real game changer. Home, at least my home, can be full of distractions. It is really important to set up an environment that supports meaningful and engaging learning experiences. This may be a serious step out of your comfort zone, but by paying attention to a few key factors, you can make remote learning work well for teacher and students. In my opinion, this goes hand-in-hand with…
Teachers in my district returned to school this morning. Our families had an option of remote learning or in-person instruction at school. About 70% of our kids are returning to in-person instruction. It sounds like a lot, but it seems unnaturally quiet around here. I have seen some kids that I know, but there are an awful lot of kids that I haven’t spotted yet. On days that feel like this, it’s easy to get pulled into the dark place….
Why Self-Care is Important I am slowly working my way through The Distance Learning Playbook by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie. The first section of the book is on the fact that teacher need to practice consistent and intentional self-care. In my opinion, this is just as important for homeschooling parents and parents of distance learners. It’s super easy to get so busy working that you forget to rest, eat healthy meals, work out, and maintain social connections….
.A few years ago, I heard in passing about the beautiful commencement address that the short story writer George Saunders had given at Syracuse University. In this speech, he talks about the fact that the things he regrets most in his life are failures of kindness. It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder. If you have never read or heard…
Understanding Reading Level If you are homeschooling your child for the first time or supporting your child through distance learning, it can be difficult to pick out books that are “just right” for your child. If your child has been in a school setting until this year, the easiest starting point is to reach out to your child’s teacher from last school year to get a good reading level. Schools use different systems for measuring the reading level of students….