Remote Learning: Navigating These New and Uncharted Waters…. A Few Tips for How to Make the Most of It…

Suddenly and quite unexpectedly the COVID-19 virus has evolved into a worldwide pandemic and as a result most of us are hunkering down safely in our own homes. It seems that within the course of just a few short weeks from the time we first heard about the initial case in China, the virus quickly spread like wild fire, completely shutting down most of Italy and neighboring European countries. As most of us had anticipated and even feared, it was only a matter of time before the virus reached the shores of the United States. To help limit the exposure, many states have instituted a curfew, no one is allowed out (unless for work) between the hours of 10pm and 6 am. Businesses can only remain open until 8pm and in my home state of New Jersey, all restaurants and fast food places, including all coffee shops have take out service only. As a precautionary measure and in effort to ‘flatten the curve’ all public schools and colleges have temporarily closed and have instituted remote learning days. To further limit exposure to the virus, all movie theaters, libraries, aquariums, zoos, amusement parks (even Disney World and Land!), gaming centers, pottery studies, public parks/playgrounds and malls have also closed. You name it, where ever we’d typically take our kids to entertain them is suddenly and understandably now closed. So how do we keep our kids- especially our children with special needs- engaged, calm and able to learn? Not an easy task, especially if one of your children has cerebral palsy, ADHD, is on the Autism Spectrum and needs a sensory diet met in order to avoid stress induced tics. Day two of both teaching remotely while trying to keep my own children engaged in their studies has been a bit surreal. I feel as though we’ve all been written into a Ray Bradbury sci-fi thriller. Throw in the challenge of limiting their exposure to the news, and other stressors, the ability to maintain a sense of calm and normalcy can be quite daunting. Should the shine of staying home and learning remotely rub off for your kids, here are few links and suggestions that have helped keep a sense of calm in our home. Whenever I begin to feel a bit anxious, I try to focus on what’s truly most important- maintaining the sound health of my family as well as that of others. Be well everyone.

Here they are:

• Lunch Doodles with the author Mo Willems: As the Kennedy Center artist in residence, Mo Willems has offered to doodle live with kids everyday at 1pm Eastern Standard time. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/?fbclid=IwAR0tW0xPdK1uRwbfL-2Q2xsDbcQvzF8sUjLzENZ2vI0qjKF6d7rqcBnYr2s
• #Operation Story Time with Your Favorite Authors: Well known authors read from their work. https://coolprogeny.com/2020/03/operation-storytime/?fbclid=IwAR1GqWuqPgTe9vwiB82IT3T2hc-3v9sWRuJMo0wwEaewzLV0GVADuIF_O2c
• Scholastic Magazines are offering free access to daily lessons, activities and fun articles. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
• Newsela has offered free access to their online news articles. They have fantastic articles for your older readers ranging from languages, science, math to social studies. https://newsela.com/about/distance-learning/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpoaU9EZzJZekl4TXpnNSIsInQiOiJPVldkaFljcCtHelwvU001RllrdXlwN1RSMXBqZXorTCtDVlwvSG5GS1FaWjR0cWFOSDI1WStOZEN6ZmNxc2d4eGdveGdvbGxlcHluTjVjMjJvYVR2QW91TUV2NU1GZEYwY2JudDBlREdkUHdCM20yMTF0NGtDazJPRWFtelhJMXlxIn0%3D
• The Boston Children’s Museum: If can’t get there in person, viewing the collection digitally, is the next best thing! https://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/museum-virtual-tour
• The San Diego Zoo: Offers several on-line activities, games, stories videos and live streams to help keep kids entertained from the comfort of their living room! https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/stories/seeing-black-and-whitehttps://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/baboon-cam
• Host of Other Virtual Field trips: From the safety of your own living room, take your child (children on a tour of Buckingham Palace, Mars or The Great Wall of China.https://freedomhomeschooling.com/virtual-field-trips/?fbclid=IwAR0uEVe9OCqovg_2O3tgOA5qEf_RE84qp-VuByegKDoEUu02RS8FTtC8BGQ

If you want your kids to digitally detox for a bit, try a few of these activities:
1.) Play: Dust off one of the board games and play Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, and/or any other game that you have on hand.

2.) Bake: Bake from scratch, if you have the time and ingredients on hand, then put them to use. There are plenty of ways to incorporate the use of math and reading comprehension skills into play when trying to follow a recipe.

3.) Jigsaw: Put together a jigsaw puzzle. It could provide you and your child (children) with a fun and relaxing way to work together towards a common goal.

4.) Build: Unearth the long-forgotten blocks or Magna-tiles and have a competitions to see who can build the tallest, strangest or strongest structure.

5.) Create: Whether it’s a paper bag, a sock puppet or a contour drawing of the kitchen, break out the paper, pencils, crayons and even paint and let your child’s imagination flow. Go old school and let them use their own creativity- I bet you will marvel at the results it yields!

6.) Stretch: Believe it or not, just by stretching and slowing down your breathing and heart rate, you can help to alleviate a need for input. It also helps relax any child who may be feeling stressed and out of sorts due to a change in schedule and routine.

7.) Take a bubble bath! : Take some time to run a bubble bath or a lavender infused Epsom salt bath for your child. It’s incredibly relaxing and might be just what they need to get a good night’s rest.

8.) Talk: Take advantage of the slower pace and lack of scheduling challenges and set some time aside just to sit and talk with your child (children). I was surprised to hear how anxious my own kids were about not seeing their friends and being away from school and their normal routine.

9.) Read: Revisit a classic or one of your child’s favorite books and read together. Take turns reading so that your child feel empowered by the experience.

10.) Share a story: Share a story from your life experience that could help entertain or allay your child’s stress. My 16 year old Olivia loves hearing about my childhood and adolescent adventures! Never underestimate how interesting your life is to your child!