What a whirlwind! I am back to blogging and hope to share some ideas and thoughts while we navigate this crazy virtual learning territory. Like many, I have my own children home with me, and I am working. Again, a whirlwind. I plan to share a variety of posts organized by themes:
● Keeping the Love of Literacy: Resources for virtual learning
● Managing It All: Teaching my own kids while working from home
● Lang on Literacy Debrief: Thoughts and summaries of current professional readings
As a parent and educator, I have been thinking quite a bit about structures, routines, and schedules. For those who know me, this is not a surprise. I can definitely be flexible, but I very much prefer to be flexible within a schedule. First, I am going to share a bit about how my district will be recommending time expectations for teachers to plan lessons for students per grade level band. Then, I will share the routine my kids and I have fallen into over the last few days. My children are 5 and 3, so not super independent; but, we have found a great balance of work and play!
PreK-4th Grade Home Learning Time Recommendations
As of now, we are recommending that teachers use these guidelines when planning for student home learning:
PreK-1st Grade (Reading, Writing, Math, Specials (Art, Music, PE, STEM)): 1.0-2.0 hours for all subject areas (including independent reading and writing assigned by the teacher)
2nd & 3rd Grade (Reading, Writing, Math, Science or S.S., Specials (Art, Music, PE, STEM)): 1.5-2.0 hours for all subject areas (including independent reading and writing assigned by the teacher)
4th Grade (Reading, Writing, Math, Science or S.S., Specials (Art, Music, PE, STEM)): 2.0-2.5 hours for all subject areas (including independent reading and writing assigned by the teacher)
These recommendations will be communicated to families so there is a common understanding of how long should children be engaged in academics each day. The hope is that these timeframes will support families who have grownups who are expected to work from home and support their children. Teachers have been asked to post virtual assignments by 8:30am each morning, which follows the school day.
Lang Household Routine
Full disclosure: It has only been a few days of this and we all know that sometimes something that works one day does not work the next. My kids do well with some structure and expectation; but we are also flexible. For example, yesterday was sunny and a great day to get outside, so we spent more time outdoors playing and exploring that inside working.
While I was brainstorming ideas for how to schedule our time at home that would balance play, learning, and quality time together, I listed a few commitments:
● Limit T.V. Time (T.V. can be watched during rest and later in the afternoon when we complete our tasks- typically after 4pm)
● Play Often (Creative and unstructured play… If we need to rotate toys, we will; but at this time it hasn’t been necessary)
● Make Learning Fun (Feel successful and have fun! Schedule time to FaceTime with school friends to share projects. Write letters and color pictures to mail to friends.)
● Enjoy Quality Time (This is a special time that may never happen again. Have lunch together every day. Enjoy family dinners. Laugh together!)
I had written out a schedule on Sunday, but as we lived through the first few days, we have adjusted and so far so good! Here is what the day looks like:
My kids are 5 (kindergarten) and 3 (home from daycare).
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Sarah |
Kids |
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5:00 - 7:30 |
Coffee Work Tasks |
Sleeping Early wake up options: ● Play ● Education Apps ● Shows (not a movie) |
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7:45 - 8:15 |
Breakfast for kids *work tasks |
Breakfast |
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8:15 - 9:15 |
Literacy with the kids! (Reading Focus) (*work email and time sensitive tasks) Ellsie’s amazing teacher has put together fun resources and activities to not only help her feel the routine of the classroom, but are also so engaging and fun! We are blessed!
My three year old will participate in many of the activities. I give him color pages or letter matching activities. My husband will be home for a few weeks starting today, so he might take Leo to a different part of the house so Ellsie can focus. |
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9:15- 11:00 |
Work Tasks
Exercise |
Creative Play (i.e.: outside, toys, legos, independent pretend play: dolls, superheros… no electronics)
Exercise (mom, too!) |
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11:00- 11:45 |
Literacy with the kids! (Writing Focus) (*work email and time sensitive tasks) ● Write a letter to mail to a friend ● Write a book (i.e.: Story, How-To, Review a toy or show, All About Book) ● Write a journal entry
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11:45- 12:00 |
Make Lunch |
Color or Read books |
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12:00- 12:20 |
Eat lunch together |
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12:30- 2:00 |
Work Tasks |
Rest Time (movie, quiet play) |
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2:00- 2:40 |
Math with the kids! (*work email and time sensitive tasks) ● Activity Pages ● Math Game |
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2:40- 3:00 |
Work Tasks |
Explore Videos Ellsie’s teacher has organized weekly Science / Literacy Connection videos through Scholastic Magazine. The kids watch the video, discuss, listen to the book, and discuss.
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3:00 - 4:30 |
Work Tasks |
Read three leveled books, then:
Creative Play |
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4:30 - 5:00 |
Read something for ME :) |
Play (TV / Electronics okay) |
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5:00 - 6:00 |
Dinner Prep and Dinner |
Play and Dinner |
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6:00 - 7:00 |
Family Time (no electronics) |
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7:00 - 8:00 |
Bedtime Routine |
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8:00 - 9:00 |
Make list for tomorrow Lingering work tasks Hang out with my hubby |
Bed |
Again, not every day will look like this, but it is an idea for how we flow in the Lang household. For me, it has been important to build in time to do things I enjoy. Working out and reading are two ways I know will help me feel good. This schedule will need to be flexible because I will have work video meetings scheduled and other things that will come up; likewise, there are times where the kids have needs and I will need to be responsive to them. One last thing: during transition times, I will often read a book aloud to the kids or they will do a GoNoodle video (we like the melting video to calm and the macarena to get out the wiggles!).
That’s it for now! Feel free to add ideas or questions to the comments below :)
Take care,
Sarah
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