Remote Learning

Time management to the rescue!
When a schedule is created, everyone has an idea what their part in the daily routine will be. Making the schedule takes work up front, but after the first week, the expectations are in place and family and children should feel comfortable following along. A schedule gives the sense of continuity and predictability.

Depending on the ages of your children, this daily routine can be modified for more study time. Each families' schedules will be different, but the main ideas remain the same.

Every schedule should include:

• wake up time
• school time
• creative time
• exercise time
• chore time
• meal time
• free time
• rest time
• bedtime

A "daily routine" schedule has been created and is available for you to download and print in a PDF file. The schedule breaks down and itemizes blocks of time to create structure for tasks, as well as provides tips and reminders.

Create a schedule for young children
Remember that a schedule is to help everyone feel a sense of predictability in their lives. When you put your time management schedule together, prioritize your classes and study time. As a college student, you may have to wake up earlier or study later, but remember, this is temporary. It will end. You are making due for the time being.

Here are a handful of website references which offer suggestions on how to navigate being at home, studying with children in the home, and time management for you and them.

• Education and Studying from Home
  • At-Home Learning Resources from FamilyEducation.com
  • How 'Regular School' Parents Can Homeschool Their Kids by Matt Villano, CNN
  • Writing and Tutoring Services at Citrus College

• Food and Nutrition Assistance
• Feeding America: Find Your Local Food Bank
• Food Pantries Directory
• Online Scheduling Programs / Daily Planners
  • Canva Personal Planner
  • My Study Life Task and Scheduling Planner
  • Toggl Plan Free Online Calendar Planner

• Parent-to-Parent Assistance
  • WarmLine provides another parent to talk to, via email and phone support, when parenting becomes difficult.

Here is an extensive list of helpful educational websites (K-12), as well as resources for immigrants in a variety of languages, from Parent Institute for Quality Education (English and Spanish).

 Educational Resources for Home Schooling

• Adapted Mind (reading, language arts)
• BrainPOP
• BreakoutEDU Tutorials (by topic and grade level)
• Conjuguemos (foreign language)
• Dreamscape (reading, grades two through eight)
• Duolingo (foreign language)
• Fifteen Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch
• Google Arts and Culture
  
• Google Earth Launches Virtual Tours of 31 National Parks
• How Stuff Works
• Khan Academy Kids (ages two through seven)
• Khan Academy Personalized Learning Resource (grades K through 12)
• Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems (video series)
• Metropolitan Opera's Free Student Streams
• PBS Kids (different age levels)
• Prodigy (mathematics)
• Scholastic Education (grades K through nine)
• Squiggle Park (reading, ages three to eight)
• TedED

Fitness and Other Activities

• Cooking with Kids
• Fit Factor Kids Exercise (video)
• Twelve Beneficial and Fun Exercises for Kids
• Workout for Kids, Beginners (video)

​These practical and helpful tips are from the blog post, "Eight Time Management Tips for Work-at-Home Moms" by Melissa Culbertson.

She says, "Here are a few things I've found that help me manage my time while working from home with little ones."

• Tip 1: Establish a schedule. 
  This really helps so that you can outline school times, meals, nap, errands and work.
• Tip 2: When do you feel MOST productive? 
  Figure out what time of the day you get that burst of energy. Is it in the morning around 10 a.m.? Or maybe right after lunch? Or perhaps you are a night owl? Schedule the most important activities that you MUST get done during that time.
• Tip 3: Use a timer. 
  When you sit down to do a task set the timer. Turn off Facebook, Twitter, email (a.k.a time suckers) and focus on that one task. Give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to accomplish and cross that item off your list.
• Tip 4: Create a designated area for work and play. 
  This is so important. I used to work from the dining room table but found I was disorganized and would get more distracted. Find a place in your home where you can create a work place. It could be as simple as a small corner tucked away in your bedroom (like I have) or maybe one room dedicated to your work.
• Tip 5: Use productivity apps. 
  I don't know about you but I live by my iPhone. All of my appointments, deadlines, school activities, etc., go into my calendar on my phone.

• Tip 6: Identify daily time wasters; try to eliminate. 
  We all have them. Maybe it's the TV, the cell phone, or email. What do you get distracted by? Identify these items and make sure to eliminate them as best as you can. For me, it's Facebook and Twitter. I have learned if I want to get anything done, I need to turn them off. Crazy how much I can get done when I'm not tempted to tweet or check my fan pages.
• Tip 7: Make time for the kids. 
  It's so easy when you work from home to always be thinking about deadlines, emails you need to respond to, posts that need to be written and calls that need to be made. Trying to work with little kids around is not easy especially if they feel they are being ignored. I always try to set aside time in my day (morning, mid-day and after dinner) to turn everything off and just be with the kids. We play, color, read books, and even dance around the kitchen. Then when it is time to work, they have usually had their "mom" fill and are happy to play by themselves.
• Tip 8: Reward yourself! 
  Mothers have a hard job no matter if you work out of the house, in the home or do a little of both.

Melissa concludes, "We need to stop every once in a while, step back and realize all that we accomplish in a day. It's pretty incredible if you think about it. Remember, it's impossible to do it all ... but with a little planning, organization and prioritizing, it can help make things more manageable."