Homeschooling for the first time? Tips to help keep kids engaged
Having children home 24/7, possibly for the first time in our careers, is a major shift for us as parents and can be a challenge for our children. My wife and I have successfully homeschooled our children for several years. Our curriculum has been predominantly delivered online. Initially our biggest challenge was to keep them engaged with their schoolwork.
As we all adjust to the reality of school closures and many students going 100% online for the first time, I thought it would be helpful to share a few practical tips on how we keep our at home students engaged.
For background, we have four children. Our oldest son graduated high school a year early last year. Our oldest daughter is on schedule to graduate a year early as well. Our youngest son and daughter are currently on a similar pace.
To be successful, and as I do with any major endeavor, we set a vision statement for our group. (Vision statement? Yes, I am a bit of a career and leadership nerd). For our vision statement, we chose a familiar verse my grandfather taught me over forty years ago.
My grandfather, who lived through the Great Depression, taught me this verse of scripture as a standard from which my work ethic derives. The verse is:
Colossian 3:17 (ESV) “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Grandpa used to tell me, no matter who is paying you, ultimately you work for Jesus Christ, so act accordingly. He always said it in a warm tone as he believed it was a privilege for followers of Christ to work for Him.
Once we set the vision, we discovered five basic steps which helped our children be engaged and successful. These steps were learned through trial and error:
● Routine - as a long time remote worker, setting a daily routine has been fundamental to my success. Setting a routine with your students is no different. We would agree on a start time for school (8a or 9a). We would also help them to set daily goals for each
subject, including an end time for each day. We helped with the goal setting at first until they took on this facet of their daily schooling themselves.
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● Food - A hungry teenager is an angry teenager (at least my oldest was). We built lists of suggested meals for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. They were encouraged to make their breakfast and their lunches themselves. We wanted them to learn self sufficiency as early as possible.
● Check-ins - You cannot expect what you do not inspect. We checked in on them at least once a day. If they were not being productive then check-ins became more frequent until they caught up on their lessons. Check-ins were light, not igotcha moments. These were discussions starting with “tell me what you learned today?” or “what book did you read today?”
● Work before Play - All four of our kids have passions outside of their normal schooling. My oldest son is passionate about drawing. My oldest daughter is an avid theater kid. My youngest son is a coder and enters game coding contests. My youngest daughter loves to sing Broadway songs. We encouraged all of these extracurricular “Play” activities but would not allow them to start until after “Work” had been completed. We also worked to ensure “Play” was educational. Our goal was to help them learn how to learn and make learning a practice.
● Finally, Exercise and Light - Good lighting is absolutely key. We made sure our children studied in well lit areas, the more sunlight the better. We also made sure exercise was true play time. They go outside and play soccer for hours, work with our farm animals, run, hike, dig in the dirt, whatever they like. Fresh air and sunlight is important for all of us.
With a solid routine, food to keep them focused, and regular check-ins, our children would finish school each day by Noon, usually no later than 2p. This gave them plenty of time to play, have fun, learn other skills, and grow. Good luck, God bless, and enjoy this time with your children!
Jeffry Parker is a follower of Christ, husband, father of four, cancer survivor, and subject matter expert in career readiness, leadership, and educational technology. He has spoken at national conventions and events about his passion for upskilling the global workforce. He and his wife have been married for over 25 years and live on a small farm with their children and farm animals.
