If your children have made the switch to online learning and love it overall, you are most likely one thrilled parent! No shuttling back and forth to school and coordinating schedules everyday. And even if your children love online learning, there can also be challenges that come along with it. Whether you notice them right away or over time can vary, and of course vary on your children’s individual learning styles. But there are some challenges that can be seen with online learning, but also some tips and tricks to help solve them.
Lack of Focus
Probably the biggest challenge for kids when it comes to online learning is maintaining their focus. It is far too easy to get distracted while being at home, even if you have their schoolwork set up in a separate room. The couch and video games are only a few hundred feet away! But if your child struggles with staying on track, be sure to break up the day as much as possible. Having shorter length sessions of learning with a quick break in between can help them better focus on the material. If they have to struggle through an hour-long session of reading and writing, it may feel too long and thus lead to distraction. If your child still struggles even with the shorter length sessions, look into making the lessons more centered around key themes or images that can help pop out and keep their attention. Your child may be a more visual or auditory learner, or have a different learning style than what you are currently using.
Lack of Participation
Although a lot of online learning centers around your specific child’s learning style and active participation, it is a different learning environment than a traditional classroom. A child may feel a little unsure on how to get involved in the lessons and studying if they are new to online learning. They may be more used to a classroom with their friends and more group dynamics, where they are not solely responsible for the reading and studying alone. Making sure to keep all the lessons shorter can also help in these situations, as well as breaking up the day’s activities and subjects to offer more variance. You can make the homework more project based so they don’t feel like they are “stuck” behind a computer all day, or always reading or researching.
Homeschool Facts Can Help!
If your child is still struggling or you want to gain more insight into the world of online learning, check out homeschoolfacts.com! They offer a plethora of information, resources, and the tools necessary to help you teach your children to the best of everyone’s capabilities. Check it out today!
Katie Kyzivat