As the online school year draws nearer, it's time for parents and students alike to get organized, make plans, and prepare to make learning as effective as possible. Here are two handy checklists that can keep you moving in the right direction.
Checklist for Parents
If you have a kid or teen headed to online school this year, it's important to know what you'll be responsible for and how you can help them achieve success. This checklist will get you started:
#1: Enroll
Enrolling in online school is easy and stress-free, but you do need to finish paperwork and receive approval before your student can attend classes. Just make sure you have everything you need, such as immunization records and proof of residency.
After that, you'll need to make sure your student is enrolled in all the right classes. A registrar or advisor should be able to help you with this step.
#2: Talk To Teachers
You can set up quick calls or email exchanges with your kids' teachers. This is a great way to stay connected with the curriculum in your student's online school and to go over any needs, challenges, or expectations for the coming year.
#3: Plan Schedules
As your student gets older, you'll have less and less responsibility for managing their schedules. However, you can still help older kids use their time wisely. Work with your student to choose extracurricular activities at times that work best for them. You can also show them how to use planners, schedules, and your favorite calendar apps to help keep track of due dates and activities.
#4: Get School Supplies
Some online school supplies, like a loaner laptop, will be provided to you. Others will need to be purchased before the school year begins. That means it's time to break out your shopping list and grab:
- Pencils.
- Pens.
- Notebooks.
- Binders.
- Highlighters.
- Blank flash cards.
- Calculators.
#5: Organize Your Space
It's important to create a focused, organized school space where kids can do online school work. This is especially helpful if you work from home, too--because this will limit distractions for everyone. Remember to keep the whole household's needs in mind and structure the space to be comfortable and plenty separate from toys, gaming systems, and younger siblings.
Checklist for Students
As an online school student, you're responsible for plenty of things at the beginning of the year. Use this checklist to stay on track:
#1: Build Better Habits
Do you stay up late at night? Do you spend hours at a time on social media? Maybe you eat at irregular hours or sometimes don't eat at all. Whatever habits you've gotten into over the summer, it's time to shake off the dust and get back into a school schedule--which means sleeping, waking up, having meals, and using social media at the proper times.
#2: Create Your Own Schedule
Parents and teachers can help you learn about time management, but in online school, it's your job to make sure certain things happen when they need to. Sit down with a planner or even just a notebook and work out all your responsibilities--from class meetings and big assignments to sports practice or social events. You can add household chores to this schedule, too.
#3: Ask Questions
If you have questions about a class, a task, or even the online school experience overall, this is the perfect time to ask. Feel free to reach out to your teachers--and when classes start, you may have access to discussion boards where you can ask other students for pointers, too.
#4: Organize Your Tech
Technology is part of the deal when it comes to online school, but that puts you right in the path of huge distractions. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to organize your tech so you can stay focused. For example, you might leave your phone in a different room, only use your school laptop for work, block certain sites so you're not tempted to check social media, and have family members help by checking in to see if you're on task.
Conclusion
Another great year of online school is right around the corner. Parents and kids can work together to make learning fun and stress-free--and all it takes is a little preparation beforehand.
Want to learn more about online school and what to expect? Contact us today for all the help you need!
