At precisely 8:25am every morning from Monday to Friday, our apartment turns into a mini school. Boy #1 takes his position at the desktop computer that has specifically been purchased for online classes, Boy #2 logs in to his classroom via a laptop while Boy #3 and #4 argue over whose week it is to use Papa's decade old iMac to study as opposed to Mumma's relatively newer notepad.
Welcome to #TheNewNormal - as we redefine classrooms due to the paradigm shift that the education sector has seen across the globe. No longer hopping to schools happily and sweltering it out in the morning assemblies, children are now e-meeting their friends and teachers through a screen.
As parents, it is our biggest responsibility, this moment, to help our kids navigate this brand new world that they have been thrust into and adjust to the evolving changes.
I've been vocal about the importance of giving kids above the age of 6 years their #RightToLearn. As a parent, I have welcomed the schedule the online school has brought into my kids' lives.
Here's what we're doing at home to make the process smoother for our kids:
- Ensuring that kids are up on time and finish their morning routine well before it's time for class to start, including breakfast.
- Setting up temporary individual study-desks to replicate their desks in school.
- Ensuring books & stationery that will be needed are ready a night prior and all devices are charged to capacity.
- Invested in good quality earphones for the boys, so that they can focus better (and also we don't have to hear what all the teachers are saying!)
- Updated the broadband internet package and increased the bandwidth for a higher speed to ensure seamless streaming on all devices simultaneously.
- As far as possible, avoiding too much movement in the areas in the house where the desks are set up to avoid disturbance to the classes.
Of course, I understand that there can be no one size fits all solution for this situation that is here to stay for a while, whether we like it or not. The sooner we accept it & make the necessary changes in our routine to get around it, the better it will be for all of us parents - and of course our kids too!
Author Bio:
Namrata Bhagtani-Sadhwani - City editor of Momspresso, lifestyle and parenting influencer!
#ACTivateLearning with ACT, is a unique knowledge-sharing initiative with insightful tidbits from parents, teachers and child-care experts.
Watch out this space for more: www.actcorp.in/activate-learning/blogs
