Is anyone else freaking out about virtual learning? I know I am! I love seeing all of the beautiful pictures of the learning environments that my friends on social media have set up, but to be honest, it’s intimidating – and I used to be an elementary school teacher! I’ve done my best at setting up my daughter’s learning environment – I got her a desk, organized her pens and pencils, and made sure she had all of the folders and materials she needed. So, I was all set, right? Wrong.
One afternoon, I was on a video call for work (in the dining room). My daughter comes down from her “perfectly” set up learning space and says she needs the living room to do PE.She suggests I put headphones on so I can hear my call and she can listen through her Chromebook speakers. Great idea (eye roll).
A few minutes later, my daughter is shushing me and telling me I’m being too loud and she can’t hear.
She’s running all over the place in the background of my video call and of course trying to ask me questions at the same time – “Mom! Do we have apples?” It was probably very entertaining to watch.
My plan had always been to move my computer upstairs to the desk next to my daughter’s. However, this experience with PE made me realize that we can’t both have our desks in the same room.
How will I be able to take calls or attend virtual meetings while she’s on zoom all day? It seems so obvious (duh!), but honestly, it didn’t hit me until that moment.
I was so focused on “getting everything just right” I hadn’t thought about the logistics until things were already underway.
So, I have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a better virtual learning environment plan for my home and my family.
As the parent of a child who learns differently (Dyslexia/ADHD), I know I’m not alone. But this isn’t just impacting students like my daughter.
It’s impacting all students – and to be honest all students do learn differently if you really think about it!
So, this all made me think about all the parents out there who are struggling with this and with organizing their child’s materials, prioritizing daily assignments, and making sure their child has the tools necessary to succeed.
It’s a struggle not only because we don’t have the time, but because our children always seem to listen better when someone other than their parent is giving them feedback or advice.
So, I thought, let’s figure out a way to help those parents by reducing the conflict and alleviating parents’ stress. Here are a couple of new services that are being offered by Bass Educational Services, LLC this fall:
Setting up your child’s virtual learning environment – receive support from our coaches that is personalized to you and your family. This package consists of 4 sessions – some with parents and child, and some with just the child. Coaches will work with the family to determine the best set up for their specific situation and provide tools and strategies to help the child stay on track with assignments and virtual learning.
Do you need someone to simply check-in with your child after school to make sure they’re on the right track and completing their homework? We have tutors who are available to meet with your child for 30 mins – 1 hour each day to check that homework has been done and if not, help your child complete their homework.
While not a new service, we are broadening our tutoring to include all subjects and all grade levels.
For these services, we are expanding our services to include all students (not just students who learn differently). However, because we specialize in working with students who learn differently, our tutors have been trained to use strategies that best meet all students’ needs both academically and socially.