The importance of a thoughtful study environment and routine
Another good week of learning. I hope you had a chance to see Alex Yannacone’s presentation on resilience. She gave us many good reminders and strategies to practice both for ourselves and for our children. I believe that she is right on the mark when she reminds us how often our children look to us to see how to manage a situation. In this sense, our resilience and use of strategies to manage change and anxiety supports their ability to do the same. If you would like to view her talk, click here.
Because the novelty of Zoom school has for the most part worn off and is now a routine, we are noticing that some students are taking a more “relaxed” approach, which shows up on screen by students wearing PJs at 11:30 a.m., or attending class from bed, or sprawled on a couch. While this is not necessarily detrimental to learning, the importance of maintaining a thoughtful study environment and routine is worth considering. For most kids, having a transition between waking up and school will be helpful in managing the stay-at-home order. This is also true for having a transition from the school day to family and homework time. How you choose to establish this may vary, but here are a few suggestions:
- Dress for school. You don’t have to wear a tie like I do, but the general idea is to intentionally prepare for the seriousness of the lessons/day ahead.
- Attend classes from a space designed for study—free of distractions, comfortable, but NOT too comfortable. Kids can certainly attend classes from different locations for variety, but each should be a work space which encourages attention and thoughtful effort.
- Take advantage of the time between classes to move around and get away from the screen. We are hearing that some students are immediately starting homework and then not getting any break in advance of the start of the next class. While I admire the efficiency, I am not confident that this is as healthy for the child or encourages full attention to the subsequent class.
- Transition from school to the rest of the day. This may be an activity, a change of attire, exercise, reading, or family time.
How this looks will be different for each child and family, but the main point is to maintain a routine that is conducive to both good health and good learning.
As always, if I can be helpful in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best,
Bill
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