Setting Up a Successful School Year During COVID

Tips to Help Your Kids Prepare, Develop, and Socialize During the Pandemic School Year

Back-to-school season looks a little different this year. In 2019, you were stockpiling highlighters and notebooks and planning out after school activities. In 2020, you’re stockpiling face masks and hand sanitizer and reading up on your school’s plan for the coming year, whether it’s in-person, hybrid, or remote teaching.

The future is uncertain, but you can still prepare, even in the face of these strange times. We’ve asked parents whose kids have already started school this fall to share what’s helped them kick off the school year on the right foot. Here are their top tips for success.

1. Help kids adapt to a new style of in-person education.

Normalize the idea of wearing masks by letting them pick out ones they like — featuring their favorite movie or TV show characters, fun patterns, and so on.  Make sure they’re prepared for how different school will be this year and ask questions about how they’re feeling. Show acceptance and understanding. Kids are more adaptable than you think!

2. Create a small pod.

Pods can provide a safe, small group environment for kids to learn, play and develop social-emotional skills. Given that most schools have reduced in-person teaching and limited recess time for play, kids need more peer-to-peer socialization time outside of school than before. To reduce exposure and limit risk, consider forming a pod with other kids already in your kid’s class or cohort. Here are some tips on how to form your own pod.

3. Supplement virtual learning with tutoring.

Remote learning can be tough, especially for younger kids. Most school teachers are not trained to teach virtually, and kids find it hard to engage with teachers in a large group video call. To ensure your kids are receiving the best education possible this year, try supplementing remote learning with in-person or virtual tutoring.  To make these sessions more fun for your kids, try experimenting with different teaching styles. For example, instead of a writing tutor, book a drama teacher who will help your kids learn writing by creating their own stories.

4. Share responsibilities.

Early in the school year, divvy up household chores and other tasks so it’s clear who’s supposed to be doing what, including partners and children. If you get a jump start on this, everyone will still be in a good mood and focused on what they need to do.

To keep things organized, write out the list with your partner and/or school-aged kids, and then allocate the tasks. Post the list somewhere visible, like the refrigerator. Here are some conversation thought starters:

• Who is best able to help a specific child with homework by topic? Maybe one parent is stronger in math while the other prefers reading and writing assignments.

• Who is on task for school drop-offs and pick-ups? Suggest having this conversation on a weekly basis as everyone’s schedules are in flux these days.

• Who is making school lunch? Get the kids involved! They can fill their water bottles and pick out their snacks!

5. Plan to go all virtual.

If your kids are in an in-person or hybrid learning environment, a single suspected case could cause the class or school to shut down for 14 days or longer. Remote-only learning is inevitable for most at some point this year (most parents already had experiences with this in the spring). Every family is different, so think about what changes could have made it better for your family.  For example, you might help your kids get more accustomed to Zoom learning, set up a pod, and discuss early (now) under what circumstances your pod should and shouldn’t meet.

This year is an unusual one, but much of the tried-and-true back-to-school wisdom from before the pandemic holds up, too. In addition to these ideas, remember to discuss expectations and concerns about returning to school, create color-coded schedules for children and other members of the household, and ensure you have a quiet space to set aside for studying and homework.

Most of all, keep in mind that you’re not alone. Need some help or any extra set of hands? Apiari can match you to a vetted provider, whether you need childcare, enrichment, or learning pods. Also, check out our additional resources to help with homeschooling schedules and guest house rules.