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How to Help Your Child Socialize During a Pandemic

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We have three kids who are 16, 12, and 10.  The older two are quite social, and the younger one is introverted and prefers to be at home.  When the stay-at-home order began at the end of March, I wasn’t too worried.  I thought we’d be mostly home for a month or two and then cases would be low enough to resume most normal activities.  Boy, was I wrong!  As our time at home stretched on, all three of my kids started craving social interaction.  If yours do too, here’s how to help your child socialize during a pandemic.

How to Help Your Child Socialize During a Pandemic

Zoom Is Your Friend

Before the pandemic, I hadn’t even heard of Zoom.  Now, it’s a household name.

All three of my kids use Zoom to stay in touch with friends.  There are a variety of ways they have socialized with their friends over Zoom.

Cooking Lessons

My oldest has a friend who loves to cook Mexican food for her large family.  Over Zoom one day, she cooked while my son watched and asked her questions.  He wrote down the recipe and has created the meal himself.

Likewise, your child can cook at the same time their friend is.  Even more fun, your kids and their friends can have a Chopped session.  Each pulls out three unusual ingredients, and over Zoom, they cook a meal and decide who is the winner.

White Board Games

My younger two frequently use the whiteboard feature and play games over Zoom with their friends that way.   They’ve played hangman and tic tac toe.  They’ve even drawn each other pictures and talked about them.

Board Games

Younger kids might enjoy playing board games over Zoom.  Each child would need to have the board game in his or her house and move for the other player.

Watch Movies Together

Have one person the designated movie player.  All that person has to do is share screen and then tap the tab where she has the movie set up and all Zoom participants can watch the movie and chat while watching.

While it’s not quite the same as having your friends lounging on the couch with you watching the movie together, it is the next best thing considering our current times.

Meet in Person, Socially Distanced

Help Your Child Socialize During a Pandemic

Photo by Julian Schiemann on Unsplash

If you feel comfortable with doing this, another option is to have your older kids meet in person.  Have them wear a mask and socially distance.  Some kids do this and play a game like hackey sack where they don’t have to be really close to one another.  Other options would be skateboarding or throwing a frisbee.  Teens could also play a game of tennis or go on a socially distanced hike.  As long as they’re socially distanced, wearing a mask, and outdoors, they should be good for any outdoor meet ups.

Final Thoughts

While some people have gone back to more normal activities such as work and attending schools, other families have chosen to stay mostly at home to protect people in their family who may be high risk.  If you fall into the latter category, there are still ways to help your children socialize during the pandemic.

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Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

What You Need to Know to Homeschool Your Child in the Age of COVID

Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School

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Since March, our kids have been spending MUCH more time in front of the computer.  Some kids are taking synchronous learning via Zoom, which means they are in front of the computer for a full school day, five days a week.  For most people, this is way too much screen time.  If your child is complaining of eye issues, try these tips to improve eye fatigue.

Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School

Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School

My 10-year old is homeschooled, but she’s still on the computer much more than she used to be.  She has eight hours of therapy a week online, she’s taking some Outschool classes, and she’s had a bit more screen time than normal thanks to the pandemic.  After a few months of this, she started complaining about her eyes hurting.  Taking these steps, we’ve remedied some of the problem.

Buy Blue Light Filtering Glasses

Probably the best thing we did was buy blue light filtering glasses.  Anytime our daughter has to use the computer, she uses her glasses.  She finds such relief from eye fatigue using these, that she won’t even use the computer if she can’t find them.

Turn Down the Brightness on the Computer

The other thing she did was turn down the brightness on her computer almost all the way.  This helps reduce the amount of light she gets and also reduces eye squinting.

Limit Consecutive Computer Activities

She’s very firm now that she doesn’t want one computer activity after the other.  She repeatedly asks me to schedule her Zoom sessions with at least an hour or two separation so that her eyes have time to rest.  By doing this, along with using the blue light filtering glasses and turning down the brightness of the computer, she’s been able to resolve most of her eye fatigue.

Take Eye Breaks

Of course, we have the luxury of scheduling breaks for her computer activities.  Kids in synchronous online classes don’t get that choice.  If that’s the case for your child, teach them the rule of 20-20-20.  For every 20 minutes staring at the screen, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.  This gives your eyes the chance to refocus and helps prevent eye fatigue.

Limit Computer Usage

Finally, if you’re able, limit your child’s computer usage.  On the days our daughter uses the computer a lot for therapies and school, we limit her free time on the computer.  (She actually asked to do this.)  Rather than 30 minutes of free computer time, she has 15, or she foregoes it altogether.

See an Eye Doctor

Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School

Photo by Liam Welch on Unsplash

If you use all of these tips to improve eye fatigue and your child still has issues, consider seeing an eye doctor to make sure the discomfort is not caused by something more serious.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to the pandemic, our lives have changed in ways we couldn’t have imagined a year ago.  Problems creep up like eye fatigue that need remedies.  If your children’s vision is suffering, hopefully these tips to improve eye fatigue from online school will help reduce their discomfort.

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A Complete Guide to Discount School Supplies for Distance Learning

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

What You Need to Know to Homeschool Your Child in the Age of COVID

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

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When the pandemic struck, my oldest child was in a public high school.  His school shut down after spring break and offered all online classes.  Quite frankly, the whole experience was a disaster.  All of the teachers were new to online schooling, and the classes had to be put together quickly.  This learning environment was chaotic and confusing.  Plus, the governor told all schools that children’s grades couldn’t be any lower than the grades they were receiving in person, so kids like my son, who were already receiving good grades, lost motivation.  As the pandemic stretched into early summer, we made bold decisions about his education.  There are several reasons why the pandemic affected our school choice.

Why The Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

Our goal is to give our child the best education for the circumstances, which required a different way of thinking for us.

In Person School Wouldn’t Be the Same

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

Our son is a social kid, and we knew he’d struggle with social distancing in school and being with a smaller cohort of kids because the school was going to stagger which kids go to school on which days.

We Didn’t Feel the Environment Would Be Safe

Frankly, with all we’re learning about COVID-19, we just didn’t feel the environment at school would be safe no matter how many precautions are taken.  The virus thrives indoors with many people, and that’s the environment for schools.  I know many schools are taking precautions, but for us, that’s not enough.

The School’s Online Platform Wouldn’t Work for Us

Our son’s school did offer a completely online option, and at first, we were interested in pursuing this.  However, we learned that teachers will be in class teaching their classes with the students in person, and the online students will watch the class and try to participate that way.

I can’t imagine sitting through an entire school day online, every day.  That means our son would be sitting in front of the computer for roughly 35 to 40 hours a week.  Then, he’d get off the computer and do his homework.  Quite frankly, doing this sounds exhausting.

What We Ultimately Chose

Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice

We ultimately decided to enroll our son in a completely online school.  The teachers at this school only teach online, so they’re very familiar with this type of educational delivery.  Just to make sure this option is right for him, we enrolled him in summer school.

The teachers are attentive, calling him to ask if he has questions and encouraging students to text them if they have issues.  Students do most of the work independently, but they are required to go to one class a week per class.  (The teacher only offers one class per week.)

Using this system, our child can do his work in flexible, safe, comfortable environment.  He still engages with the teacher and other students during the online class, but he’s not required to sit at a computer for hours every day.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are several reasons why the pandemic affected our school choice.  We’re still hopeful that the pandemic will no longer impact the 2021-2022 school year and that our son can go back to his public school then.  But for now, we think we’ve made the best decision giving the unique circumstances we are all facing this upcoming academic year.

The Pros and Cons of Online Schooling

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As the pandemic continues to rage and school guidelines for the fall emerge, many parents are looking at alternatives.  While some parents are considering homeschooling, others are looking at online schooling.  After all, online schooling takes some of the burden of education off the parents’ shoulders.  However, before you make the leap, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of online schooling.

The Pros and Cons of Online Schooling

The Pros of Online Schooling

Parents’ Time Is Freed Up

If you’re children are in middle school or above, they will require little attention from you during school hours.  They should be able to do their work independently.  This is likely to be a huge benefit to parents who are also working from home during the pandemic.

The Credits Can Transfer

If you’re looking at online schooling just for a year or two while there is not a treatment or a vaccine, then you’ll want to be sure that your child can seamlessly rejoin brick and mortar school later.  If you choose an accredited online school, your child will easily be able to transfer classes to a physical school later.

Students Have a More Flexible Schedule

When students learn online, they have a much more flexible schedule.  For instance, teens are notorious for wanting to stay up late and get up late.  If they attend online school, they can do exactly that with no serious repercussions.  Or, if a student wants to get a part-time job, he could work any time of day and do school work during unconventional times.  He’s not limited to getting his education between the hours of 8 and 3 as he would be if he attended a traditional school.

The Cons of Online Schooling

When considering the pros and cons of online schooling, you must give careful consideration to the cons, as they may ruin your online experience.

Children’s Motivation Is Important

How motivated is your child to do work?  Kids who are highly motivated will likely do well in online school.  Children who need peer pressure to get work done may struggle with online schooling.  Think carefully about your child’s level of motivation before enrolling her in an online school.

Some Platforms Can Be Difficult to Navigate

Not all online schools are the same.  Some platforms are boring and difficult to navigate, which can be frustrating, especially for young learners.  Our oldest child tried online school a few years ago and hated the experience, largely because of the platform.

After two years in a brick and mortar school, we decided again to put him in an online school due to the pandemic.  We chose carefully.  The online school he’s currently enrolled in has an engaging, intuitive platform, and he’s enjoying his experience much more.

Final Thoughts

As you weigh your child’s education options as you consider next school year, carefully weigh the pros and cons of online schooling.  For the right child, online school can offer some incredible freedoms.  Or, online school can be a miserable experience.  The choice largely depends on your child and the school you choose.