Courtesy of Kathryn Roylance
Kathryn Roylance with her children
At the end of July, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page requested that all St. Louis County school districts start their 2020–21 school years "as virtual as possible." Now many parents will have to aid their children in learning from home on top of working from home or working in person.
Local parent Kathryn Roylance feels for St. Louisans who will start the school year helping their kids learn from home—she's homeschooled her four children for nearly 20 years.
"I was able to grow into the homeschooling journey," she says, "They're just thrown into this... But I'd encourage others to see this as an opportunity to grow as a family and as a parent."
Here, Roylance, who uses Classical Conversations to guide her curriculum, offers some tips for parents about to navigate virtual learning.
Structure your household to be a learning environment through your attitude. "Look at yourself as a lead learner," Roylance says. This term means you should see yourself as someone who is learning with them. Although you are the authority figure, that doesn't necessarily mean you have all of the answers—but you do know how to look for them. "Be humble. Be honest with your children and have a good attitude about it." Roylance says that sometimes parents can inflict the subjects or areas they don't like onto their children. For Roylance, it was math and she often hesitated diving into math lessons with them. But she's since realized she "can learn it, too," she says. "I can learn alongside my children and grow with my children rather than feeling like I have to have all of the answers at my fingertips." Instead, she models the process of learning.
For parents working from home: Have set activities for when you need to step away. Roylance suggests that parents have a set goal and a plan for what their children need to achieve that day and that year. For parents helping kids virtually learn, this means you must pay attention to what activity or lesson your child is currently working on and have a lesson or activity you know they can handle on their own if you need to step away for an hour-long Zoom call or need time to finish a project. For parents with kids not yet in school, this can be more of a challenge. Consider finding an activity that requires minimal assistance from you so they can do it nearby. Obviously easier said than done, but Roylance believes having these go-tos can help you navigate a particularly stressful day. "If you know that your child really needs to master times tables, then when you are on a business call or something, have flashcards or a multiplication phone app as your go-to to say, 'Go practice.'" Having set resources in place will give you something to lean on when the unexpected happens.
Sharing experiences can form lifetime bonds. Roylance likens the connection she has with her children to a book club. Everyone has read the book and is eager to discuss their takeaways. If you're able to learn alongside your child or help them with a lesson they're learning virtually, you might start to notice more conversations come naturally. "My daughter is off to college and now we often reflect on the things we've learned together, the authors we've read together, or the experiences we have together," Roylance says. "We have common ground."
Put the responsibility on older kids by creating a daily checklist. If your children are at the age they can be independent learners, have them use their schoolwork and teacher's deadlines to create a checklist for each day. This allows you to step away or go to work and later check-in to make sure they're on task. Many parents have stated they're worried their children will fall behind if they're learning remotely. Roylance says to have conversations with teachers so you, too, know what goals your child needs to meet by the end of the year.
Remember that your children are watching you—and learning whether you realize it or not. "They see what we do when we have disappointments, when we have needs, when we have change, when there are so many uncertainties around us," Roylance says. "We need to have a good attitude about it and model how we should respond to these uncertain times."
