It is March. In a normal school year, teachers would be planning how to wrap up the year right about now. But this is not a normal school year.
Families feel that the school year went to waste. Some are already planning extensively academic summers for their children.
If I told you that there is still time to save this academic year and still have time for a summer break, would this be good news or bad news?
Parents, I see you! I see how tired and depleted you are from juggling a thousand and one things all year and handling all kinds of stress this year. If you choose to look the other way and pretend you never read this post, I totally understand. No judgment here.
You know what, if at any point you change your mind, you know where to find this post.
For parents who are still up for saving the year, read on.
Some good news for you:
1. There is PLENTY of excellent academic material out there ranging from worksheets to entire curricula. There are actually enough of them to even pick and choose what your child might be interested in.
2. Keep in mind that in a classroom setting, a teacher is bound by the speed of the average learner in that classroom. Independently, your child's learning pace will be different.
3. Simple math: The school year is typically about 9 months. If we consider breaks and vacations, then about 7 months long.
If we assume that no learning at all happened this school year and that you are starting from scratch AND that learning will happen at the same pace as it would in a classroom, then you can make up the entire school year by September. But this is a grim view.
The length of your summer break will depend on how quickly your children can move through school material and how far behind they are academically.
The secret sauce:
Plan it all out, and then set up an independent learning routine for your child. I've put "Independent learning" in the previous sentence intentionally. If a child can get their work done without assistance in a classroom, then they can most certainly get their work done without assistance at home. Goals and rewards are your friend.
Need help planning or setting up a routine, let me know. I would be happy to help you.
Happy learning!