In a matter of moments, your life as kids and students went from predictable to chaos. One moment you were going to school everyday, seeing your friends and teachers, and learning new material, and now suddenly you are stuck at home, unsure of what the day will look like, not playing with anyone, and engaged in online and remote learning with your parents.
School was a refuge, a safe place, a place of learning filled with friends and constant engagement. Home is supposed to be the place where you can argue with your siblings, watch TV, eat dinner with your family, and play video games.
Related content: 6 ways to bring calm to distance learning in a pandemic
Here are some tips you can use in the midst of chaos and the adjustment to remote learning to help you find peace. After all, every storm eventually runs out of rain.
1. Just breathe. This time is very stressful. Your body tenses up, your mind is easily distracted, and you never get a change of scenery. All of this can lead to anger, fear, shutting down, crying, and overall stress. In those moments, you just need to remember one thing…just breathe. Remember all those brain breaks your teacher would have you do when you just practiced breathing? Try doing them yourself or teach them to your parents, siblings, or stuffed animals. A simple one is blowing out the candles. Imagine a candle. Take a deep breathe in and then try to blow out your candle.
2. Take care of you. As a kid, we don’t always think this is important. Isn’t this what our parents are for? Take this time to try new, healthy foods, practice a different exercise or sport, and get some quality sleep. The Empowering Kids website is a great place to start learning some new ways to better yourself. The Grindin’ Fitness App can be used as a quick little brain break to get your body moving or to settle you down. All of these things are important to help you be the best person you can be.
3. Create a learning space. Who doesn’t love curling up on the couch with a good book? However, there’s a reason you don’t have a couch as your seat at school. When you are learning, you need to set the space up to work for you. Make sure you are sitting (not laying down), you have a hard surface to write on, you have all materials near you, and the area has minimal distractions. I know remote learning can be challenging even in the best circumstances–just make do with what you have.
4. Reach out–we are here to help. Not being able to immediately talk to your teacher when you have a question can be very frustrating. However, not having your friends to play with or talk to can be overwhelming. Your parents and your teachers are here for you. All you need to do is let us know. If you don’t understand your work, just let your parents or teacher know and they will be more than happy to help you. Here’s a little secret from your teachers: we miss you, too. We wish we could see you, too. We want to talk with you.
5. Give your parents a break. It’s very hard to go from parent to teacher in an instant. You have to give your parents a break. They are just as frustrated, scared, nervous, worried, and unsure as you are. They didn’t go to school to be your teacher; however, that is what they have become. So, if you are getting upset with each other, take a break, go for a walk, or play a game. Do something that reconnects you and your parents to a time before they became your teachers.
6. Don’t forget to play. You have a full-time job! No, it’s not school or chores. It’s play! All children should be playing. Help your parents understand that part of your day needs to be play time. This could be a board game, a video game, a puzzle, outside time, or any other way you can play. If play isn’t part of your daily schedule, change that today and go out and play.
7. Give yourself grace. This is one area children struggle to manage. Plain and simple: this is hard. This isn’t fair. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. So when you are getting frustrated, when you feel like you aren’t learning or when you just want to give up, give yourself grace. Understand that this is a big change. Just like any change, you will have ups and downs. There will be failures and successes. Don’t give up. Don’t forget, every storm eventually runs out of rain.
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