Thank you to eBay and ShopStyle for sponsoring this post.
As a mom, my world was completely upended in early spring. Not only were my kids home full-time, but I was (for the foreseeable future) to be their teacher.
CUE THE PANIC!
What I quickly realized in those early days of spring was that it wasn’t just me experiencing disruption and charting unknown territory. For my kids, this meant lack of contact with their peers, frustration as they tried to adapt to online learning, and learning to focus when at home surrounded by their favorite things and distractions.
We had to adapt and that meant coming up with ways to nurture online learning in our home, stick to schedules, and make decisions as parents/teachers/students that created the best environment for our new norm.
And as much of the world moves online amid the social-distancing measures put in place to protect students and teachers, these early measures are saving our sanity this school year. So we partnered with eBay to bring you the top 5 things we are doing at home to master distance-learning this school year!
SHOP MANUFACTURER-REFURBISHED COMPUTERS FOR AT-HOME LEARNING
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1. Dedicate A Space in Your home for learning
With this first tip, you’re definitely going to want to take your child’s age into consideration. Younger kids want to be where the action is, and they need to be supervised. But for your older kids, those with multiple courses and approaching high school, a dedicated space, free from younger siblings and distractions will help them focus and be more successful throughout the school year!
This could be repurposing a small room in your home, placing a small desk in their room, or partitioning off a corner in a shared space. And make it their own! Get their opinion and include them in creating the space. And headphones aren’t a bad idea!
2. Keep in constant contact with teachers and don’t be afraid to reach out
Many educators who have never been trained on remote teaching — or even, in some cases, on how to use platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom — are now grappling with the same learning curve we at home are. And it provides such a great opportunity for you both to learn from each other. Teachers want to see our children succeed. I’ve seen the work they’ve put into creating their curriculum. Give them grace and approach them with kindness and understanding. We truly are “all in this together” and that generosity in judgment will help both your child and their teacher in this new environment.
This can be in the form of constructive feedback – what’s working and what’s not. Personal concerns for your child. And encouraging them as you see positive interactions and growth with learning in your child.
3. Get your kids the tools they need to be successful
Like many school districts, ours attempted to provide as many computers as possible but it was a bit of a disaster for us! We ended up with 1 computer for 4 kids and there is no way my older girls are going to be able to accomplish all of their studies and courses without dedicated machines. But because of the course of this year, expenses have added up and the last thing I wanted to do was drop thousands of dollars on computers.
I knew I didn’t want to buy brand new so I hopped online and checked out eBay‘s selection of best-selling refurbished laptops and we totally hit the jackpot. Not only is their selection of Certified Refurbished laptops the largest I’ve seen, but they also offer discounts of up to 50%! A few more reasons to shop eBay and refurbished laptops:
- They carry top brands like Acer, Lenovo, Dell
- Items are tested; verified and come directly from Manufacturers
- Their 90-day warranty gives peace of ming that CR products will work and last like-new
- They have a truly hassle-free money-back guarantee! If your product is not as expected, return it and they cover the cost!
As for us, I snagged Emery and Anisten this Microsoft Surface Laptop and saved 33% off the price. When I shopped around, this was the BEST price from the 3-4 places I checked. It came incredibly fast and there was no difference between this computer and other brand new models I’ve purchased in the past!
And, the majority of items on eBay offer free shipping! It was a total win all around and the girls are thrilled to have a dedicated computer to help them be successful!
Here are a few units I rounded up for you! Great brands at really fantastic prices:
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4. Set A Schedule And Stick With it
This isn’t dinner. Your kids shouldn’t’ have to sit at the table until they finish their schoolwork. It’s difficult to muster up the energy to get work done when there is no end in sight! Set a schedule and keep it short. We did school from 9am to 12pm every morning and would break for lunch and some outdoor time. if your kids play an instrument or have additional focused studies, an hour after lunch is the perfect time to schedule these things in.
Work with your child’s teacher to make sure you’re giving the proper amount of time for their studies and allowing for any scheduled video calls/virtual classroom sessions.
5. Be flexible
Children are dealing with the emotional fallout of upended routines, canceled activities, and diminished social lives, while we as parents are trying to figure out how to adapt our homes and schedules to make room for online learning. If I learned anything from the spring, it’s that this time is a gift. We can redefine what learning looks like in our home and tailor this experience to how our children learn best. That means taking a break when it’s needed, exploring new learning opportunities, and playing hooky when you want to escape and go on an adventure.
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I want to thank eBay for sponsoring this post and I hope all of you the best at-home learning experience!
