North Texas parents tackle home schooling for students

DALLAS - Many parents turned into teachers Monday morning as students started online classes.

It’s uncharted territory for a lot of families, but there are resources and advice from those who homeschool full time.’

Not only are thousands of parents doing this for the first time, but many are also juggling working from home and some are even teaching kids at different grade levels. So it’s a steep learning curve for everyone involved.

Jennifer Land of Euless is a parent, and now teacher, as her 10-year-old daughter Mikayla navigates online classes for the first time. Parents like Land are working their day job simultaneously.

“I had a great plan of having a schedule,” she said. “We are going to do this at this time. Wake up at this time. That kind of all went out the window.”

Tim Lambert is the president of the Texas Homeschool Coalition. He says parents should relax and embrace the flexibility.

“You may have children that are like me and are morning people and get up at the crack of dawn, and so you may want to teach them and focus on something early in the morning,” he said. “You may have some junior high or high school kids what are not morning people, and so you might want to do stuff with them later in the afternoon.”

Lambert says parents shouldn’t hesitate to use online material to supplement assignments.  Don’t be afraid to mix students at different levels when it comes to some activities like reading stories.

 Have older students work independently while working directly with younger students. Set break and snack times and work in some outdoor exercise, if possible.

“This is going to be an opportunity for parents to connect with their kids at a deeper level,” Lambert said. “It’s going to be a very beneficial thing for relationships.”

For now, Land says it’s one day at a time and prioritizing what matters most.

“That’s kind of been the hardest part,” she said “Whether it’s we need to make sure we’ve got social studies and art and PE and cooking, and let’s throw in some Spanish. And let’s do this and that.  I just need to make sure that my kid is feeling safe and secure today.”

Coronavirus Homeschool Support  -- by Texas Homeschool Coalition https://www.facebook.com/groups/648725412626645/