As parents across the city add teaching to an already long list of child care responsibilities, the key to success is to remain organized and level-headed, according to education experts.
Now that spring break is canceled in city schools and the system moves away from the Zoom platform, parents will be spending even more time as volunteer assistant teachers while the experiment of remote learning continues.
There are simple practices all families can follow to create an environment conducive to learning. Reyna Charles, director of family support at the Children's Trust highlights three key concepts: Routine, regulation and reassurance.
"Routines are really important," she said. "What times where kids are usually getting up and what time did they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is there a bedtime to keep to a regular routine?"
Consistency is the foundation to success in learning from home, according to Rebecca Rodricks, a clinical supervisor at the special needs preschool These Our Treasures in the Bronx.
She says the vast amount of supplemental educational material available online can be overwhelming for some parents at best. At worst, it's a frustrating and stressful reminder that education is more than content for students to sift through, leaving some parents worried about their child's learning.
"I don't think parents need a whole bunch of ideas to be thrown at them," Rodricks said.
Even with activity suggestions for youngsters, there's no guarantee learning will stick without structure. Some parents may find success in home education, while others feel defeated, losing their child's interest despite remote aid from teachers.
Regular activity is key. Rodricks says treat the day like a day at school. Consistency means children are more likely to thrive learning from home.
"These people have established a routine well in advance of the activity, and that's what happens in schools," she said.
Some kids may be struggling in remote learning because they're missing a main benefit of ordinary school – the school day schedule. Routine is what helps facilitate learning which explains the structured nature of a classroom.
"If you ask any teacher with a lot of experience, they'll tell you the entire September is all about establishing routines," she said.
The move to remote learning hit a reset button on the school year.
"This is September. All the kids are new to school. All the teachers in the school, the parents and the administrators are new to school," she said.
Disruption in their routine is the main issue students face in struggling to maintain focus at home.
"There are some students who are trying to put on their backpack every day and they don't understand their routines have been disrupted," she said.
There are simple ways to develop routines, according to Charles. In addition to organizing the day like school, begin to lay a framework around mealtimes and bedtime. Within that framework, it's OK to keep things fluid.
Charles has a 13-year-old daughter herself and finds it's best to allow her teenager some autonomy within her schedule.
"This is homework time, this is when you're doing electronics and this is when you can have outdoor time, and we loosely stick to it," she said.
While older students can work with their parents in getting organized, Rodricks says parents of younger children should allow for some trial and error. The most important thing is to get on the path to organization.
"Lower your expectations for skills until the routine is established, and be patient about establishing routines," she said.
Eventually, it becomes easier to lay out time that's more structured versus time where kids are free to choose what they want to do.
Allowing for kid's choice is part of Lisa Raymond-Tolan's practice as an occupational therapist at Community Roots Charter School in Brooklyn. She usually starts her now remote sessions with a warmup promising to end with an activity chosen by students, which motivates them with sensory input that's also fun.
She says young people naturally yearn for organized sessions and activity.
"Kids, by and large, thrive on structure and routine, and having expectations be really predictable," she said. "A lot of kids, especially kids on the spectrum, really crave and require structure in their day to be successful," she said.
Her advice is to be transparent.
"Make those expectations super clear. Have a visual schedule, every classroom has a visual schedule, every kid knows that system," she said.
Charles agrees, and says there are many ways to create an organized visual format for what the day will look like. Parents should find what works best for them and their families, like a color-coded schedule or a daily family activity.
Once expectations are made clear and things are laid out visually, Raymond-Tolan says it's OK to incorporate flexibility into the schedule.
"You don't have to be super rigid about it. It's not like, 'It's 10:35, you must do yoga,'" she said. "It doesn't have to be super strict, but it should exist."
As an occupational therapist, Raymond-Tolan works on movement with young folks, but she says the benefits to physical activity don't go away when we grow up. In fact, it helps being directly engaged.
"It's a thing that you can do together as a family because we all need more exercise in this new environment," she said, "We all should move our bodies. It's something I'm doing a lot."
Mindfulness is another practice parents can factor into family life. While always helpful it's especially important during stressful times like these.
Fitting in with the idea of a loose schedule and direct engagement, Raymond-Tolan says it's important to set aside time for a brain break so everyone in the house can recharge.
"You can all find a minute or two to take some deep breaths and manage your own stress and anxiety. Because if you're able to self-regulate, your kids are going to co-regulate along with you," she said.
Charles agrees that regulation is an important element.
"Regulation really starts with us," she said. "Our children take cues from us. So, if we can take the time to de-stress and have that self-care, then that's the key that our kids are going to take."
Charles says it's crucial for parents to take time for themselves, take breaks and spend time doing something they enjoy. Sometimes, the best thing for young children is to spend some time separate from them, so they can later return to the planned schedule fresh and ready to go.
"It's more important now than ever to decrease your stress, to have some time as a parent during the day that you're by yourself. Even if it's 15 minutes off the news, where your kids are safe and you're able to take some time to read a book or take a walk outside," she said.
Another important way to de-stress, according to Charles, is to maintain a support network of family, friends and other parents who may be going through similar challenges. She says the best thing to do when feeling overwhelmed is to reach out to someone and talk it through with them.
"They need to be a part of some independent support groups where they're sharing what's going on," she said.
Parents act as a similar lifeline to their kids as well. During a chaotic time when even adults can feel confused and overwhelmed, it goes double for young people who are still learning how the world works. This leads to Charles' final key concept.
"Reassurances, especially for younger kids, is letting kids know it's going to be OK. We're the adults. We're here to take care of you. We're here to keep you safe," she said.
Young people are having just as difficult a time transitioning to this new normal as their parents. The stress they feel can manifest in their behavior, mood and ability to learn. Parents need to have conversations with their kids to help them understand this situation. It's also important to guide them in what they may be hearing on the internet or on television.
"Help them navigate through because they're hearing information from the media. Some of it is very reliable from news outlets and some of it is information that they're getting on social media," she said.
On the positive side, this provides parents with a unique educational opportunity for their kids. There's no better time to introduce young folks to following current events and analyzing what they hear on the news. Some young folks, especially those reaching adolescence, want to stay informed.
"Even before all this happened, I was blown away by conversations that my daughter and her friends had," she said.
In conversations with her teenager, Charles realized just how informed young people can be in this age of information. But as young people take in information, especially the grim reality they may be hearing about, parents can help reassure them that they are supported. It's easy for young folks to get overwhelmed, just like it is for their parents. But talking it through helps develop their understanding and decreases stress in the long run.
"Here's what's going on in the world. You can open up that conversation," she said.
Charles encourages parents to be forgiving to themselves and their families as this challenging time continues. She tells parents to look to what they can control, focusing on fundamental care.
“Every day is going to be different, and some days are going to be harder than others," she said. "We're all doing our best, and if your kids are safe, and if you yourself are safe and healthy, and everybody's good by the end of the day, then that's enough."
"Parenting is really tough in the best of circumstances, and these are definitely times that are more difficult, so celebrate those wins every day," she added.