By: Zora Zaric – Renaissance Australia Coach

With uncertain times ahead, potential school closures and periods of isolation, now more than ever it is important to equip our students and children with the right tools to learn from home.

It’s also crucial to ensure they are able to maintain good physical, emotional, social and mental wellbeing. Below we’ve outlined some strategies and suggestions to help manage the potential transition from school to home!

• Dedicated Learning Space – where possible, try to ensure students have a space they can work in. Access to a computer, laptop or tablet would be beneficial with internet connection so they’re able to access learning materials. It’s important to establish this division between workspace and home space so they know when to switch on, but just as importantly, when they can switch off too!
• Daily Schedule – your school may be organising loose timetables or schedules for learning; this is something you can seek to do at home as well or for your students. Think about creating blocks throughout the day, perhaps one for each subject area and ensure there is ample time for breaks. Try to keep students in the routine of school life as much as possible – wake up, get ready, have breakfast and get set for the day!
• Online Learning – there are a multitude of tools to ensure your students can still engage with meaningful content from home. If your school subscribes to myON, ensure all students know how to access the site and have their usernames and passwords. If you’d like to assign set texts and activities for students to work on, a myON Project is the easiest way to do so. Follow the link for a step by step guide. 
  
• Offline Learning – it’s just as important to ensure there is a balance between on screen and off-screen time! Consider a range of activities that will promote creativity or mindfulness during this period too. Puzzle worksheets, colouring in, creative art, jigsaws and the easiest and maybe most important of all, reading books! If you need to book suggestions, head over to ARBookFinder to search for age appropriate, levelled books using age and Reading Range levels to inform purchases and borrowing from the local library – it’s the one place that hasn’t run out of stock!
• Socialising with Others – isolation can be a tricky time and young people can tend to retreat, disappearing onto gaming consoles and mobiles! They still need time to socialise and keep regular interactions so sometimes it’s better to schedule this when you can. Consider programs that allow for student collaboration, set up projects with a peer review function and get them reading the same books so they can discuss points where possible.
• Get Moving – whilst it’s paramount that our students keep learning, we need to remember that they need to get out and about as well – even if it’s just the backyard! Allow time for outdoor play where possible, indoor stretches and activities can help too.

ARBookFinder

This is new territory for many of us, a completely unprecedented scenario but it’s important that we stay positive, informed and safe! We’re here to help!

Please reach out to the Renaissance team if you’d like to discuss any of these strategies or your school needs. If you need to expand subscriptions or would like some information about any of the programs we’ve mentioned here, please reach out to us. Our Customer Service team can take LiveChat queries through your Renaissance site or via email at [email protected] and our Professional Development Team are still available for PD sessions. Our team of Coaches can be contacted at [email protected].

We’re here if you need us so stay safe and keep washing those hands and reading those books!

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