If you are a cyber school parent struggling to keep your student's attention where it needs to be throughout the school day, you are not alone! Keeping students focused is a challenge for many of us! Many PA Virtual Learning Coaches have experienced the same situation and have come up with tried and true strategies to help keep their child on task.
Here are some 10 ideas from experienced Learning Coaches:
1. Print a list of goals to accomplish each day. At first, include only the goals that the student really needs to focus on. Check each goal off the list as it is accomplished. Use incentives to help motivate the student, if necessary. Incentives can be fun activities like playing a board game or watching a movie in a homemade fort. Use incentives that will motivate your child!
2. If your child has an attention disorder that makes it more difficult for them to stay focused, provide them with fidget toys – spinners, flexible cable ties, bendable hair rollers, magnetic toys, etc. This can help them stay seated and focused for longer periods of time.
3. Use a timer to help your student stay focused on the task at hand.
4. Be sure to limit visual or auditory distractions in the student’s learning space.
5. Provide frequent breaks for your student to move around and get physical activity, even if it is just for a few minutes. The increased blood flow to the brain helps with maintaining focus and concentration.
6. Keep a consistent school routine so that students become accustomed to focusing during “school time.” Post the school schedule in a shared area of your home so that everyone is aware of when school takes place during the day.
7. Designate a specific area in your home for school. An area in the main part of the house is usually best so that you can stay involved with your students. Having school resources easily accessible is another way to avoid potential distractions. Check out this blog post for some tips on how to set up your child's learning space.
8. Make sure your student stays well-hydrated. Provide them with a water bottle so they will have a constant reminder to drink water throughout the day.
9. If possible, do work that is similar to your student’s work. If a student is reading, the Learning Coach and other children can also be reading at the same time. If a student is writing, the adult or other children can choose to do their writing activities at the same time. For younger students who may need assistance, it is often helpful for the Learning Coach to sit next to them while they work.
10. To help control the urge to check social media, some older students find it helpful to leave their phone in another room or give it to another family member to hold during school or class time.
We hope these ideas are helpful in making the rest of the school year successful for your family! If you have any tips you'd like to share, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
Want to learn more about our cyber school? You can request more information here.
