Gov. Chris Sununu announced on Friday that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all public schools in New Hampshire will be closed, and will transition to remote learning through April 3. Following that, the situation will be reassessed.
I have no doubt that the teachers will do the best possible job with today’s technology. We can be glad that we are far advanced over the past years of only the telephone and mail service. This will be an important new role for parents of school age children, except for those who have already been home-schooling.
As a retired second-grade teacher, I hope some of my suggestions will be helpful and important for parents.
1) Set up a schedule, and oversee it, especially for younger children.
2) Answer questions when you can, and write down any that the teacher needs to answer.
3) Have lots of patience. Do not show stress.
4) When possible, interact with humor.
5) Have breaks, and remember outdoor recess. In New Hampshire we don’t let any weather stop us.
6) And most important: Don’t compare your children. Children learn at different rates, and they have different talents.
7) Don’t accentuate things done wrong, just correct them. Give praise whenever possible.
8) Read with your young children, and let your older children see you reading a book when they are reading one.
9) And remember to have fun with your children: Sing, dance, create plays, do art projects, play board games or cards, and communicate with grandparents and friends on the computer.
You’ll be very busy and you’ll go to bed tired – but happy.
(Joan Lamson lives in New London.)