Experts agree that just because children are in school for eight hours a day does not mean that they need eight hours of instruction at home.
Each child has his or her own learning style and personality that parents must consider when working with them. When there is a mismatch between parents’ expectations and their child’s performance, it can cause frustration for both.
To avoid this research suggests a simple rule for figuring out how long children can stay focused:
- Multiply the child's age by 2 and 5 minutes. So, if a child is 4 years old, he or she will be able to focus for 8 to 20 minutes, maximum.
Create a home study plan based on your child's attention span:
- Elementary age students can tolerate from 1-2 total hours of instruction per day.
- Middle school age student can tolerate between 2-3 total hours of instruction per day.
- High schoolers can tolerate between 3-4 total hours of instruction per day.
When implementing this new schedule, remember that your child’s teacher has learning objectives that involve knowledge, attitudes, and skills. So, your children are not just learning “facts” at school. This should help you to feel more comfortable when you decide to spend an afternoon baking cookies rather than in traditional instruction, since many math skills are used in the kitchen.
Also, keep in mind that this is a time of crisis and there are professionals who are crafting plans to get the students up to date when they return to school. Your job is to keep them healthy and return them to school emotionally intact.
The Education portfolio is monitoring current developments and will keep the Jamat informed of regulation updates and implications. Meantime, for Educational advice or need for support please contact your Education member.
