Virtual Learning for Children and Young Adults.

How long is a child's attention span? According to developmental and childhood experts, a reasonable amount of time that is within a normal range for a typical child, is two to three minutes, per each year of their physical age. So, if a child is six years old, that would be six times two, which is twelve minutes, or six times three, which is eighteen minutes that a child can maintain focus on a task.

Of course, these findings are all open to different interpretations, and other experts may disagree, but these findings are in the middle ground. Some experts at the opposite end of the spectrum feel a two year old child could focus on a task for maybe ten minutes, which seems a bit long for a child that age, but then that is only my opinion. Other items will also affect focus for a child, such as how much noise is in the room, and what type of noise. Is the television playing and what program is on? Is the dog barking, and is the dog in the house or outside. The child may be tired, hungry, or coming down with a cold. Any of these thing can contribute to how long focus is maintained on a task.

These, and other issues are being thought through by parents who have to learn how to teach their children from home now that the Covid19 pandemic is entering its second year. Most parents are not skilled in the art of teaching to begin with, and now they have to figure out how to teach their children skills that they learned so many years ago, and in a time that has changed so much since they went to school. Children today use computers in classrooms and they learn about topics we never heard of. So how does a parent go about teaching a child from home. And, how do they figure out how to keep their children interested in learning and what do they do if the child refuses to take part in the tasks they are trying to teach them.

Some things are basic to children of any age. Children are full of energy, especially when they first wake up in the morning. Getting good exercise to begin the day would be my suggestion, and if it is impossible to get outside and go for a run through the park or down a country road, then at least try to do some exercising inside, and then go for a walk to get some fresh air and wind down. Next, I would have the children shower and get ready for their day, the same way they would if they were going to a classroom. I would make this a daily routine all week, one they would follow as though they were going to school, and their day would start at eight in the morning and end at three in the afternoon. They would receive grades, and report cards, and they would be tested. The reason I would do this is to keep their minds tuned into a schedule so they wouldn't adopt an attitude that told them it was summer break and they didn't need to do any work. It would also keep them used to a schedule so when schools do open back up they would be ready for it.

I would try to make it fun, and try to motivate the child with unexpected rewards that they would look forward to, such as a good grade could earn them a special outing on the weekend. Perhaps a very special grade could earn them points that they could accumulate, and then when they earned enough points, they could use them for something such as an extra hour off in the morning to sleep an hour later. It would never be something that was too far away from the learning experience, however.

When it came to the actual teaching, I would set aside a room with as few distractions as possible. There would be no music or television, and as little noise as possible. I would contact a K through 12 learning facility to help me with my endeavor, and if I was weak in a certain area, such as math, I would hire a tutor to come in and assist me in that area. The children would need to think of me as their teacher during the week, not as their mother. I too, would dress and be ready for class. I would instruct them and explain to them, or one child, depending on how many children there were, each topic, and allow them to ask questions. My room would be run as close to an actual classroom as possible, always making sure they understood what they were supposed to be learning. For the older children, they would have homework, but the younger children would not. It would be enough if I could get the younger children to focus for that many hours a day. If a child was under the age of six, I would only work with them for three hours per day.

Basically, the problem lies in keeping it fun for them, getting involved with them and not just pulling up a program and expecting them to figure it out while the television is blaring and I am in the next room watching it or talking on the phone. If the child or children you have are going to be educated at home, a few things need to be kept in mind. They do not have the ability to focus very long on the tasks they are given. If you, as a parent, are not willing to put the same amount of time in that you expect your child to put in, you will not be successful. Give the children breaks every forty minutes and let them walk around, use the bathroom or get a drink. They need this to refresh their minds. Let them feel they are doing something to be proud of, but let them have free time to play as well. It's really up to the parent to set the mood, to help them through it, and you don't have to be a mental giant to accomplish this task, you just have to love your children and understand how their minds work. Get outside help for yourself if you need to do so. Do whatever it takes, but make sure your child does not fall behind.

I skipped the fourth grade because we moved so much, and I remember my mother working hard to teach my sister and myself all we needed to know to go into the next grade and not fall behind. She taught us every day, everything we needed to know, and guess what, we both always passed the exams to get into the next grade up. My mother never went to college, and was an average student in school, but she understood how to help us succeed, through love and a lot of hard work.

I hope this might help someone out there struggling with what to do for their child. Perhaps my method is a bit too stringent for some parents, and adjustments could be made to how much time is spent. Maybe half a day is all some children and parents could tolerate, but that is fine, as long as the learning is taking place and the children are not lagging behind.

G00d luck to all the parents going through this difficult time.