Since it’s beginnings in 2019, in our time developing our remote schooling option, thriveONLINE, we have been purposeful about paying attention to offering remote schooling that is ethical and effective.

Here are some of our strategies for making the most of your remote schooling experience.

1. Personalize the learning environment for each student as much as possible

Creating a specific, comfortable workplace for your child can help them build consistent study habits. At thrive, most of our students work on a laptop or desktop. It is important to have a designated space for learning. Allow your child to help you to organize and design this space so that it reflects their personality and makes them feel at ease. Remember that the calmer your child feels while they are working, the better they will be able to concentrate. Ask your child - “What do you think we could put in your learning space that may help you to learn more effectively?”. This is the type of question they will be familiar with if they have been with thrive for a while. While you take into account the suggestions of your child, remain a guide in their decision making. For an example, ten stuffed toys may be comforting but will definitely be more of a distraction.

2. Make sure they have all the necessary equipment

Have a computer, printer, headphones, calendar, pencils, notebook/sketchpad, etc.—within easy reach. The workspace should be in a quiet, low-traffic area of the house so they can focus on their work undisturbed.

3. Make sure that your child follows a schedule

Our thrive students start their day at 9am and end at 2pm. Throughout the day they will have regular breaks and check-ins with their teachers. However, it is important to remember that your child will be needing to keep track of their own schedule on Notion. This will be set out for them by their teacher. If your child ever seems like they are losing track of time, give them a small clock to put on their desk. Encourage them to set small goals for themselves for more challenging subjects. They could even set an alarm to help them if necessary.

4. Take an interest.

Our Online courses allow you to be more hands-off as a parent, but you can still go over their weekly tasks at the beginning of the week, or whenever best works for you and your family. Take time to ask your child what they are learning about. This will help them to feel like their learning has meaning and will also help them to summarize and assimilate the new knowledge in their heads.

5. Ask for help.

If you’re not sure about how to assist your child if they are worried about something, that’s okay. At thrive we have a group of highly-trained teachers who are always available to help students and who your child will be able to contact any time throughout the school day via chat or Zoom. In the case of you needing any extra assistance or input as a parent, we encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher to set up a meeting.

6. Encourage your child to make decisions about the order of subjects.

thrive students will be kept on task by their teachers. We encourage students to take responsibility for deciding which subjects they prefer to do first. Often it is helpful to start with the more difficult or time consuming tasks.

7. Breaks away from the screen are necessary.

thrive students are encouraged to take their breaks away from a screen. During break times, it is  important for them to make a break, walk around, go outside, have a snack, or to do something that relaxes them.

8. No phones, social media or gaming during class time

This is important because distractions take important time from the school day. Talk to your child about why this is such a vital decision and help them to understand the consequences of the distraction. E.g. falling behind on work = taking longer to complete their levels. If your child struggles with taking responsibility for this at first, perhaps look into monitoring their access to certain apps etc. during school hours.

9. Sleep is essential.