Screen time vs. online school

[SKL]

I think our biggest issue with "school at home" is that I can't take the kids' electronics, because they need them to do school.  They are definitely spending hours daily watching videos etc.  They are generally meeting their school requirements, but there are other things I'd like them to do with the time they're wasting.  They will say they still have school to do so they can't spare time for xyz.

I work full-time at home, generally from wake-up to at least 6pm, so monitoring them closely isn't realistic, nor is making them do my non-school stuff first.  I've tried using TV as the carrot, but since they can watch netflix and youtube on their phones, TV isn't a big thrill.

On the positive side, maybe being able to make their own mistakes is teaching them time management skills.  But I still want a say in their priorities.  We have more time around the house to do things we normally don't get to ... so I'd like to make some of that happen.

What do you all about this?

[SKL]

Maybe I should just say their time is mine from x-ypm and if they still have school work, they will have to finish it after that ....

[Storygirl]

Our situation is different, in that I'm a SAHM and DH is also available to take breaks almost at any time from his work-from-home tasks, in order to help the kids with their schoolwork. Also, two of my kids need my assistance to some extent (they have IEPs), so I am more involved in the academics than it seems you need to be.

But, what we do is have a set start time for schoolwork (9am), and the kids do their schoolwork first, before having free time. Sometimes they do take breaks, and for my son who needs the most help, I will tell him, "Come back at 11:00 to start the next thing," to keep him on track, instead of him getting sidetracked and not doing his work. It does take some monitoring on my part. And my kids have their school computers and phones with them, but they seem to be doing a good job of not being distracted by non-academic things during their school hours.

I get that you can't focus on your work plus do this kind of monitoring of schoolwork. But I agree with your second post, where you can say that they need to set aside a specified time to do the non-school things that you require. I think if you establish that as their routine, that it might help.

In other words, kind of the opposite of what we do here. I set school hours for my kids, and then they can structure their time for themselves otherwise. You would be giving your kids more leeway about when to do their schoolwork (and how many breaks they can take, etc.) but requiring more structure for their non-academic time.

[Sherry in OH]

I have low expectations.  I wake them at 7 am.  They must start schoolwork by 8 am and should finish by 3 pm. Lunch is 11-11:30 to accommodate oldest's live class at 11:30.

At 3 pm I get verbal confirmation from oldest that he has either finished his schoolwork or that he has a reading assignment or project to work on during the evening.  I have him show me his grades every other week or so.  All of his classes include a live component and he is a diligent student so I am not concerned about him wasting time.  

I check my youngest's grades every day and have him show me (or dh) his google classroom page most evenings, but especially on Mondays and Fridays.  We verify that he has no 'to-do' items due the next day and that he has completed any assignments external to the site (Khan Academy, Lexia, other) and has notified his teachers that he has completed the external assignments (and any make-up assignments).  We check for any google-hangouts assigned for the week.  If son seems to be taking extraordinarily long to complete his schoolwork,  dh or I check his browser history to see what videos he has been watching.  Too many extraneous videos means no screens that evening and I sit next to him the next day while he does his schoolwork. 

Outside of schoolwork I expect one hour of physical activity, a few chore, scout work, instrument (youngest), and reading. The rest of the evening is theirs. Reading is usually done at bedtime, although oldest will start after dinner if he has a lot to read for school. He likes to reserve bedtime reading for pleasure reading.  I expect both children to complete any scout work assigned for the next meeting and to be making progress on already opened merit badges and religious emblems.  This can be 5 minutes a day or hours, depending on the day and their moods. Youngest has an online instrument lesson once per week.  He usually practices after dinner to avoid interfering with dh's conference calls and his brother's school lessons.  Other than lawn mowing which takes about 2 hours, chores average 15 minutes per day, in 5 minute increments. My children have a lot of free time.  

[City Mouse]

Other than putting really strict filters on their devices, there isn’t much you can do unless you can find a more motivating carrot. With the current situation, there isn’t much incentive to get work completed efficiently. At least that is how my DS sees it. 

Edited April 28, 2020 by City Mouse

[mathnerd]

15 hours ago, SKL said:

Maybe I should just say their time is mine from x-ypm and if they still have school work, they will have to finish it after that ....

Maybe you could try to structure their day such that they are be offline from 3:00 pm onwards? That gives them enough time for online school and then they can take a break with you and do the stuff that you require, eat dinner and then go back to homework on the computer. Would that work? They definitely need to look at something other than electronic screens for a few hours in a day for their better health and sleep habits.