Learning at home is the new normal for students. For many parents, regular involvement in their kids’ education includes ensuring children are awake and ready to get on the bus, signing permission forms, and helping with homework.
With kids at home due to school closures, parents are now teachers as well as Mom and Dad, which on top of the usual parenting, means helping with learning at home, meeting state learning recommendations, and guiding school lessons. Even if a parent is a teacher by profession, learning at home can be challenging! But just how much time should children spend on schoolwork and learning?
How Much Time Children Spend Learning Each Day?
There is no single correct answer to this question. Only your family will know what expectations are reasonable in your home based on your own circumstances.
That being said, there is a general rule of thumb about how much time children should spend each day on homework. These guidelines were created for the regular school year to provide balance for students between school time, homework time, and social time. However, parents can use these guidelines for determining how much learning time students should spend each day.
Both the National PTA and the National Education Association endorse what’s known as the “ten–minute rule.” The ten minutes is a simple guideline that states that homework should be 10 minutes per grade level, per day. Read more
8 Recommendations for Learning at Home:
Whether at-home learning is focused on school work provided from the school or on other learning resources such as websites or workbooks, here are some of the overall learning-at-home guidelines to keep in mind:
- Break the day up into learning and non-learning times
- Balance school work with other learning-supported activities
- Review guidelines and curriculum from the school district or state
- Use recommended learning support materials such as websites and workbooks
- Create a dedicated spot for learning
- Follow a regular daily routine read more
- Get some activity every day
- Spend time offline every day
Most importantly, don’t stress! These are unusual circumstances and until normal life returns, do what you can. Focus on the importance of keeping learning going at home, and consider this time an opportunity to observe your child as a learner—a side of their children that many parents don’t get the chance to see.
If your child is having struggles adapting to the online learning environment, GradePower Learning can help. Our Virtual Table™ online tutoring program can help students with customized learning support that helps children learn at their own pace in the subjects that need the most support.
