How to Deal With the Remote Learning Blues

Endless Zooms. Crappy connectivity. Competing meetings. Twelve different learning platforms. There’s a lot we didn’t miss about remote learning over the summer. And now it’s back. And for many of us, we’re all still at home.

“As a mom myself, I know how hard it can be to suddenly share the same workspace with everyone else in the family,” says Lindsay Reynolds, shopping expert for the online retailer Zulily. But she has a few ideas — including creative workspaces and tools — for how to make remote learning feel remotely normal in these abnormal times.

Find a nook — any nook

Modern Workspace at Home
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“Reimagine what a ‘workspace’ can look like for your kids,” says Reynolds. “Look for corners of the living space that might offer the fewest distractions. Even window nooks can provide a well-lit corner for schoolwork.”

Define your space

Parents using computer while sitting with boy
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Oh, if only we all had separate rooms and soundproof doors we could shut. But nowadays there’s a lot of coworking on the kitchen table. You can create the illusion of separate spaces in a variety of ways. An area rug for an impromptu nook. A placemat for each child’s workspace at a shared table. It can help each member of the family have a place that’s uniquely theirs, says Reynolds. “Don’t be afraid to make it more literal! Consider hanging name tags from the back of chairs to make these ‘spaces’ feel more official and fun.”

Headphones make everyone happier

Happy Little boy listening to music on bed at bedroom for relax
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High-quality headphones, with a mic, help kiddos focus on the Zoom at hand, and cut down on the noise pollution that results from too many online meetings at once.

Create a command center

Back to school
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Speaking of competing Zooms, a central calendar — online, sure, but ideally something real, big, and highly visible in the main living area — can help kids and adults alike keep track of important meetings and who needs quiet or privacy when. “This will help ensure that an important call you have for work doesn’t conflict with your child’s Zoom time with their teacher,” says Reynolds.

Leave them to their own devices

Digital family
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Literally! I know there’s a laptop shortage right now, and it’s for a reason. If financially possible, each student and adult needs a device of their own, so you’re not tapping out important work emails on your phone while your child is Zooming for art class. Or worse, two kids vying for the same tablet. Many school districts are providing Chromebooks for free during distance learning.

Invest in 'PE' equipment

Boy jumping on a trampoline
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All this sitting and Zooming is tough on growing bodies that need to move. Trampolines. A soccer rebounder. Basketballs or baseballs. Pogo sticks! Anything that helps them expend some of that pent-up energy will help everyone out.

Get help

Mature woman teaching a little girl to write
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Seriously. Join a pod. Enlist a grandparent. If you have the means, hire a babysitter or a tutor — or both. Know that the money you spend now is not a forever expense. It’s a “for now” expense to help the family get through a reality that none of us could have predicted.

Whatever you choose, remember to be patient with yourself. You deserve it.