Setting up your home for virtual learning.
EAGLEVILLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA (WLVT-TV) - Ready or not, the new school year is fast approaching if not already here. With many schools going virtual for the time being, parents are forced to create a learning environment in their home.
"I think that's the most important thing for our students is to not really feel like they're distant learning. They're just strictly learning in a different environment," says mom of two, Danielle DiRenzo. Her son Vincent is going into first grade in the Methacton School District from the comfort of their kitchen. She says "we're currently sitting right at our kitchen table, so it's certainly not like first grade that you normally would experience, but it's the best we can do in our home. "
DiRenzo, who also has a four year old at home and is a teacher herself, wanted a way to separate school learning from home life. "So what I decided to do was get a cart on wheels. And basically make a little divider on each one they have like what looks like your college dorm shower caddy," she says. She’s also making sure her son is comfortable and sitting in a position that supports his body and focus. "When we think of a classroom, we forget that kids are sitting at smaller tables with smaller desk and smaller chairs," she adds.
Amber Cunningham is he Facilities Director for St. Luke's University Health Network’s Nesquehoning Pediatric Therapy Location. She says "you don't have to go out and buy any fancy equipment or fancy tables in order to make the supportive home learning environment for your kids." She explains why a bad setup can be detrimental, "if children are working for prolonged periods with poor posture, they're just adding extra strain to their neck strain to their eye muscles, that's only going to fatigue them more so they might complain of headaches. If their neck and their eyes are strained. They might complain of back pain if they're in these places over weeks for prolonged periods, so we just want to be mindful that they use good form and posture when they're doing their schoolwork and even more importantly, that they're changing positions frequently during their school day at home."
The pediatric physical therapist advises parents to use household items to make sure children are sitting properly, "in order to improve posture during tabletop schoolwork activities, we want to focus on 90 degrees at their ankles, their knees and their hips and elbows. Ways that we can accommodate regular kitchen table and chairs to meet that position is by using pillows under their bottom to get them high enough so their elbows are at 90 degrees. You can use pillows or a supportive box behind their back in order to help them sit up nice and tall. Steps tools, boxes, crates can be used under their feet, to keep them from having their feet dangling from the floor, and just to get them in a nice supportive posture. " She says you can also prop up laptops and tablets with books to make sure they are eye level, rather than having your child look up or down at the screen. "I think it's important to remember to give them breaks. So both visual breaks after 15 to 30 minutes on the computer, they can set a timer but they should be encouraged to move away from the computer and to look at something far away. This is going to help reduce their eye strain," adds Cunningham.
Cunningham also says it’s ok to change things up, saying "you don't always have to do schoolwork sitting at a table, so maybe we do one assignment at a table and then the next one we can do kneeling at the coffee table. You can tape worksheets up to the wall and have them do a worksheet as long as it's eye level and you can also have them do their schoolwork laying on their belly and changing positions throughout the day is going to reduce their risk of a muscle strain headaches and it's probably going to help their focus and their attention and they'll get better success with their schoolwork as well."
DiRenzo is taking these tips and what she learned through the last few months experience and hoping to give her children an enjoyable, productive at-home classroom. She says "in March, it was crisis learning. We were trying our best to make it happen for our children, as parents as teachers and there's been so much that we've learned from our mistakes as parents and as teachers that going forward, we're more prepared."
