When your child stays home from school due to illness, they will miss learning, but they don’t need to fall behind other students. Ann Dolin, M.Ed., founder and president of Educational Connections Inc., shares how to help your child stay on track at school, keep her from feeling behind, and what to do if the teacher doesn’t send work home.
What should I do to ensure my child stays on track at school when she is home sick?
When you realize your child is going to be home sick for the day, the first thing in the morning, email the teacher. This gives him or her plenty of time to prepare your child’s homework for the day and to send it home with the appropriate child, or for you to pick up in the school’s main office at the end of the day.
Also, it’s important to identify two students that you can get homework from when your child is out sick. If there is a neighborhood child that you see on a regular basis or you can easily drive to a child’s house to retrieve the homework, those are good options, especially if you’re not able to make it to the school at the end of the day to pick up the work.
In addition to that, is there anything else I should do if my child is home due to a long-term illness, such as getting a tonsillectomy or having pneumonia?
Most school districts have a home-bound program. That means when a child is out for an extended period of time due to illness, [the school is] required to provide tutoring. I would check with the school district’s student services office if your child is going to be out sick for a long period of time to inquire about their home-bound services.
If that’s not an option, sit down with the teacher at the beginning [of the illness] and figure out what your child has to do to stay on track. Have the teacher give you as much work as she possibly can so you can work with your child along the way to ensure he is not missing out on important assignments and instruction.
What can I do to help my child if I don’t understand what he is learning?
It’s always really important to touch base with the teacher, and if you’re not sure of the method that’s being taught in class, email him and ask. For older kids, I think its always a good idea to FaceTime, Skype, or even call another student to ask. It’s better to practice it the right way than the wrong way.
Even though I’ve been helping my child stay on track, how can I ensure she doesn’t feel lost or like she missed out on learning once she goes back to school?
It’s so important for parents to stay in touch with teachers, and as I mentioned earlier checking with the teacher at the beginning to find out what work will be missed is really important. On a daily basis, [you should log into] your school’s homework portal to print out the assignments or figure out what the other students are doing in class. The homework portal usually alerts you to what’s going on in class and will help guide you along in the process.
Additionally, going to school at the beginning of the illness and getting all of the materials that are needed—any textbooks, folders, and other materials—is a really good idea.
If my child’s teachers don’t send work for my child, are there any activities or websites I should do with my child to enrich or supplement learning?
In math, one of my favorite resources is Khan Academy. For example, if you know your child is working on multiplying and dividing fractions, there are lessons within the portal that explain the concepts on a white board with a real person instructing just like a teacher would, and it allows your child to have ample practice, too.
Also, even if your child just stays on track in language arts with reading and writing, that’s enough. That means making sure your child carves out time each day to read and to get him to write and keep a journal based on what he’s read.
Ann Dolin, M.Ed., is the founder and president of Educational Connections Inc. and author of the book Homework Made Simple: Tips, Tools, and Solutions for Stress-Free Homework. Learn more at ectutoring.com.
