2 Keys to Becoming an Effective Learning Coach

Webster defines Effective as

adequate to accomplish a purpose. 

What if  I don't feel adequate?

Another definition of effective 

that I do feel like I can pull off is,

prepared and available for service. 

I can do that. 

But I need 2 things in place before 

I can be prepared and available for service. 

Schooling at home is not easy. 

But we persevere even when our student/child balks at a request, a procedure, a choice.  We persevere when a son doesn't 'want' to do this anymore. 

If you believe that your student has the ability to learn, 

you can stay the course!

Do your job ~ Be Effective

Be prepared and available for service.

Turnabout is Fair Play

"I'll be waiting in the car. 

Thanks!"

I turned to Dave and said, 

"Did you hear what she just did?"

 

We knew that our daughter needed to be somewhere tonight. 

But what we didn't know is that we would be on her time table!

We are always talking about setting high expectations 

 for our kids. 

We do that with powerful words and statements. 

"Thanks for taking care of that." 

and walking away. 

"You're welcome to be with us 

when you've finished your work. Thanks."

and walking away.

When we assume compliance from our children by making a statement followed by "Thank you",  we up the odds that they focus on the request and not on whether they want to do it or not. 

Well, it even works on moms!

I did not feel like jumping up from my seat and running my daughter to where she needed to be right at that moment. 

But when she said, "I'll be waiting in the car. Thanks!", I found myself hurrying to get my shoes on!!  She had already moved on out the door and left me with nothing to say.  Since we have a pretty good relationship, I was happy to comply for the most part. 

Requests like this with our children are a good baseline to determine the strength of the relationship.  

If my daughter was left sitting out in the car and I wasn't going to budge, it should be a clear signal to her that we've got some problems to work on.   

Every Day

I can think of few statements that are truer than this when schooling at home.

If you ever wonder "why?" or "what was I thinking?" or "how soon can I be done?"

This short video may help change your perspective.

http://www.theyearsareshort.com/

It's valuable to think about the memories you're making right now.

Memories aren't just field trips and science experiments. 

It's your everyday routines, too.

Thanks for Thinking

We continue to talk about the power of "Thank You" and the expectation that it sets. 

One of my favorite artists has some great prints that I think go along with setting high expectations in the school room. 

You could take any of these and add a "Thank You"

Thanks for thinking!

Thanks for going with the flow!

And this one with the bird and french fry?

Well, that's for me. :)

It reminds me of In N Out Burger!

Oh and this one....

Well, it says it all, right?

 

Reading IS cool!! 

She has it in a girl AND boy!

I personally do not know this artist.  

This is not a paid advertisement. 

I just simply love her style!

Using Games for Wake Up Work

Another great idea for Wake Up Work.  

How fun to have the dominoes 

always set out and a worksheet. 

How about a bucket of Lego's in the school room?  

Same idea.  

They pull two out and do the math. 

Kids can be productive first thing in the morning and get into 'learning mode' while you finish up the dishes or tend to other children. 

Avoiding School Work

In our DEJA VU workshop, we addressed how to help kids who avoid their school work.

Because Avoiders are overwhelmed to begin with, going through the Daily Plan each morning or the night before is very important.  

 For an Avoider, you might even expand that idea with a flow chart or hourly schedule.  They need to see all the things that they DO have time for.   

Schedule breakfast, lunch and dinner and all other extracurricular activities. 

  

The principle is that they see where the time is spent and that it is doable.  Don’t use the schedule as something to beat them over the head with.  You don’t have to stress out if at 9am they’ve already missed something.  It’s not the hourly schedule that we’re trying to execute but the overall day to do all the things that need to be done and the activities that we want to do.  

Here is a great printable, hourly schedule
from iheartorganizing,
if you need a head start.  

Objectives

If students know what they are to learn, 

you increase the chances that they will learn.  

Focusing on objectives makes the difference in student achievement. 

Objectives help me teach and guide with the end in mind.

In every K12 lesson the objectives are written so clearly and succinctly that as a learning coach, I can see and understand the assignment with my student.   

Before each lesson, I go through and read the objectives with Emma.  Sometimes she reads them to me.   

This is one of our procedures.  

This helps us both become focused on what will be accomplished in the lesson.  

Reading through the objectives is a simple way of setting an expectation.   

The expectation is "Please describe the main achievements for the Han Dynasty."

I love working from the foundation 

of what the objectives are for each lesson.

Objectives state what the student is to accomplish.  

When given a task, it always feels better 

if I know what is expected of me.  

I can be successful if I know that I am responsible for learning.

I use the daily plan in the OLS 

to see what is on the agenda for the day. 

I then go through each lesson and write down the objectives.  

I like to see them all on one page.   

I look through the teacher guide or student guide to see what additional assignments there are besides the final lesson assessment.  

I spend about 20 minutes on Sunday and 

fill out the objectives and assignments for the week.  

Having an Objectives worksheet with me throughout the day means that I can ask lots of questions as I breeze in and out of my child's study area.  

"Any questions on the pH scale?"

"I haven't seen the Voyages of Zheng He worksheet yet."

"As soon as I see your Reading Guide filled out, you're welcome to go to Volleyball practice."

This is one way to start working on 

independent learning with a young student.

It's also helpful with the student who is already independently doing their school work.  

I can easily stay on top of where they should be and then lovingly guide them back on track when they forget.  ;)  

Knowing what the objectives are gives me a starting point 

to guide them to what they should be learning.  

Download the Objectives Worksheet Here.

 

Rules for Rules

Something we are often asked about is rules. 

We believe you should have as few rules as possible

and as many as you absolutely need.

As a learning coach I need to spend 
most of my time as a consultant and not a warden.  

So for home we have 3 simple rules.   

These 3 rules easily flow from school time to family time. 

When I see behaviors that are causing a problem, I will handle it with a few questions.

"Is this something you can work out with your sister?" 

"Do you need me to get involved or can you fix this on your own?"

"Hmmm, this doesn't look good to me.  

I'll have to do something about it.  I'll get back with you." 

We can practice problem solving with our children without a bunch of rules that we have to constantly enforce. If a child causes a problem, they can own it and fix it. 

 This way I can sit back and ask lots of questions.  

I don't have to police and keep track of who's breaking rules. 

I can look at it from a more positive aspect.  

"Is this causing a problem for anyone?"  

Here is a great breakdown of how to 

hand problems back to our children,

from Love and Logic. 

SEAH Workshops

{School Effectively at Home Workshops}

Adults are a primary influence on student success in any learning environment.

We currently offer 6 different Workshops covering a variety of attitudes and ideas for becoming an effective Learning Coach for your students. 

Topics include:

• Motivation and Control
• Maintaining the Integrity of Your Schooling Hours
• Relationship
• Boundaries and Discipline
• Kids That Cope
• Winning Attitudes

Each Workshop will cover attitudes and skills to build that important relationship with our child. 

There’s hard work ahead!   

 Schooling effectively at home is no accident, but having strategies in your pocket to manage what’s ahead will help you work through your days intentionally and with greater success!

Contact us if you'd like to schedule these online workshops for your Virtual Academy.

Start Early

Wake Up Work can start anytime, any age. 

I just came across some great

worksheets for younger kids. 

If you have small children that 

aren't officially in school yet, 

having something for them to get started 

on in the morning is a great procedure to begin.

These worksheets are perfect for your pre-schooler to Kindergarten aged children.

It's never too early to start kids thinking

"When I get up, I get to work!"