LIVE Q & A Recap's Archives

The Role of Play and Rewards in Education

Should homeschooling be fun? And what is the role of play and rewards in education? In Episode 7 of The Schoolio Live Q & A, Sathish Bala, CEO of Schoolio, shares that he has talked to many homeschooling parents who felt that it wasn’t normal to incorporate play into their homeschooling routine.

What is the role of play and rewards in education?

“Play is the first form of learning that any kid does, right? Any toddler playing with blocks is learning about the world around them. As they get older their interests will change, but we can adapt that to still be educational.” Shares Lindsey Casselman, Co-Founder and Lead Curriculum Developer at Schoolio Learning. It’s important to have a balance, even if a subject isn’t necessarily fun, it can still be rewarding.

Can rewards be beneficial for those challenging subjects?

If your child isn’t enjoying math, and it’s tricky to make it fun for them. Try to make it rewarding for your child. Maybe a nice walk when the algebra lesson is complete, or a hot chocolate when they complete their writing for the day. The rewards don’t have to be extravagant. Actually, the simpler the better. Let’s just take a look at adult life, you work, and you might not enjoy it, but the reward is that you will get paid. Why not offer little rewards for those subjects that your child is struggling with?

Find out what motivates your child.

Does your child enjoy working towards a reward? What about incorporating play into their learning routine? Spend some time learning what motivates your child and then aim to incorporate that into their learning plan.

Listen in to this intriguing conversation with Sathish Bala and Lindsey Casselman on the Schoolio Live Q & A.

Click Here to Watch Now!

General Homeschool Questions Answered

Is an accredited homeschooling curriculum important? What’s the best way to homeschool? Is Schoolio an MLM? These questions, plus other general homeschool questions answered on episode six of Schoolio Live Q & A.

How important is the ability to choose your learning materials?

Being able to choose a curriculum for your child’s learning experience is vital to help them thrive on their homeschooling journey. That’s why we aim to structure our curriculum so that you, as the homeschooling parent, have the choice to follow government expectations for their grade level, or if you’d like to select your units, you are more than welcome to do that. The key is that meeting your child where they are at with their educational needs is essential. This is why it can be crucial to select a curriculum based on what they need to learn to catch up and thrive rather than following education expectations for their age.

When a homeschooling parent and child choose to mix and match the curriculum, it can benefit your child and your homeschool in general.

Is there such thing as a curriculum specific to a particular country? Like a Canadian curriculum?

A curriculum is a program of study, so any company or government can make a curriculum. It is Canadian or nation-specific when created with that country’s content in mind. In Canada, for example, the government doesn’t make the curriculum; they only make the expectations for children by age and grade. In school, there isn’t a pre-fabricated curriculum. Alternatively, teachers often write their lesson plans. There is no such thing as a government body that will certify a homeschooling curriculum for you.

Is an accredited curriculum important when it comes to homeschooling?

Many parents need their general homeschool questions answered, and this one is no different. Accreditation is only for schools, not for products. Essentially, when the government accredits a school, it must offer certain subjects and content; they must demonstrate that they are assessing.

In summary, every government concept could be covered in our curriculum, but it can’t be accredited as the government can’t control what of it you teach your child.

Is Schoolio Learning an MLM?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of rumours circulating throughout homeschool Facebook groups that Schoolio Learning is an MLM. The answer is, no, we are not a multi-level marketing company. And when you purchase a curriculum from us, you are not required to sell our curriculum.

Episode 6 of The Schoolio Live Q & A answers these questions and more with Lindsey Casselman and Sathish Bala.

CLICK HERE to Watch Episode 6!

Check out this epic read about debunking homeschool myths!

Find only the best homeschooling curriculum here.

Lack of Support for Educators

There is a continued lack of support for educators, causing many educators to leave the profession altogether. Many educators report feeling exhausted and burnt out especially following two years of confusion related to online and pandemic learning. Sathish Bala, CEO and Co-Founder of Schoolio Learning, and Lindsey Casselman, co-founder and lead content writer, share their thoughts on this education crisis.

The lack of support for educators is causing an educational crisis.

“What do you think is happening? Is it all Covid related? Or was that the final push over the edge?” Asks Sathish during episode 5 of The Schoolio Live Q & A. “I think that teachers were already struggling and overworked, and Covid was the straw that broke the camels back in a lot of areas.” Shares Lindsey. The reality is, the more teachers that leave, the more pressure and stress is placed on the teachers that remain.

What can educators do to lessen that stress that is constantly being placed on them?

Lindsey shared in episode 5, that teachers don’t just teach during the day, and that’s it. They are working around the clock preparing materials for learning, lesson plans, and more. Everyone seems to be under the impression that teachers don’t have it so bad because they get to sign out at 4pm, have weekends off, and summers too. But the reality is that teachers are always working to ensure that their students are getting the most of their education. Then when they head to the classroom, they must find a way to teach 20+ children effectively. Most parents would agree from their time at home with virtual learning, that even just teaching one or two children can be challenging, now imagine teaching 20+ daily.

Tips for finding balance as an educator.

The lack of support for educators is truly causing a trickling-down effect that is now causing many students to slip through the cracks in the education system. If we help the teacher, we can help the students. So how can teachers find the balance and help that they need as educators?

1. Outsource your planning.

Many people don’t realize that teachers actually write and prepare most of their classroom content. Not only is that time-consuming, but it’s also draining. So why not utilize a curriculum that you can use again and again to help your students excel? Something like the Schoolio curriculum is perfect for teachers preparing lessons.

2. Assign simple tasks to your students.

When you have a large class size, it can become very overwhelming, pretty quick. So set up simple tasks for your students in the classroom, that way you aren’t doing it all.

3. Find some good mentors to help guide you.

Getting someone else’s opinion is important, especially when you have such an important job like teaching. Finding good mentors is very important to help guide you through the tough days and challenges that you will inevitably face.

Find out more on Episode 5 of The Schoolio Live Q & A with Sathish and Lindsey.

Click Here to Watch Episode 5!

Are you looking for a curriculum to help your students excel? Then look no further than Schoolio Learning!

We have a one-of-a-kind homeschooling curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 8.

Learn more about our curriculum and find out for yourself why it’s the best solution for all your learning needs.

Click here to view our curriculum.

The Burnout Remedy For Parents

Burnout isn’t exclusive to office workers. It’s widespread among parents too. While not as talked about, parents are struggling now more than ever before, which is something that we need to talk about. Unfortunately, many parents (with dads being at the top of that list) don’t seek the help they need when they’re feeling burnt out. Instead, they dismiss their feelings and continue trying to get through it independently. Which has us wondering, what is the burnout remedy for parents?

The burnout remedy for parents that we all need.

Dr. Ben and Dr. Ashley from The Burnout Blueprint have 14 years of combined experience helping parents with burnout. Their vast focus is on quality of life; how do you feel? How are you sleeping? They always found that burnout was gradual; it didn’t happen quickly. However, they have seen burnout in parents become much more prevalent over the past five years and now much worse since the pandemic.

Homeschooling parents are lacking that community which might be aiding in that burnout.

Lindsey Casselman, a co-founder of Schoolio, shares that since the beginning of the pandemic, she has seen a rise in homeschooling parents feeling immensely stressed. She believes that it is due to the lack of community that homeschooling parents are dealing with now. Before the pandemic, parents had access to homeschooling communities and a way to get a break. Now they are essentially cut off while trying to manage their mental health.

Zoey, CEO of Daddy’s Digest, shared that she once was a teacher and yet found it very difficult to try to homeschool her child during the pandemic and believes that parents are feeling very guilty for what their children are facing right now.

Immediately overnight our homes became our workplace.

Dr. Ben shared that immediately overnight, your home became your workplace. We often focus on burnout in the workplace, but we don’t usually look at the home environment, the working from home, and the homeschooling environment. To get well again, we must identify where on the burnout spectrum you are. Are you just starting to feel burnt out? Or are you deep in it? Recognizing this is the first step in the burnout blueprint to get the burnout remedy in full motion.

Pillars of good health are hugely important.

Good food, good sleep, exercise, and surprisingly doing less. These are all very important for parents to emphasize. Are you finding that you are working more and more hours but getting less and less done? Then it’s time to understand that your might be dealing with burnout, and it’s time to get help!

Learn more about The Burnout Blueprint by Daddy’s Digest on the Schoolio Live Q & A, Episode 4.

Click here to watch Episode 4!

Looking for more helpful homeschooling and parental resources? We’ve got you covered! Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you never miss a helpful blog!

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A Digital Learning Platform that will change the world.

We all want to give our children the best opportunities to excel in life. And a good education seems like one of the most significant ways to ensure they get those opportunities. Some parents choose traditional education, some opt for private learning methods, while others prefer to homeschool. Those who choose the latter can sometimes find themselves exhausted from trying to provide the ultimate learning experience for their children. That’s where a digital learning platform might be the game-changer they’ve been longing for.

A Digital Learning Platform, unique innovation by Schoolio.

If you’ve never heard of Schoolio, we are a curriculum company based in Canada. But that’s not all; we are working on some fantastic educational innovations to support parents, teachers and most importantly, students. Our team has been working around the clock on a digital learning platform that will change the world of education as we know it.

We do so by converting all digital pdf lessons into audio and visual lessons for students. There are around 4,000 pieces of content from Kindergarten to Grade 8 across all core subjects, Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies. The videos are created for children to have fun while also absorbing the essential learning materials.

Creating a Unique Learning Experience For Each Child.

How are we doing that? By creating content geared toward your child’s age group to avoid learning fatigue. Our mission is always to help children everywhere have access to the education they deserve. We are proud to offer this learning option to everyone soon!

Watch this video from the Schoolio Live Q & A, Episode 3 with Nirmala and Sathish to see a preview of this fantastic new program!

Click here to watch Episode 3!

Learn even more about our Digital platform by visiting our website!

Check it out!

Kids Are Struggling With School Now More Than Ever Before.

Kids are struggling with school now more than ever before. Where is the problem? Is it the education system? Could it be the teachers? Or is it the parents? It’s hard to pinpoint the exact problem, but it is clear that children need consistency, especially regarding their education. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children’s education has been anything but consistent. Between school closures, lockdowns, online, and in-person, children have had a massive lack of consistency, ultimately leading to them falling drastically behind in their learning.

Kids are struggling with school now more than ever before.

But did this issue start before the pandemic? Was the pandemic the catalyst that shone an ever-needed light on the fact that children have been slipping through the cracks of the education system on substantial levels since long before the pandemic began? The truth is that giant class sizes and budget cuts are a recipe for children’s education to be neglected. While it’s true that some children thrive in these situations, many others do not.

Sathish shares that his daughter struggled to understand certain concepts; she wanted to learn more about specific subjects. But there just wasn’t enough time in school for her to explore her education the way she wanted. Flexibility in education is another essential factor constantly neglected in the traditional schooling model. This is why many parents are turning to homeschooling.

Parents are concerned for their children; they don’t know where or how to start when it comes to homeschooling.

Firstly, if you aim to start homeschooling, you need to get into successful habits for your own family. The first and most important habit that successful homeschoolers get into is flexibility. Not to be confused with inconsistency. Your children can learn quickly when you’re flexible as a homeschool family. To dive into what interests them and to realize that learning is all around us. Embracing that learning happens all the time, that knowledge is and should be a lifestyle, not just something that happens from 9 am – 3 pm daily.

Let go of this fear that you are ruining your child’s education by homeschooling.

It can be a scary thought to take your children out of school and try to teach them to help them catch up when you feel unprepared. It would be best to stop telling yourself that you aren’t good enough to teach. And it would be best if you never aimed to fill your child’s day with bookwork. Take it one day at a time, make it simple, and be patient with yourself and your child.

Check out Episode 2 of Schoolio Q & A for more information on this topic.

Also, check out this blog about children slipping through the cracks of the education system.
Kids Are Slipping Through The Cracks Of A Broken Education System.

Book a Concierge Call.

If you aren’t sure how to get started or what programs would best suit your child’s learning needs, then you can chat with one of our experts on a one-on-one Concierge Call, completely free!
Click here to book a Concierge Call.

Does Your Child Struggle to Learn From You?

Does your child struggle to learn from you? They appear to have no issue learning from anyone else, but they shut off the second you pick up a book and try to teach them. Why is that? In Episode One of The Schoolio Live Q & A, Sathish Bala, CEO of Schoolio Learning, shares that his daughter said, “I can’t learn from you.” When he attempted to teach her during the beginning of the pandemic.

He was being fired from teaching his child.

Sathish shared that he felt he was being fired from teaching his child. He then realized that so much of what he was trying to teach his daughter wasn’t his; it was his dad’s blueprint. Sathish wasn’t alone in feeling this way, as many parents felt the same way during the height of the pandemic. As a parent-teacher, you are faced with the unbearable weight of trying to ensure your child is learning what they are supposed to understand when they’re supposed to be learning it.

This can cause parents to feel terrible stress, making them short-tempered, frustrated and irritated. Unfortunately, this stress can also bring out the worst in them, as Sathish noted during the episode.

How a unit system can help.

Lindsey shares the importance of an excellent curriculum to balance parents’ worries about meeting all the requirements. A simplified, easy-to-teach curriculum is the best alternative for veteran and new homeschoolers. Aside from a simplified and easy-to-teach curriculum, Lindsey pointed out the importance of a unit learning system. Sharing that when you have access to a unit style of education, you can pick and choose what your child needs to be learning and when.

Suppose you notice your child falling behind in one area of math but not another; you can select the unit your child needs to work on. Rather than choosing a grade lower for their math, you can select the unit they need.

Leaving a community.

Lindsey also shared how the first few days, weeks and even months of homeschooling can be challenging, especially if you have removed your child from the public school system. She shared how it felt like she was leaving a community when she decided to homeschool her two children. This is why she urges the importance of finding a good homeschooling community.

Another way to add fun to your homeschool and help ease the tension and stress is to include Special Interest Units like those available on the Schoolio Shop. Adding a fun unit on Trees and Forests or Pirates could be what your homeschool needs. Does your child struggle to learn from you? Don’t worry; there are things you can do to help.

Category: LIVE Q & A Recap’s