Ontario Families Scramble as Omicron Forces 2-Week School Closures

It isn’t the New Year that Ontario families were hoping for. Many parents had hoped that the COVID-19 Pandemic would be under control by now. And that their children would be able to have an uninterrupted education once again. However, now Ontario Families scramble as Omicron forces 2-week school closures.

Many parents remained cautiously optimistic when the holiday break began. Their genuine hope was that history wouldn’t repeat itself, and that their children would be able to attend in-person learning after the holiday break, unlike last year. There fears became reality when the province announced mandatory school closures once again.

Ontario schools return to remote learning.

Beginning Wednesday, January 7, 2022, all private and publicly funded schools had to move to remote learning until Monday, January 17, 2022 at the earliest. The Ontario government announced on Monday, January 3, 2022 that the school closures were due to public health trends and operational considerations.

Because of very little notice given before the sudden announcement of the closures. Ontario families scramble once again, to find care for their children. While school buildings are able to remain open for child-care, including emergency child care. And in-person learning for students with special educational needs, or staff that can’t provide quality educational instruction from home. The free emergency childcare is only available for children of parents who are eligible frontline workers.

How Ontario Families are Responding.

Most Ontario parents are absolutely devastated by this last minute decision to close schools. Many parents need to go to work. But if they are not eligible frontline workers, they have no access to emergency childcare. Therefore the mandatory school closures cause horrendous amounts of stress for the parents who now have to scramble to make arrangements.

Optimism is at an all-time low as Ontario parents scramble.

Despite the attempts of parents to remain optimistic when the holiday break began. Optimism is at an all-time low. While the Ontario government announced that schools could potentially return to in-person learning on January 17. Many parents find that hard to believe. Ontario parents are demanding answers, like “How will these two weeks make anything better?” Most of these questions appear to be going unanswered. When the Ontario government does choose to provide answers, they are usually extremely unclear.

Ontario parents deserve more than this.

Is the pandemic unpredictable? Yes! However, the Ontario government was well aware of the Omicron variant long before their sudden announcement about school closures. In fact, Wednesday, December 29, 2021 the Ford government announced that schools would only be delayed until Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Then just a few days later they announced a two-week school closure. Causing Ontario parents to scramble, once again.

The Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, was asked at a press conference if he could guarantee that schools will be back to in-person learning in two weeks. He did not provide an answer to these questions, causing parents to speculate even more.

Parents in Ontario deserve more.

Ontario families scramble as they prepare for the worst.

Many parents in Ontario are now preparing for the worst case scenario: School closures to last longer than two weeks. With no definite end in sight, parents continue to scramble to find care for their children so that they can continue working. Rather than provide solutions for Ontario parents, Premier Doug Ford showed great support for his Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce. As he has recently come under fire from parents, for not acting quick enough during the long-lasting pandemic.

“I want to give a shout out to Minister Lecce. I always say he’s the best Minister of Education in the country,” Ford said. “He’s done everything in his power to make sure that schools can move forward throughout this whole pandemic.”
Premier Doug Ford

Instead of helping parents during his ominous announcement of school closures, Ford chose to use precious time to praise Lecce. This caused Ontario parents to feel even more infuriated, and rightfully so.

Many parents are in an impossible situation.

As a parent, you naturally want the best for your children. Remote learning places an enormous amount of stress on the parent. Now they must either figure out childcare, or have them sit on a screen while they attempt to work from home at the same time. Many parents feel like they’re failing their children, or their work in some way. Because most are finding it difficult to be there to support their children while they also try to maintain work.

Obviously parents understand that there is a pandemic. And they know that keeping their children safe is priority. However, the mental strain that is placed upon parents because of remote learning is nearly unbearable for some.

Solutions for parents.

As much as we’d love to, we cannot just make the pandemic disappear. But there are some small things that you can do to get through the latest round of School closures.

1. Silence the parental guilt.

We as parents seem to always revert back to a place of parental guilt when things aren’t going smoothly. Remote learning is a struggle for most, and if your child is struggling, just remember that this is not your fault. You should never blame yourself for things that are beyond your control.

2. Offer alternative learning methods.

We totally sympathize with your desire to keep your child on track with their education. If you are finding that remote learning is actually having the opposite affect on their education. Then consider adding in alternative forms of education.

3. Reach out to healthy family and friends for help.

You can’t do this on your own. And while we often like to make ourselves believe that parenting is an independent gig, it’s not. You need help, especially right now. Reach out to people that you can trust, and explain that you need help.

4. Know that you are good enough.

You are capable, and you can do this. It sounds cliche, but it’s the truth. You’re doing the very best with what you have. Remind yourself of that.

5. Take a break from remote learning.

If you are finding that remote learning is actually causing more stress for your child than good. Talk with your child’s teacher/school about alternatives that you can do in the meantime. Perhaps you can work on some unit studies at home. Or partake in interest-based learning with your child while they get omicron under control.

6. Take it one day at a time.

We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, next week or next month. Try to avoid overwhelming yourself with the ‘what ifs’, as this isn’t of any good for you or your child. Focus on what is happening today. That doesn’t mean you should just stop planning for the days ahead, and childcare if need be. It means that you will plan, but not worry about the outcome.

7. Remember this isn’t forever.

While the pandemic does seem to be going on forever, it’s really important to remind yourself that this won’t last forever. One day this will all be behind us.

We are here to help.

While Ontario families scramble as Omicron forces 2-week school closures, we want to remind you that we are here to help. If you need help finding alternative learning solutions for your child, or just need someone to talk to about your child’s education. We are here to help you.

Do you need help with how to make learning a priority despite school closures? We can help! Check out this blog for some excellent ideas!

Make Learning a Priority Despite School Closures.

Many parents are once again struggling with how to make learning a priority despite school closures. Chances are that you live in a location that has either just announced school closures again, or perhaps they are leaning that way due to the steady climb of Covid-19 cases, related to the new variant of concern.

You as a parent may find yourself stuck in the frustration of wanting to keep your child safe while also wanting to be sure they are getting the education that they need at this stage in their life. I don’t think any of us thought that the pandemic would continue for so long, or that school closures and lockdowns would continue to be the method used to combat it. Yet, here we are. So the question is, how can you help your child continue to thrive with their learning, or even catch up, despite the inevitable school closures?

This is a huge topic, yet there’s not a lot of information out there about it. Doing a quick Google search doesn’t really reveal anything substantial, or helpful. Which is ironic, because education truly is key. Yet, education is one thing that has continually been placed on the back burner during the duration of the pandemic thus far.

What can we as parents and caregivers do?

As I previously wrote, none of us thought that school closures and lockdowns would continue to take place, especially not after two years since the beginning of this pandemic. It really puts things into perspective when you think of how a Kindergartener in the spring of 2020 is now in grade 2, and struggling to read. Or how a grade 10 student in March of 2020 is now facing graduation, feeling completely unprepared for university.

The pandemic has caused all of us to suffer, but no one more than our children. So many life experiences and learning opportunities have been missed. Will life ever return to normal? What even is normal anymore? Is it normal for your child to be falling behind? Will they ever catch up? What can you as a parent or caregiver do to make learning a priority despite school closures and lockdowns?

The First Step: Just Be There.

I get it, you’re frustrated and overwhelmed. For many it’s not just education that is affected, but also finances and mental well-being. Your mind is likely wandering a mile a minute, as you try to come to some settlement of peace. So, take a deep breath. Focus on what really matters. Sure, life is a crazy mess. But right now, in this very moment, are you okay? Is your family safe? Are your kids okay? Really focus on being in the moment. Focus on the laughter of your children. Talk to them, help them, because they’re also struggling with big feelings too. Make being there for your children a priority.

The Second Step: Find Ways to Ease Stress.

We don’t often realize just how stressed our children can be. The sad reality is that the pandemic, school closures, chaos and financial uncertainties has also placed stress on our kids. We like to think of them as “just going to be okay” but often times they are silently watching as their world seems to be collapsing around them.

Which brings us to an important point. And that is: Children cannot properly learn when they’re under a large amount of stress. As you probably already know, virtual learning often causes children more stress than anything else. This results in a lack of wholesome learning because of the stress that your child is under when trying to learn. Which is why finding ways to calm that stress is imperative.

Some helpful stress relieving tips include:

Answer their questions honestly, and have conversations about their feelings.
Let them know that you recognize that they are feeling stressed, and that it’s okay to feel this way.
Contact loved ones, grandparents, family and friends. Let your child connect with them.
Demonstrate how to take care of your own feelings in a healthy way.
Help them with a mindfulness activity.
Offer plenty of hugs and cuddles.
Sign up for a Mindfulness Activity or purchase a Mindfulness workbook.
Teach your child about how to manage their thoughts and feelings.

The Third Step: Create a Healthy Routine

Having a healthy routine is extremely important. Especially if you are aiming to make learning a priority despite school closures. It can be so tempting to just let everything go and continue life like you’re on holidays. While somedays that may be okay, it’s important to snap out of it sooner rather than later. Children need routine, it helps them to feel safe, while also helping them to develop important life skills.

Your kids and yourself have absolutely no control over the pandemic, or school closures. So, help your child feel like they’re in a little more control with a routine. Let them add in parts of the routine that they think are important, and be sure to honour that.

Routines aren’t just good for kids, they also have huge benefits for you as the parent or care-giver. Having a healthy routine has been proven to help parents feel more organized while simultaneously reducing stress.

You can add structure to your child’s day by adding smaller routines to your larger daily routine.

Early Morning Routine: Wake up, get dressed, eat a healthy breakfast, brush teeth, and encourage active play for a bit before school work.

Late Morning – Early Afternoon Routine: This is when your child can work on their school work, whether that be virtual learning or workbooks. For many children their school board has scheduled times of the day around virtual learning. So, their routine might revolve around those time slots.

If you have decided to homeschool during the duration of another lockdown, you can use this time to work on two core subjects like Math and Science. Reserving this time for lesson time, work time and a learning activity.

Be sure to add in lunch, and snack times! And if your child is participating in virtual learning, then make lunch and break times a big deal! Have fun with lunch time, play some word games while you both eat sandwiches. Try your best to make it as positive as possible.

Afternoon/Evening Routine: Once education time is completed for the day, encourage them to play outside, or in their room while you get a tiny break. If they just want to be with you, then try to make a new recipe together for dinner. Having fun together is one of the best remedies for stress. At the dinner table, ask your child(ren) what their favourite part of the day was, then aim to include more of that in the next day.

Bedtime Routine: Now it’s time for brushing teeth and bath time. Once that’s complete, be sure to have some snuggles and reading time with your kids. It’s so important to continue to carve out time for reading with each other as it continues to strengthen your bond.

The Fourth Step: Evaluate the Learning Solutions.

Many parents hear the words “Virtual Learning” or “Online Learning” and instantly cringe. Because this form of education is anything but wonderful for both students and teachers. If you’ve recently learned that your child has to do online learning, and you know from experience that it will be a disaster. Then take some time to evaluate this form of learning by asking yourself these questions:

Is this helping my child or hurting them?
Are they still learning?
Is the stress from this even worth it?
Are there other options available for learning?

Once you’ve answered these questions you will have a more clear indication about whether or not this form of education is actually working for you and your child. If you’re still unsure, write out a list of pros and cons. What are the pros to virtual learning, and what are the cons? If you have no other learning choices, then find out what are some ways that you can work together with your child’s school to make it more bearable.

The Fifth Step: Research Alternative Learning Solutions.

If you’ve evaluated your child’s education method, and are finding that it’s causing more stress than learning. But you are determined to make learning a priority despite school closures, then you should look for alternative methods of education for your child. You could consider a home-learning option. Remember this doesn’t have to be permanent, this can be a temporary solution until circumstances level out.

Determining what type of in-home learning curriculum will best suit your family is really important. You can learn about how to choose in-home learning curriculum here.

Staying on track with their learning is essential, which is why finding a curriculum that follows their grade level standards, and is easy to follow/teach is really important. Be sure to look for a learning solution that reflects that.

The Sixth Step: Start Learning.

It’s imperative that you remind yourself that learning is always happening. There are so many life lessons to be learned during any given day. So, please don’t stress yourself thinking that learning must look a certain way, because it often doesn’t. That is one of the reasons why virtual learning can can cause so much stress for some students. Education can’t be crammed into a box. For many, learning is hands-on. Learning through a screen with twenty other children going on and off of mute, isn’t always going to give your child the whole learning experience that they need.

Read stories with your kids, dive into a Novel Study. Bake cookies, clean the house, do art work, watch an educational show together, and play learning games! Don’t stress about how learning should look, just let it happen naturally.

Figure out what areas your child needs the most help with and make that a priority. Being sure to add in the extra areas of their education here and there. Just be sure to never overwhelm your child with information, aim to keep lessons short, simple and to the point. Dragging out a lesson just because you feel like it needs to be longer, won’t help you or your student. If your child is struggling with a particular concept, then take a break and revisit it again later.

The Seventh Step: Let Go.

Life continues to not go according to plan. Holding onto your ideas of what it should look like, will only bring you more disappointment. Embrace the way life is, even if it’s messy. Because if you continue to hold onto this idea of what you wish life looked like, it will only make it worse for you and your child. Letting go of the original plan, and working together to come up with a new, brilliant plan will be extremely beneficial for your entire family.

Whether you choose to give virtual learning another go, or you feel like you need to dive head first into homeschooling. Just know that whatever choice you make, it will be a good one for your family. Yes, sometimes you will have bad days, sometimes things won’t go as planned. And yes, you will absolutely make some mistakes. But you’re trying your very best to make learning a priority despite school closures and that is truly what matters.

Take a deep breath, focus on what really matters, and move forward.

Learning About Finances

Learning About Finances – Why is it important for your child?

From a young age, kids learn that money means something, but what about finances? When they get a birthday card in the mail from their Auntie, they open it with excitement to see if maybe something special will fall out. Because sometimes their Auntie puts a special $5 surprise in that cute little birthday card. Should your child be learning about finances from a young age?

Learning about finances is extremely important.

Your child knows that when they lose their tooth, somehow a tooth fairy pops up in the night and exchanges that tooth for a shiny coin! The squeals of excitement erupt in the morning when they find that coin and quickly tuck it away in their piggy bank. Often times when they’ve received money, they walk through the toy aisle with the thrill of knowing something there can be theirs! And all thanks to that money that they have. But finances are so much more than just receiving money and rushing off to purchase something. Money has value. Money has purpose. And teaching our kids that from a young age is extremely important.

Your child knows that money matters, but do they know just how important finances are?

It’s imperative to teach kids that money isn’t just a way to get what they want, but rather a means to provide for what they need. Money is a tool that needs to be used correctly in order to get an abundance of growth from it. Talking to your kids about money even when they’re young is so beneficial. Teaching them the value of the dollar, and even how to save for long-term goals, and how to spend responsibly is so important. For example: Rather than running out to the store to purchase a small, cheap, toy every time they get a little money for their birthday. Teach them about saving that money for a long-term, exciting goal! Like buying a nice new bicycle in the spring.

Help your child understand donations.

Teaching your child about the importance of donating, and helping others through the profits which they have, is such a wonderful thing to do. Try finding an opportunity to help together. For example: If your child really loves animals. You could always tell your child that if they raise $50 for the humane society, you will match it with $50! Educating your children that money isn’t just a fun object to get them what they want. It’s something you must work for, care about, and that they can then use to help other people get what they need also.

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Spending time teaching your child about finances doesn’t have to be overwhelming or boring for either of you. Start with simple ways, when they’re young. Like when you go to the store to get groceries, your child will see you pay for the groceries. And although, it can be as simple as tapping your card on a machine. It’s still your money being transferred from your account to the stores account in exchange for groceries. Explain that to your child. Show your child the receipt from the groceries. Show them how much money it costs to feed your family. Explain the value of the money that they have.

Create opportunities for them to earn money.

Try creating opportunities for your child to earn a little money. Your child needs to have money of their own so that they have the opportunity to learn how to make good decisions about how to use it. Maybe you could give them simple chores around the house in order to earn a weekly allowance. Something simple like “Help me fold the laundry” or “Put the dishes away” or “wash the car”.

And once they’ve earned it, you can give them their allowance for the week. Then help them understand the importance of what they just earned. If you don’t have loose change floating around the house to pay allowances, that’s no big deal! Try setting up a bank account for your child in their name. Then when they’ve earned their weekly allowance, you can transfer their allowance right into their very own bank account. Then show them that their account now has a little more because of how hard they worked. You could even get them a journal to keep track of the money that they have in their bank account.

So many fun lessons to be learned!

There are so many more excellent lessons that your children can learn about money. Like how their money can grow, the importance of giving, and good spending decisions. But the very best source of education about financial habits comes from you. Yep, that’s right. You need to model good financial habits in order for your child to pick up good spending/saving habits. Just like your kids copy the way you talk and walk; they also copy the way you spend.

Need help making math make sense? Check this out!

Don’t become overwhelmed by the task of teaching your child about finances. There are many resources out there that can help your child learn wholesome financial habits. Included in that is our very own Financial Literacy Mini Unit. In this excellent mini unit, your child will learn about Canadian coins & bills, their names and values. Your child will learn how to count money with coins and bills. And even get to play fun grocery store games, exploring methods of payments. They’ll have the opportunity to learn more about purchasing, earning, spending, saving, investing and donating. There are just so many fun lessons to learn, and we are excited for your child to learn them with us!

Learn more about the Financial Literacy Program here:

Click Here for the Best Financial Literacy Program

Schoolio Offers Holistic Education

Schoolio Offers Holistic Education.

Toronto, ON, April 16, 2021– The pandemic has posed multiple challenges to education. The clear reason being that schools are oscillating between virtual and in-person learning. Schoolio, a Canadian homeschooling resource platform. Has a goal to empower homeschooling families through holistic curriculum. Created for children from Kindergarten to grade 8.

The pandemic posed a question for parents.

Schoolio was originally geared towards homeschooling families. However, we here at Schoolio have seen a rapid rise in interest from parents with school-going children. The pandemic posed a question in parent’s minds. Obviously that question being: ‘Are their children learning and benefitting from the virtual classes?’ Without a doubt this question was asked while teachers, parents, and students all struggled to adjust. As the transition to the new normal for technology-based teaching mediums continued. Without a doubt, our Schoolio team works hard to put parents’ minds at ease. Doing so by offering flexibility to choose from specific curriculum units. These units being based on provincial topics in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Customizable in-home learning solutions.

Clearly, with the option of purchasing customizable in-home learning solutions. Parents have been taking the lead to boost their kids’ learning abilities. Indeed they are doing so at a flexible pace with Schoolio. Apart from this, Schoolio now offers modules that fill the gaps created by virtual and in-person learning. Through our learning modules, you can now add an extra layer of educational support. Whether that be for math, language, and social concepts. As well as coding and financial literacy.

A recent study shows that parents are more likely to enrol their child in homeschooling.

It should be noted that according to a recent poll conducted by Schoolio. 41% of parents said they were more likely to enrol their child in homeschooling. Additionally, 43% of parents who were not homeschooling before the pandemic. Took the time to indicate that they are “very likely” to consider homeschooling now. Without a doubt, we support parents with the tools and resources that they need to make homeschooling virtually stress-free. By engaging with them through a unique, customer-only Facebook community that includes parents, teachers, resources and special events. Parents are also provided with resources and support such as assessment tools, listening sessions, ideas to keep children engaged and motivated and more.

How Schoolio offers holistic education.

“We are living in unprecedented times. There’s a constant confusion between virtual and in-person learning.” Says Sathish Bala, founder of Schoolio. “What’s different about Schoolio is that our programs are designed specifically for independent learning. Our aim is to remove stress and worry from the parents who are homeschooling for the first time. Doing so by providing them with the right assessment tools, listening sessions, ideas to keep children engaged and motivated.”

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About Schoolio:

Schoolio is a Canadian education system that provides parents with a range of customizable in-home learning solutions. With a mission to empower parents to be teachers for their students. Schoolio has created easy-to-follow curriculum modules for Kindergarten to Grade 8. While enabling millions of students with the best academic foundation materials. Schoolio aims to spark a love for education. While also empowering kids to be fully prepared for their future.

Shop Schoolio Grades – Click Here

What’s a Learning Pod?

Whether you are a new homeschooler or an old homeschooler, “Learning Pods” seems to be a ‘new’ aspect of homeschooling for everyone. So, what is a Learning Pod?

According to study.com, Learning Pods are characterized as being, “Small group learning with an experienced teacher for a whole-child education from the safety of your home.”

Many seasoned homeschool parents are now thinking to themselves, ‘But that’s a Co-Op!’

A Learning Pod and Homeschool Co-Op have many similarities, and honestly, I was just as confused as many other families when I heard of Learning Pods. So, what’s the big difference?

According to www.thehomeschoolmom.com, “A homeschool co-op is a group of families who meet together and work cooperatively to achieve common goals.” Like Geography, Art, Crafts, Science, Music.

The main differences that I can see between a Learning Pod and a Class Homeschool Co-Op would appear to be the content being taught. In a Learning Pod, you have basically one person responsible for teaching children. Creating a little pod of learning, thus the name: Learning pods! Learning pods appear to be a new way for families to keep their children safe from the pandemic that is raging outside. Co-Op is a shared experience between many different homeschool families, where they join together to teach their kids fun classes, like art. Leaving the core subjects, like math, and language arts for the structured classes at home.

Along with that information, I’m pleased to inform you that on the newest Schoolio Podcast we interviewed Marie Pihl. Marie is a first-time homeschooling mama who is managing her own Learning pod successfully. Marie Pihl has three children, ages, 8, 7 and 5. She worked as an Event Coordinator for Children’s Aid for many years before deciding to stay home, full time with the kids. Currently, Marie works part time as the Community Development Manager at Schoolio and is homeschooling her 3 kids at the same time while also managing a Learning pod. (Where is her super hero cape?)

Today we asked her lots of questions about what Learning Pods can look like, and we even got some awesome legal information from Sathish Bala regarding how to have a safe, legal, pod. We hope that you enjoy this new Episode of The Schoolio Podcast!

Stream it now on your favourite Podcast Streaming app, or click the link to find it directly on Spotify!

Daily Homeschool Planning Tips And Free Resources | How To

Daily Homeschool Planning Tips

Rewind to last year; chances are you probably had no desire to homeschool your children yet, here you are. You are doing precisely that. The pandemic threw a wrench into everyone’s lives. And now you’re struggling with trying to get all your child’s Curriculum done and keep them from falling behind. What an insanely large task to take on – Are you overwhelmed? Don’t be. More often than not, we receive messages from parents asking the questions: ‘Should we be homeschooling all day?’ ‘Will my child fall behind if we only do two hours of school a day?’ Scheduling, scheduling, scheduling. The word schedule can often bring up a large amount of anxiety in many people’s minds. Why? Because, if you’ve ever over-scheduled yourself or under scheduled yourself, you’ll know that it’s either burn out or the feeling of being unaccomplished that you will feel. Both are not a feeling that we want you to handle, especially when it comes to your homeschooling career.

Many families are worried that their children will have their education compromised because of all the chaos around them. And that’s why we started Schoolio and developed our Ontario based Curriculum. We believe that access to the Ontario Curriculum and Canadian Curriculum guidelines is essential for homeschoolers.

But now you’re feeling over the top frustrated because your child is sitting at the kitchen table whining for hours about the math problems they don’t want to do. Or, you’re zipping through the lessons faster than a rocket ship shooting into space, and you’re worried that you’re going too fast.

So, what do you do? How do you schedule your homeschool correctly so that you get that perfect balance that your children (and you) need?

Step one: Stop stressing! Stress is going to do absolutely nothing for you and your family.

Step two: Realize that a homeschool schedule doesn’t have to look like a regular school schedule. In-home learning is meant to be different, and that’s a good thing. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be getting the same amount of education; it’s just that homeschoolers hit their curriculum goals much faster than regular school. There are several reasons why this is. And to find out more, you need to listen to The Schoolio Podcast episode ‘Scheduling your Homeschool the right way’. In this episode, we cover the grounds of a good schedule.

We talk about what your homeschool day should ideally look like if it’s ok to go fast or slow. Should you have an epic schedule that leaves little breathing room? Or should you be completely relaxed with your child’s education? What is the best choice?

So that’s step three: Listen to the podcast! We share all the answers that you’re looking for and more. When you’re finished listening to the podcast, you’ll have an incredible feeling of clarity.

Step four: Remember the truth; the truth is, you’re doing a fantastic job. You always have made the best decisions for your children, and you always will. Sure, things are weird and confusing right now. But despite all that, look at the fantastic job you’re doing! You are amazing. So don’t let a mixed-up schedule make you feel inadequate. It takes time, patience, and testing to know what works best for you and your family. You’ve got this!