Parents: Help Your Kids Finish the Year Strong

As students finish their first semester of the 2020-21 school year, many are continuing their academic journey with Florida Virtual School (FLVS). Whether your family is new or returning to FLVS, we want to ensure that your students have a successful second semester. Here are three ways parents can help students finish the school year strong! 

Help Your Student Stay Organized  

A cluttered workspace can be a sea of distractions for students. Since our younger students have more printed assignments that require them to write their responses, many of our elementary families have adopted a binder system to make coursework easily accessible for students. Here is what you will need:  

• A colored binder for each subject  
• A colored folder for each subject 

Students can color-code each course as follows: 

• Language Arts: red 
• Social Studies: orange 
• Science: green 
• Mathematics: blue
• Electives: purple

With this system, students use binders to store completed work throughout the semester. This keeps excess papers out of the way and organized in case you need to look back at them. 

Wondering what to do with printed assignments for the week? This is where the folders come in handy! Before the start of the week, print assignments and place them in the right pocket of the course folder. When assignments are complete, students can move them to the left pocket. You will always know at a glance how much work your student has completed as well as how much he/she has left to do! Then, at the end of the week, you can simply move completed assignments to the course binder and add the following week’s assignments to the folder.  

Pro Tip: For electives, such as Art, consider a bin or container that matches the course color where students can keep their supplies.  

Create a To-do List (and use it!) 

Every week, students are required to complete a minimum number of assignments per course. Print out a schedule as well as a to-do list of assignments to be completed for the week. You can also add your student’s schedule and assignments to a planner or calendar. No matter which method you choose, we recommend placing it on or near their workspace where students can check off assignments as they are completed. 

Pro Tip: Allow your student to check assignments off his/her to-do list! This is a great way to celebrate his/her progress and keep your student motivated throughout the week.  

Check on Your Student’s Progress Weekly 

As your student adjusts to online learning, he/she will develop independent learning skills. Of course, this can be challenging for students of all grade levels in the beginning. Set aside time each week to review your student’s assignments and progress to ensure that he/she is on track with his/her academic goals. If you have any questions or concerns about your student’s progress, don’t hesitate to reach out to his/her FLVS teachers or counselors!  

Pro Tip: For more ideas, connect with other FLVS parents and find tips in our FLVS Students & Parents Facebook group.