TIGARD, Ore. — Like many parents, a mom in Tigard has gotten creative to keep her kids engaged while learning online. Julie Fulks is taking on distance learning with her two kids Ella and Charleston.
Charleston was set to start kindergarten this year.
"She had just turned 5, so it was my last year I was going to stay home and I was going to start working this school year," Fulks said. "But I’m staying home another year to help teach my kiddos."
Even though Fulks used to work a teacher, she did run into some challenges in the new learning environment.
"With my 5-year-old who started kindergarten this year, we never allowed a whole lot of screen time, and she had a hard time attending to her teacher on the screen."
That's when Fulks came up with an idea to keep Charleston focused.
“I put Charleston’s training wheels back on her bike, I drove it up to the table and put the training wheels inside of two of my running sneakers" said Fulks. "And it lifted the back wheel enough to allow her to pedal during her class."
The transformed bike turned out to be a game-changer. It helped Charleston to be able to sit through her entire online sessions.
Fulks' creative solution is just one way to get a student moving. Experts say that kind of activity can be a real key to keeping kids learning.
"Incorporating movement into your body while you’re learning really helps activate your brain and really helps your ability to think," said Sue Thotz with Common Sense, a nonprofit helping parents, teachers and kids effectively use technology. “Movement in between your lessons will really help your student by stimulating that brain function and really help them to get the most out of the time that they are sitting down and learning."
That's something Fulks includes in her daily planning, often taking movement breaks throughout the day. She also recommends being flexible with your learning routine.
"If my girls are having an off day we don’t stress about getting everything done, we get through the moment and then we can go back to it revisit it."
Charleston no longer needs the bike to focus on her virtual classes and as the months have gone by, she and her sister have developed an appreciation for distance learning. A mom’s creativity and dedication are getting high marks from her students.