Written by : Beri Gebrehiwot

Our Back to School Forum was a great success, with tons of great content and tips to help you prepare for the 2020-21 school year. As most of us are going into the school year with a new model of Virtual Learning or Home Schooling, there is a lot of anxiety and pressure to figure out exactly how this is going to work as we juggle our own work, house work, multiple kids and other obligations. With the whole family at home, there are many challenges, but thanks to our panelists, they’ve given us great hope and tangible resources to help prepare for a successful transition to the school year.

Below is the recording from our Back To School Forum along with the great resources they’ve shared, a back to school supplies list, a checklist for getting ready, a sample calendar and other resources shared during our time together.

Resources:

What you will find from Selam Habte’s presentation:

• Making meaningful connections with teachers

• Importance of parents having a positive attitude about Virtual Learning + setting goals/expectations together

• First understanding what motivates your child/different learning styles

• Checklist for what you need prior to start/who to contact and where to find the information

• Establishing and keeping open communication with teachers via email/phone

• You can learn more about Selam and the parent resources she shares on her Youtube Channel here.
  

What you will find from Hana Seyoum’s presentation:

• How to manage your home and organizing your day

• Creating the right environment/space for virtual learning/ homeschooling

• Sample schedule/typical day in homeschool setting

• Systems for older kids/managing different age groups

• Maintaining parent/child relationship while wearing teacher hat

• Different approaches/options for virtual/home learning, such as “Learning Pods”

• You can learn more about Hana and her educational resources here.

What you will find from Tizita Seifu’s presentation:

• Self regulation and coregulation

• Self care and managing parenting stress

• The power of your thought life and how it influences your behavior

• The power of your calm and how it influences your home/environment

• You can learn more about Tizita and her work here.

Other resources mentioned during event:

• Special needs resources for Habesha community: Reaching Families Advocacy and Support Group

• For movement and mindfulness games/activities: GoNoodle

• A book to help children cope with emotions: 1-2-3 A Calmer Me

• Educational resources for Parents on PBS Parents

Are there other resources you’d like to share with our community of moms? Please send them via Email here.

It’s going to be a great school year! We got this, Mamas!