2B
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
Creating a homeschooling schedule
Kid-friendly planning
Lindsey Zapalac
Guest columnist
As thousands of families across Ore-
gon adjust to new routines doing online
school from home this fall, eﬀective
time management has become a vital
skill for students and parents.
Children, especially middle and high
school age doing distance learning, are
taking on more responsibility for man-
aging their own time. They don’t have
bells or teachers present to assist them
in staying on track like in an in-person
school setting.
While students and teachers have
opportunities for live online classes to-
gether, the role of the caretaker changes
in a digital learning environment. Par-
ents are often more involved in their
student’s education, particularly at the
elementary level. Many families say this
is a great beneﬁt to online learning as
they get a front-row seat into their
child’s schooling.
Older students gain more independ-
ence and more control in the place and
pace of their learning. That empower-
ment requires solid time management
skills for these virtual learners.
As a counselor at a full-time online
school, here are tried and true tips fam-
ilies can use to help students develop
successful time management skills:
Find fun time management tools like
a colorful magnetic calendar or large
whiteboard, notebooks, and apps for
kids who love technology. When setting
up a system to help your student sched-
ule their schoolwork use what appeals
to your child. This ensures they will use
these items to help keep them on track.
ing with them to prioritize assignments.
It’s helpful to spend time with your child
reviewing assignments, instructions,
and due dates for the next few weeks
(high school students may need less
guidance).
Long-range projects or tests should
also be on the calendar so your child
isn’t scrambling at the last minute. Your
student should set aside time for these
assignments or to study for big exams.
Schedule schoolwork
Minimize distractions
Organizing a student’s day is key for
time management. Children thrive on
consistency, so establish designated
learning times on your student’s daily
schedule. It is important to remember to
be patient as it can take a while to ﬁnd
your child’s ideal routine.
French writer Nicolas Chamfort has
been paraphrased as saying, “Eat a live
frog ﬁrst thing in the morning and noth-
ing worse will happen the rest of the
day.” The idea is to confront the frog,
symbolizing the least favorite task or
hardest subject, ﬁrst rather than putting
it oﬀ all day.
This is a good example of helping
your student develop a schedule that
sets them up for success. Over time,
your student’s daily schedule may need
adjustment, and that’s okay. The beauty
of online learning is that it’s ﬂexible and
can accommodate these changes easily.
When your child’s working on as-
signments, it’s tempting to check social
media or funny videos, but they should
limit their time online to schoolwork
during the day. Self-discipline is critical
for time management. Having a quiet
study space without TV or a smart-
phone helps reduce distractions.
Multitasking sounds good, but it’s
not an eﬀective way for your child to
learn. Using a timer to manage the
workﬂow can also help keep children fo-
cused.
Ask a teacher for help If your student
is struggling with a subject or managing
their time, your child should ask a
teacher for assistance sooner rather
than later. Teachers want your students
to do well in school and prefer children
reach out when they’re confused, rather
than fall behind.
Prioritize assignments
Study breaks
Teachers appreciate families work-
nutrition, and rest to manage time eﬃ-
ciently. Kids need up to 11 hours of sleep
each night depending on age and their
academic abilities might suﬀer if they
don’t get enough sleep.
While doing schoolwork, your stu-
dent should take short breaks every half
hour or hour giving their minds a chance
to recharge. Have your child schedule
10-15 minutes for a stretch, a snack, or
chat with a friend.
Many time management tips can
help your student not only navigate dis-
tance learning today but also whatever
educational, professional, and personal
experiences they encounter in the fu-
ture.
Over the years Connections Acad-
emy has watched our online school stu-
dents develop excellent time manage-
ment skills. These are among the soft
skills that give these students an edge
over many of their peers navigating life
beyond high school.
When families empower children
with the gift of time management, they
not only help them successfully meet
virtual class deadlines, but also gain a
skill that opens real doors of opportuni-
ty later in life.
Lyndsey Zapalac is a counselor with
Willamette Connections Academy, a
statewide tuition-free, full-time, public
virtual charter school. The school is au-
thorized by the Scio School District and
is overseen by its own governing board
and school leader.
Young brains require lots of breaks,
Kayak
Continued from Page 1B
The 889-acres are split into two loca-
tions: Bandon Marsh unit, located up-
stream of the green Bullards Bridge on
Highway 101, and the Ni-les’tun unit,
downstream of the bridge.
The Ni-les’tun unit was named by the
Coquille Indian Tribe and means “small
ﬁsh dam in the river,” referencing the
numerous ﬁsh weirs at the site, which
were used by ancestral Coquille for cap-
turing ﬁsh and were preserved in the
salt water over the years.
Kayakers need to be weary not to
touch them, Iaquinto said. She said they
appear to be vertical poles sticking out
of the mud in the channels that aren’t
there naturally.
“They’re a little hard to describe, but
you know them when you see them, and
it’s usually only at pretty low tide,” she
said.
Much of the Ni-les’tun unit was part
of a dairy farm and kept partly dry until
2011, when dikes were lowered and tide-
gates were removed to restore over 400
acres of tide marsh, making it the larg-
est tide marsh restoration project in
Oregon.
On the water, and what to know
The best way to paddle the two units
of the refuge is by beginning at the boat
ramp at Bullards Beach State Park, but
you’ll want to consider the timing of a
trip.
The best moment is middway be-
tween high and low tide, ideally when
the tide is coming in, to give you a natu-
ral boost heading upstream.
(Consult tide tables for Bandon to ﬁg-
ure this out).
After launching into the Coquille Riv-
er, I paddled upstream, passing below
the green Bullards Bridge on Highway
101, and then veering left (river right) to
the Bandon Marsh unit of the refuge.
The main entry point to the refuge is
Fahy Creek, but depending on the tide,
there’s many little ﬁngers branching oﬀ
to explore — the aforementioned maze
— and plenty of birds to see.
In the autumn, raptors can be seen
here, along with egrets and herons.
“At lower tides, you’ll see shorebirds
using the mudﬂats,” Iaquinto said.
I paddled for a few hours through the
network of channels before popping
back out into the main channel of the
Coquille. It felt a lot like ﬁnishing a corn
Miller
Continued from Page 1B
March.
Because of restrictions both here and
in California, we had to get make-goods
for round-trip plane tickets to Santa
Barbara during the grandkids’ spring
break.
Pandemic optimism is deﬁned by an-
ticipating being willing to risk air travel
before the expiration on the ticket-re-
placement vouchers.
I was especially looking forward to
taking Nic ﬁshing for the ﬁrst time.
The only family member who came
out happy in the wake of the vacation
patty melt was Harry the dog, who got a
Bullards Bridge on Highway 101 spanning the Coquille River, on the route to Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.
maze, so I rolled with the ﬂow and head-
ed back downstream to check out the
Ni-les’tun unit.
Sadly, the tide was getting fairly low
and the sun was sinking as well, so I
paddled around the edge and then
headed back to my car. A goal for next
time.
Overall, a kayak trip to into Bandon
Marsh NWR is quiet, peaceful and full of
more birds than people. You can smell
the salt and hear the ocean, but the ref-
uge is its own unique place, especially if
you’re looking to paddle through a maze.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors re-
porter, photographer and videographer
in Oregon for 12 years. Urness is the au-
thor of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon”
and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can
be reached at zurness@StatesmanJour
nal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on
Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
Use a kayak to explore the many channels of the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife
Refuge outside Bandon in the Coquille River. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL
reprieve from a seven-day stretch in the
kennel by Gov. Brown’s public health
safety measures.
The canceled clamming outings are
too numerous to list, but highlights in-
clude a May 9 (minus-2.15 feet), June 6
(minus-2.26 feet, excuse me while I
wipe my eyes) and the July 4 holiday
(minus-1.98 feet).
All of those were weekends, by the
way, so you were about as likely to en-
counter social distancing as you would
avoiding human contact in a rugby
scrum.
How’s this for a hit list of bummers
during the dumpster ﬁre that is 2020?:
Group outing to a seafood buﬀet (as I
said, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry),
family party (relegated to Zoom virtual
gathering) and my dad’s 96th birthday
(memory unit where he lives was in no-
visitor lockdown).
Remember that late May all-depth
halibut-ﬁshing day that I wrote about
when they announced the open dates?
The one that fell within a week from
my birthday that I mentioned in case
anyone was looking for a gift?
Fuggedaboutit.
Speaking about let-downs, instead of
a planned friends-and-family blowout
in Vegas for that birthday, a decennial
biggie, Kay and I dined on takeout at
home, and the well-wishes were via
cards, text messages and calls.
Ditto for our July wedding anniversa-
ry.
“Love you babe. You want that last
slice of pizza?”
About June 1, the number of squares
with planned activities crossed out or
angrily scribbled through peters out to a
collection of doctors’ visits (telemedi-
cine for some), trips to the vet (Harry
didn’t escape entirely), socially distant
plumber calls and annual home appli-
ance maintenance services.
Don’t know about you, but we’re
looking forward to a do-over in 2021.
All of us plan to turn the coulda woul-
da, shouldas into been there, done
thats.
Stay safe.
Fishing thought for the week: Yes,
Henry, there really are ﬁsh in there. And
they’re laughing at you. – Wiseass ﬁsh-
ing buddy, Tom
Contact Henry via email at Henry
MillerSJ@gmail.com