Whether you’re new to online learning or you’ve been doing it for years, here are a few ways to get the most out of an online curriculum.

Implement regular check ins.

The more involved a parent is with any curriculum, the more successful the child will be. This is especially important with an online curriculum where kids can easily work ahead unchecked and potentially rush through the curriculum. To help with this, look for a program that allows the parent to put a block on an assignment or assessment that requires the child to check in with the parent before proceeding. Implementing these regular checks can save you the work of reassigning a whole unit that your child blazed through.

If possible, have a computer dedicated to learning.

Studies show that our physical surroundings affect our focus and ability to learn. Having a physical and even technological space dedicated to learning helps your child better focus on learning when it’s school time.

Incorporate hands-on, real-life activities.

Hands-on activities and tangible learning opportunities like field trips are so valuable no matter what type of curriculum you use, but they’re especially important with online curriculum. Make sure your child is using the information learned by taking the lessons from the online curriculum into the physical world.

Break up the screen time.

It’s tempting to sit a child down in front of a screen and leave them there distracted for hours, but ideally you don’t want to leave them uninterrupted for that long. Breaks in screen time help students better retain what they’re learning. These breaks can still be active learning time filled them with hands-on activities, outside time when it’s possible, or other relationally-focused learning like read-aloud time.