Find a routine
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Parents can ask their child for help preparing meals, calculating the proportions for each ingredient, to keep their brain active.
While the approximately 66,000 teachers of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) have been on strike since November 23, the alarm has stopped ringing for many children whose schools are closed. However, explains Isabelle Plante, professor in the faculty of education sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), “the basis is to keep a routine as much as possible”. But be careful: parents don’t have to homeschool. “The idea is to keep the brain active,” she says. Examples: playing educational games, such as Scrabble or Yum, or asking for help in preparing meals, by calculating the proportions for each ingredient.
Read every day
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Child leafing through a book during the last edition of the Montreal Book Fair, last November
Once the children (and teenagers) are awake, and we haven’t waited until 8 a.m., 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. to get out of bed, the morning remains the best time to add “school” to the routine. , adds Mme Plant. For many, this may simply be spending 15 to 30 minutes reading. Isabelle Archambault, professor at the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal, specifies that books can be fun, and that “they don’t have to be in-depth readings.” Parents can then question the children about what they have read. After all, “a lot of schoolwork is linked to understanding texts,” she recalls.
Use online resources
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Sites are full of resources for reviewing academic concepts during the labor dispute.
For teenagers, some of whom are worried about the repercussions of such a long break for the preparation of their ministerial exams, it is important to remember that “measures will be put in place [lors du retour en classe] and that it affects everyone,” explains Mme Archambault. Until the end of the labor dispute, “we have to get them to see things step by step, to the extent that a lot of people, including adults, are in uncertainty,” she adds. In the meantime, sites like Alloprof are full of resources for reviewing school concepts. Isabelle Plante, from UQAM, reminds us that it is better to do it every day, even if only for 15 minutes, than to set aside more time in a single day.
Take the time to talk
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Some teenagers who work part-time may have increased their hours at work during the strike.
Some teens who work part-time may have increased their hours at work. Véronique Dupéré, professor at the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal, recalls that “students who have no commitments to school, who do not have a plan that motivates them and excites them” sometimes don’t really know why they go to school anymore. To prevent them from dropping out, you have to “take the time to talk about it [avec eux] and make a good assessment of where they are,” she says. This discussion can be initiated by a parent, but also by any adult – including an employer – who has a special connection with the young person. “Taking the time to listen to him, to help him, it can make a difference,” recalls Mme From father.