Washington News Bureau

Parents share materials in social media group about homeschooling during coronavirus outbreak

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The coronavirus outbreak has left millions of parents forced to juggle working from home and homeschooling their children for the first time and now a Facebook group is offering some guidance and encouragement.

"I have four children and I've never worked from home at the same time,” Meredith Olson said about starting the group.

Olson works for the non-profit group, “Stand Together” and her role focuses on education.

She said her personal experience in the wake of the pandemic led her to create the Facebook group, “Learn Everywhere.”

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"Within days, we had thousands of parents talking to one another and that was inspiring,” Olson said.

As of Wednesday, there were more than 13,000 people in the group.

It’s a place for parents to share tools, ideas and materials.

Parents in the group are sharing everything from tips about how to structure their day to lesson plans.

"You have a parent who has a child maybe with a learning difference who says, ‘my child has dyslexia. I don't know what to do. What are some ideas?’ And 50 other parents respond with ideas,” Olson said.

In many school districts, students have online programs to follow during the closures due to the coronavirus.

Virtual learning can be a big challenge though for young children who might have trouble learning online alone.

Olson is hoping the Facebook group gives parents the information and encouragement they need.

"We've got to pull together and find a way through it,” Olson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised parents to create a schedule and a routine for kids but also said to be flexible and adapt some things based on the day.