Starting next week, my little guy is starting school – virtually. It was a very tough decision and I do not take lightly to the fact that at such a young age, he is going to go through a LOT to get through this school year.
He was plucked out of his first taste of school life last year when the pandemic hit and I basically took it as an extended summer vacation for him because I knew he would not be okay with sitting in front of a laptop for extended periods of time.
Fast-forward to now. It is September. And given the way that our life has played out, and how our work schedules have fallen, we have made the tough decision to virtually educate him, for the next little while while the dust settles on the education system here. I am fully aware, almost painfully aware of how this may impact him. I want to minimize the negative impact of the lack of the school environment. Therefore, here are five strategies I am using to supplement his virtual learning.
Create a Dedicated Learning space
When we first went into lock down, we had no real space for his learning activities. Therefore, it was the kitchen table flanked by his play space to one side and the TV on the other side. This was not ideal. My child is five years old. He is rambunctious. He was constantly distracted by his surroundings and all the people in the house.
We decided to update the guest room and make the main purpose of the room a learning space. We created a double desk area where one of us can be beside him working from home and supporting his online teacher by being there to guide him and help him figure out how to mute and un-mute. We gave it a fun name ” The Discovery Room” so that he can get attached to a place he will go to actively discover new things ie. learning.
Put all learning materials in One place
I don’t know about you but my son cannot sit still for more than 20 min at a time. What happens during asynchronous learning? Or what happens when the teacher asks them to physically do an activity with materials around the house.
I wanted to ensure that most of the basic materials that you would typically use in the classroom are available all in one place. I used a photo box organizer that you can get on Amazon or at Michael’s and used it to organize all the small items that he may need.
I also have a designated drawer with workbooks, notebooks, paper, construction paper and anything large scale that he may want to use in his day. This makes my life easier when I am the designated parent to aide virtual learning. It also helps me when the husband is the designated parent, to minimize calls that begin with “Love, have you seen the [enter craft item here}?”
Create a sense of familiarity
Kids like routine and familiarity. With my son, I wanted to add elements of his classroom life into the virtual schooling area. It’s important to me that he WANT to learn. It will be difficult enough that he won’t have the human connection in a classroom setting. Therefore having little familiar things around our discovery room
I thought it was important to have a daily check in board, something that used to be a daily routine in his class in JK. A daily check in board allows him to get in the mood for the day where we discuss:
- what day of the week it is
- the weather
- an important date we are counting down to
- how we are feeling
- simple daily goals like “word of the day” or “good deed”
I put together a box full of crafting supplies and manipulatives that he would use in the classroom. He is familiar with these materials and I know that having them available will make it easier for him the learn in a tactile fashion, which I already know is his style of learning. In the box I have:
- flash cards – Alphabets, numbers, sight words, additions, shapes
- crafting supplies – pop cycle sticks, pompoms, googly eyes
- math tools – coloured blocks
- writing and drawing tools – pencils, markers, crayons
wORK TO SUPPORT THE VIRTUAL LEARNING TEACHER
This year is going to be a poop explosion. That is putting it — em, lightly. No one has done virtual learning before, especially in the kindergarten level. There are going to be days when you are going to question if you made the right choice by keeping your kid at home. But you have to realize that this is not only hard on them, but also something of a brand new situation for the teachers. Most teachers in the virtual learning program will not be getting any sense of connection, they will not get the same type of personal fulfillment, and they will be the brunt of all of our frustrations as parents stuck “supporting” our kids (read: nagging) through virtual learning.
I think it is imperative to work collaboratively with your child’s teacher. The teacher and you need to be on the same team. Try to see it from their side too. How frustrating it must be to not be able to connect with kids the way they were able to just a few months ago.
Everything is different. For us all. Try to be kind, and help support the learning by implementing the main topic of the day into your day with your child. By doing so, he/she will be able to constructively apply what they are learning.
KEEP YOUR EXPECTATIONS REALISTIC
The first day is going to be a challenge. Your child may not be able to hold their attention span beyond a few minutes. It’s okay. Work up to it. Every day, do a little more then what you did the day before. Realize that kids WILL learn. They are curious and in this age, they are sponges. Try not to pass your frustrations on to them. Take it easy and one day at a time. It will get better as they get accustomed to this way of learning. If all else fails, know that life is your best teacher, and this year, has been a great lesson in resilience, they will overcome this, and so will you.
And Mama/Mommy/Ammu and Abbu, you all are doing so so well. You should be so proud of your babies. They are going to be just fine.
Find me on: Instagram
