Preschool Learning At Home
3/28/2020
Just three weeks ago teachers at PNA were eagerly anticipating the return of students from Spring Break, however the pandemic caused by the coronavirus has rapidly turned our world upside down. For teachers at PNA, it has required us to think outside of the box as we strive to continue our mission of educating children to be exceptional learners and independent thinkers. While we all hoped the health crisis would resolve itself quickly, it has not. So, our challenge as teachers is this: how can we adjust what we do as teachers in the classroom to help students be successful with distance learning? This has required a few things from us as teachers. First, we had to quickly learn new technological skills, and begin using them ASAP! It has made us step out of our comfort zones and try new ways of teaching. It has made us truly appreciate our dedicated parents who are striving to keep their students’ learning happening at home. And, as I’ve spoken with other teachers, every one of them has mentioned the same thing: It really makes us miss our kiddos!! Every day we make videos for our students and post them on Flipgrid. We have morning meetings, where we sing, go over the calendar, daily schedule and question of the day. I explain any worksheets we will be doing, and then we practice phonemic awareness skills. I often give suggestions about what kind of activities they may choose to do that day. Finally, I remind them that their family will likely not do things just the way Mrs. Smith does them, and that’s okay! 😊 I also post videos of songs, our science experiments (will our seeds EVER grow?!) and our Closing Meetings where we wrap up the day, talk about what we did, reveal the question of the day for the following day, and sing a song or two. The children, in return, also post short videos about their days, all of which I watch and respond to, and students can also watch each other’s videos. And next week, in order to help us all feel more connected to each other, we will begin holding Zoom meetings! I’m looking forward to that!
So, while this is a very challenging time for all of us, I am so grateful to be part of a school community which is completely dedicated to the success of our students. I’m sure our approach and practices will evolve as we continue distance learning, but our commitment remains the same: support our students and their families in the learning process.
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Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
April 2021
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