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Tips for going back to school on Zoom
How do kindergarten students start the year virtually? Kindergarten students all over are starting school remotely. As leaders debate how to go back to school safely, teachers everywhere are wondering how they can build relationships with their students during remote learning. When schools closed in March teachers had already developed relationships and classroom culture. It was hard, but teachers everywhere quickly figured out how to end the year virtually. But now it’s back to school season and teachers are faced with brand new students. Kindergarten students are starting school in a whole new way. Teachers have to meet their students virtually. Suddenly ending the year seems like a cakewalk compared to starting a new year. So many questions, so much unknown. The single most important element in a classroom is relationships. I can say this with 100% confidence that the single most important element in a classroom is relationships. The relationships you form with your students, with their parents, with your co-workers. Relationships are the foundation of all learning. So how do you build a relationship with a 5 year old over Zoom? So how do you build a relationship with a 5 year old over Zoom? Here are...
read moreTips for Using Google Classroom for Kindergarten Remote Learning
3 Tips for using Google Classroom in Kindergarten During Remote Learning So many teachers and students have been thrust into using Google Classroom during school closures. If this is the first time your kindergarten students have used Google Classroom I have some tips to make the transition from classroom learning to remote learning a little easier on everyone. Be kind to yourself First of all, be kind to yourself, we are all trying our best, and there will be good days and bad days. No one could have prepared for this and we all need to give ourselves just a little bit of grace. Here are my top tips for using Google Classroom for the first time. #1 Use content they know. There is a steep learning curve for you, your students, and your parents. Learning a new platform can be difficult. Start with content you know they are comfortable with. Even though your kids may have mastered the content – they are learning how to log in, access the lessons, and submitting lessons. Make sure the content is easy. This really is about the process not the product. Matching upper and lower case letters is a great place...
read moreRemote Learning in Kindergarten
This week has been surreal. The implications for schools are unprecedented. Teachers have been asked to prepare for remote learning with only a couple of days notice, and in some cases hours. So many teachers are finding themselves faced with the challenge of getting up to speed with digital within a day or two. Take a deep breath, there is support for you. If your school and your students have been affected by closures here is a list of resources that may help. One of the major challenges that low income families face during closure is the lack on internet connection. Here is some information from Comcast and Verizon on providing free internet or discounted prices to low income families. Here are 2 free courses that will help get you ready to use digital Google Classroom is free and readily available to teachers and schools. You can set up a class in a matter of minutes. All you need is your school created email and password. The course will show you step by step how to add students, assign lessons, and a few tips for getting your students logged in. Google Classroom Course Boom Cards are self-checking digital...
read moreA Playful Kindergarten in a Digital World
Yes, you CAN have a playful kindergarten in a digital world. A playful kindergarten AND a digital word may sound like two ideas that do not go together sort of like suger-less candy. However, a playful classroom and a digital world are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it is actually easier to create a playful kindergarten in a digital world. We all can agree that in the last few years kindergarten has become more and more like first grade. The demands on both the students and the teachers have increased. So has the stress. We are expected to get our kindergarten students to an ever-increasing benchmark and it feels like play and playfulness are being squeezed out. Decreased recess time, the elimination of dramatic play, blocks, and play, add to an increase in disruptions. It doesn’t have to be that way. Many teachers report seeing an increase in challenging behaviors and we are seeing more and more information about managing our student’s stress level. Most schools are trying deperately to adopt PBIS strategies to adapt to the ever increasing social emotional needs of our kids. Hmm. it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to imagine that maybe just maybe we are seeing...
read moreHow to Use Google Classroom in the Primary Grades
Google Classroom really CAN work in Kindergarten It wasn’t so long ago that teachers actually thought young students couldn’t use Google Classroom. I feel like I spent much of my time convincing people seriously – Google Classroom really can work for kinders. So now most teachers and admins realize that using digital tools like Chromebooks in kindergarten is an option. But the question then becomes how…. How do we bring Google Classroom into our day? I have a google classroom, now what? So, you have a few Chromebooks and you set up your google classroom but you find yourself saying now what? This is for you. Need a little help getting started? click here. If you are like most teachers you want the very best for your students. You stay up at night worrying that you are not meeting their needs, not seeing results fast enough. We all want that magic pill that will reach every single student. We want that class where every child is confidently making benchmarks. Well, after over 30 years, I have still yet to have that class. In reality, we have students come to us so far behind that before we even start we are...
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