Keeping Engagement Alive!

Teaching kindergarten in a global pandemic presents its own challenges: many students do not have the acquaintances of their  new classmates and the fact that they NEED to have hands-on academic experiences.

My kindergarten team planned all summer for these challenges. We decided to provide supply and material boxes for each student that would be filled each week with the necessary materials for instruction.  Each student has 2 boxes; one with them at home that has the current materials, and the other filled with the next week's materials to be exchanged at the school each Friday.

A Donors Choose grant helped me purchase my boxes and some supplies. Below is a photo of this current week's materials: a new writing journal (our second one), our current sight words, a sight word grid, our current letter/sound cards, a project for each of those sounds, a Scholastic magazine reader about leaves, a counting reader, a Fall leaf recording page, a papier-mâché leaf art project (with a small container of starch and paintbrush included), a 20 Rekenrek we will build together, and a weekly calendar and asynchronous work log. Most of these items will stay with the student, but some things I request returned, such as the small container that can be reused.

The students return their empty boxes on Fridays and exchange them for their new ones.  The boxes are left on the kindergarten patio so parents can come at their convenience during the day.  If a box is left over at the end of the day, I will deliver it to their doorstep that same day.  It is important that my students have their materials ready for the next week. It is rare that I deliver a box.

Over the course of the first trimester, students have collected materials that we use often during our virtual learning sessions.  They have a math tool kit (left) and an ELA tool kit (below).

Daily, I record a video and post via Class Dojo in our Class Stories the materials they will need for that day. I post it about an hour before our session begins. My students always have their materials at the ready.  I tell them they should be watching it themselves to be prepared for class (Be Responsible). I keep my own set of materials just like my students so I know exactly what they have and I model where to return each item so they can find it in the future.

I have received numerous comments from parents about how they appreciate the organization and materials that keep their child engaged online.  My students are always excited to get their new boxes to see what we'll be doing.  We even do painting projects every other week (the paint goes home in the small containers).

Here was a "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate" STEM Challenge and below is our culminating project of carving our pumpkins with shape features after a whole week of pumpkin exploration (measuring, comparing, describing, sink or float, writing about, counting the seeds, etc...)

This is definitely A LOT of work with planning and preparing, but my team and my parents make it work.  Not once have I had a parent complain about having to come get their box. 

Our students deserve it!  I surely hope this post has inspired to think outside of your proverbial box on how you can keep the engagement alive with your students during virtual learning/teaching!

Happy (Virtual) Teaching!

Erin Grebel

Inspiring Readers through the Summer Slump

Unfortunately, due to this pandemic, we have had to inspire readers through this "COVID Slump," and now we have the task of keeping them reading throughout the summer. Many children, especially struggling readers, forget some of what they've learned or slip out of practice during the summer months. The summer slump may seem beyond your control; however, there are some teacher tips for both students and parents that I find effective and encourage summer learning to keep skills sharp before the next school year starts.


Summer slump, also known as the summer slide or summer learning loss, is a concept that over the summer, students lose a portion of what they learned over the school year. This year there is even a bigger fear since some students may not have been reading for the past two months. We can not let these students go a total of five months without pushing positive support in keeping their reading skills sharp. We've worked too hard to see that loss! I've been preparing my students via distance learning for the excitement and importance of summer reading.  

Keep On Reading

• Our summer goal as teachers should be to keep our students reading. Children are attracted to print materials that spark their interests. Due to COVID, this will be tough because libraries are closed and many students have read all the books they do have at home. We will need to continue to encourage and utilize the online platforms we have set up during distance learning. I am keeping my website running and updated throughout the summer. I am encouraging my students to log into the reading website Epic. I love Epic because children can find books online that connect to their interests, such as superheroes, horses, science fiction, the ocean, space exploration, insects, people from other lands and times, etc. These books plus much more are available through Epic. In addition, I sent home (when students came to campus to pick up belongings) a packet of passages according to student level, a parent letter explaining the importance of summer reading- Parent Summer Letter, a Summer Reading Log, and Reading Contract. Here are links to these resources. If you are unable to send these resources home with each student, they could easily be emailed or sent home through your online platforms. 
• I have and will be encouraging families/students to read every day. Besides the passages and websites, I like to give families strategies on how a student can read. I encourage independent reading, echo reading, shared reading, and reading aloud. Reading aloud benefits all children, especially those who struggle. This goes both ways- family members can read aloud to the child, or the child can read aloud to a family member. I remind families that reading aloud to their children can build listening comprehension skills and help kids read better when reading on their own. I also encourage families to do shared reading with their children. Using a book or passage that is on level for their child, families can take turns reading together. It's important to explain that this can be done by sentence, paragraph, or page depending on each child's confidence. This is a great way to challenge kids to read difficult words because someone will be there to support them. Really any plan is acceptable as long as you inform parents that the goal is for their child to enjoy the reading experience with you and not participate in a corrective reading lesson. Sometimes letting a child's reading mistakes go unnoticed may be difficult but will result in a child who likes to read and knows its ok to relax and enjoy reading.  
• Encourage families to sign up for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. This free program unites communities in a nationwide campaign that celebrates reading for fun while improving access to books during the summer. For 2020, they are sharing a brand new kids' experience called Scholastic Home Base, a free digital destination that offers books, live events, and games in a safe community for readers! Kids will be encouraged to keep track of their reading to earn rewards.
• My main goal is to reliterate the importance of keeping each child reading daily!

With some advanced preparation, you can get families excited about summer reading and help your student avoid the summer slump.  Their future teacher will be grateful!

Positively Teaching,  
Randi Muehlen

Distance Learning During a Pandemic

Well 2020 didn't quite start off they we could ever have imagined, but here we are! Distance Learning has been both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing in that we've been given the time for self-care, the ability to take care of things at home, and spend time with our families.  As well as the fact that we still have jobs and are getting paid whereas many others are not.  A curse in that, Distance Learning is HARD.  It is not what we as teachers signed up for, but I think we're rockin' it for the most part.  This has been a HUGE adjustment for parents, teachers, and kids alike. It is a daily struggle to get ALL kids and parents participating.  It also lacks the joy of teaching, seeing the kids make connections, and the daily face to face interaction.

On the bright side, I still get to see their smiling faces on zoom and that helps me feel a little better about not being able to see them live in the classroom each day!  I thought I would just blog a little bit about what my Distance Learning classroom looks like!

Google Classroom

In my Google classroom, I post their assignments weekly.  I have them grouped by each week of distance learning.  Each assignment has it's due date posted next to it.  All assignments are posted on Sunday night, and then I make an announcement in Google classroom attaching their 5 day schedule for the week, which explains what exactly they should be completing each day.



This is just a snapshot of the 5 day schedule.  This shows the kids exactly what they need to complete each day and the links are embedded. This gets posted Sunday night in Google classroom as well as in my parent app (ClassTag).  Then we Zoom on Monday to discuss, go over, and make sure they understand the assignments, answer questions, etc

I also post exercise and mindfulness video links for them to do if they would like.  I always ask them to leave a comment and tell us which one they tried out, if they chose to do any.  They LOVE Go Noodle in the classroom so many of them are enjoying that they can do it at home!
I have also posted a few step-by-step drawing video links and had them share/post their creations.  I think it's important for them to have something fun to do and talk about besides schoolwork. 😊




Zoom
I zoom with the kids two to three times per week.
Always on Monday to make sure they understand their assignments and what's due for the week- we go over the daily schedule.  Then again on Wednesday to follow up, answer questions, make sure kids are on track completing assignments.   Then sometimes again on Friday to again address students who haven't completed work and to remind them things are due, to answer questions, provide help, do something fun, etc.  I had assigned the kids a book report project back in February that would have been due Monday 3/30.  I gave them an extra couple weeks to complete it and we shared them over zoom this past week. It was cute they were so excited to share them!

Zoom tips and tricks:
-Arrange your settings so that all participants are muted upon entry
-Toggle on the waiting room switch.  This makes it so that you have to "admit" each student.  This way you are away if anyone suspicious is trying to join.
-Also in the settings toggle on the switch that notifies you with a doorbell sound every time a participant enters or leaves.  This helps you keep track of who's coming and going.
-Type a question in the comment at the start of the meeting this way they have something to read and and answer while they're waiting.
-Also if you noticed that the "chat" feature disappeared- it didn't! When you log into zoom you need to go to your "setting" and just scroll down to where you see the chat feature setting and click the toggle switch to on.

Kids Learning at Home
I have a large part of my parents and kids messaging, calling, or emailing on a daily basis.  And although at times it's exhausting, it is so rewarding to see so many of my families working hard to support their children and make sure they're still learning.  I have had many of them express their gratitude to me for my help and support and it truly makes all of this worthwhile.  Likewise, I appreciate all their effort and support with their children at home!  I asked my parents to send me any pictures of their kiddos doing Distance Learning at home, and here are a few I received 😍💖                                                                 

Distantly Learning,

Megan Brown

megan.brown@omsd.net