Is anyone doing this right now? We just had our first remote day. Three different teachers read books to the Zoom class. It seemed so extraneous, and the lags in the teachers’ connections were distracting.
Why not just assign a book to be read at home, or even have a professionally read children’s book casted on a share screen and have a simple discussion with the children?
Has anyone been satisfied with their distance learning at this age group, either now or from last spring and can offer some recommendations on how to approach this better?
My kid is in public ES, so starting on the 21st. Remote learning is a joke at this age. It will never work except in small groups, 3-4 students at a time. Especially with a new teacher and classmates they have never met before. I'm hoping that the in-person time, with very few kids there, will be the meaningful part.
Has your school communicated what the in-person days will look like in terms of instruction? At our public ES there's a rumor that for some of the grades/classes the kids will be in the building but the teachers will be remote, teaching them via Zoom. And we have no idea what happens during the non-live teaching time. Ugh.
@Anonymous , I don't have details yet. But I believe only one teacher received medical accommodation, so this shouldn't be a major issue. There may be Zooming the remote kids in at some points, but unclear up to now, depending on who will be teaching them etc. A couple of parents expressed concern about rigid procedures for such young kids, and we were told that they are taking this into account and trying to organize some time outside and bringing limited toys in the class, that the instructional lunch will be "light instruction", maybe story time or something similar. On the other hand, they want to minimize passing objects between kids and teachers, which is a bit of an overkill IMO.
IME with remote learning last spring, it's nothing short of disastrous when attempted with large groups. Small groups are the way to go -- it can actually be meaningful and engaging when done that way.
This. Last spring, DC had 17 kids in K class and two teachers, which is a great ratio for in person, but still not great for remote learning. They could get away with doing full class live sessions for circle time type activities, but meaningful learning in reading and math only really happened when they divided up into small groups with additional specialists joining so it was 3-4 kids per teacher.
Honestly? I wouldn't bother sending a 5 year old to remote school. Too young.
This!
Ditto.
Schools are trying their best. Why don't you let them know some of your suggestions so they can make adjustments.
Yes, do this. We went from absolute train wreck to great experience last spring due to a constant feedback loop and trying lots of different things. Push for small groups 3-5 kids max. Even if they don't meet every day, it's so much more meaningful and engaging than big group sessions, which are absolutely pointless.
This! They are trying. FWIW, either of the other options you mentioned (assign parents to read the book, or post a video) are things that I've seen parents here or on UB bitching about in the spring, so it's understandable that if these teachers have received similar feedback from last year's cohort, they might think that whole-class live reading would be the preferred option. Letting them know (politely) that you would be open to less live time and more videos/parent reading in order to have smaller group meetings, might be valuable feedback.
OP here. Thanks for the input. I agree with pushing for small groups, even if that means meeting less frequently.
DC did fair amount of outschool (via zoom) this summer and those classes were great so I know it can be done if the teacher knows what he/she is doing. Small classes, “class rules”, lots of interaction. He is starting K (online) at private. I’m not happy but fingers crossed they can pull it off
My 5 year old had a successful zoom at the end of the year. Math classes were like you suggested: the kids were live in small groups. The teacher found a good video to explain the concepts. Then he got feedback from all of them in the group. They used seesaw to do the homework independently each day. Class was just a few hours in the morning, then the remainder of the day free.
i think distance learning for kids under 8 or 9 is just pointless. i think we should all just have our kids either in school or not in school and enjoying their lives and if they stay back a year they stay back.
I agree 100%. I have a young DC at a private preschool and am skipping Zoom altogether. I firmly believe it is more damaging to their health than helpful to their growth.