Kindergarten Crew // Distance Learning at DAA
As the Covid-19 pandemic shifted the way the world is doing a lot of things, the world of DAA has also shifted quite a bit in a matter of weeks. Although we are not together in person anymore, our crews have shifted to completely virtual instruction!
Each crew leader has created a crew website, where they post daily lessons in all subjects for students to complete at home. The lessons consist of combinations of videos that teachers and support staff are creating, virtual field studies, online games, and abbreviated written assignments for kids to work on at home. Teachers have also dedicated time daily for virtual office hours, where students can call, message, or video chat with teachers for support with work. And crews are meeting a few times a week on video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet for “crew” to connect and weave in social-emotional skills!
While the DAA community has been learning to navigate this new world of distance learning, we’ve gleaned some helpful tips to make the experience as smooth as possible. Here’s some things we’ve learned and ideas we have:
Set up an organized learning space somewhere in the house where students can best focus. This could be the kitchen table, a desk, the living room, wherever! Having a dedicated space will help kids create a routine.
Create a loose daily schedule! This is especially important if there are multiple students in the house, if families are sharing devices, and/or if parents are also working from home! Decide what times are dedicated to student learning activities and what times are free for play, outside time, rest time, etc.! One example is pictured here, but make a schedule that works best for you!
Take breaks! This is a big transition for students, and it might be hard for them to focus on academics for long stretches of time. We recommend spending 1-2 min per average age of student per content area of focused work (so 6-12 minutes per assignment for Kindergarten students, 7-14 for 1st grade students, etc.) For breaks, students can work on Fitness, Art, or Music activities our Specials teachers have created, get some fresh air, practice mindfulness with Yoga or breathing exercises, or check out some dance videos on GoNoodle!
Make learning fun! Involve nature, use hands-on toys or food at home, and make it active!
We hope these tips help! Although we can’t wait until we can all be together again, we know the DAA community is making the best of distance learning and showing all the habits of character!