Transitioning & Adapting to Digital Learning
Families and teachers of young children have had to face a lot of changes as traditional school and learning situations have transitioned to online settings. Amidst these big changes, your kids will continue to need certain types of experiences in order to learn. Here are some helpful things to consider while learning from home.
- Build Relationships
- Schedule one-on-one calls for your kids with their teacher, for them and for you. Open communication is going to be the key to everyone’s success.
- Leverage What You Have
- Kids respond to their immediate experiences. Since they’re at home, encourage your kids to talk with their class about what’s around them and what they’re doing, and to use things around the home to count, explore, read, and learn.
- Use Small Groups
- Consider setting up online meetings with small groups of your kids’ peers. They can do schoolwork together, or just be together, sharing their day and their experiences. Offline, small groups are fun way to set up a book exchange or a sticker exchange, or write letters back and forth!
- Don’t Try to Replicate School
- Learning at home is not going to feel the same as going to school in person. And that’s OK! Work with your kids to set up a learning environment that feels good to them. And if you need to make changes later, make changes!
- Make Connections Outside of Class
- Try planning some learning activities that involve talking to a family member or family friend that is far away.
- Ask for Their Input
- Talk to your kids about what’s working and what isn’t. What’s going well? What is challenging? Then make adjustments together based on what they’re experiencing.
Adapted from Nikki Baldwin, PhD for University of Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network