[actfrench]

I really admire you for doing this on your own with kids in a small apartment. Does your teacher use zoom? One thing that's helped me a lot with my digital pod so the parents don't have to be interrupted is installing software where I can access the child's computer. I also enable screen share for everyone. If your child's teacher is open to getting support to making this more easy for families, I'd be happy to talk to her. Let me know.

[mcv]

Zoom did not work at all for my 5-year old. He just can't focus on people on a screen. Every day at 10, his class would have a zoom meeting, but we quickly gave up on those. It just doesn't work for him.

[actfrench]

The zoom medium is amazing, but I've found that many teachers are trying to replicate a classroom environment on zoom and that doesn't generally work, since it's an entirely different environment. What kind of activities did your child's class do on zoom? We've found that it's essential to keep kids moving on zoom and make the projects highly interactive. I ask all my parents to set up the children's learning device so it's easy for them to move about the room. In my class, we start with meditation, then yoga - usually with Cosmic Kids Yoga, then kids share their feelings through speaking, art or writing. Then we see how many jumping jacks we can do. Then we do a drawing activity together - usually with Art Hub for Kids. I then spend an hour reading to them while sharing the screen and pausing frequently to ask questions so they can improve critical reading skills and expand vocabulary. We then do more cartwheels, jumping jacks or some other physical movement. Then we spend 30 minutes to an hour working independently on learning apps. If kids get stuck, generally another child helps them or I help them (though the kids are better at apps then me!) Finally, I leave the group and let the kids stay on for playdates. Kids can leave or come back at anytime. If they want to take a nap, they take a nap. If they want to draw while we're doing something else, they draw. If only one child is there and just wants to chat with me about their life, then that's what we do. I have found in this way, kids are able to stay engaged for up to 3 hours at a time and beg me to stay when I have to go take a lunch break.