The pandemic has led to a host of new challenges and opportunities for child care providers, many that are opening up their doors to help families with young learners that will now be in online school. Here are a few tips for how you can provide supervision and guidance to support distance learning. If you support distance learning at your childcare place, indicate that on your listing on Winnie, a marketplace for parents to find preschools and daycares near them.
The Basics
Create a quiet, safe environment for school-age children. Here are a few of the basics to consider:
- Age-appropriate desk and table. K-5 children will need slightly larger furniture than preschoolers. You may be able to use a combination of blankets and pillows to adapt furniture that you already have. Here’s a handy guide to help you decide what is age-appropriate.
- Privacy panels: If multiple students will be sharing the same table, consider making dividers or using tape to mark each student’s space to avoid mixing of materials and space. Cardboard boxes can easily be refashioned into desk dividers.
- Headphones: Headphones can allow individual students to focus as they work on different schedules and curriculum from their peers.
- Wireless internet access: Check that it is fast enough to allow for streaming video content if that is part of the school’s distance learning requirements. Check with your students and the school on the minimum internet requirements they have for distance learning. Typically, you will want download speeds of at least 250 kbps per student. Here are some tips on making your internet faster. You can also check to see if the child’s school will provide a mobile hotspot.
- Printer: Teachers often require worksheets or assignments to be printed out and completed, and sometimes photographed or scanned back. Pick a printer that is easy to hook up different laptops to or allows for wireless printing from multiple devices. Usually a simple black and white LaserJet printer will get the job done quickly and affordably.
- School supplies: Check with parents whether they will provide school supplies for their children or whether you will be expected to. To minimize risk of disease transmission, have a separate location for storage of personal items and school supplies for each student. Check with the child’s school if they have a recommended list of supplies. At a minimum it would be good to stock up on the following: paper, notebooks, pencils, erasers, crayons, water-based markers.
While it’s possible to support distance learning without breaking the bank, you are likely to incur additional expenses around supplies, furniture, and internet access. It’s important to communicate this expense to the parents and set your rates accordingly.
Top six tips for supporting distance learning students
K-5 students that are distance learning usually will have some content and curriculum and routines set by the local school district. As a child care professional experienced with children of different ages, you are uniquely qualified to support school-age children with their online learning and new routines during the pandemic. Here are a few tips.
- Create a schedule for each student.
Depending on the student, they may already have a schedule or routine provided by the school for certain hours of the school day that they are expected to follow. Work with the parents and the student to determine the best schedule for each day or week and help students stick to it.
- Support students with good time management practices.
Here are some suggestions from Common Sense Media:
- Schedule work times and break times.
- Set a timer and keep working until it goes off. Use a digital kitchen timer to make it easy for students to read.
- Have students set a goal for each day or schedule time block. For example: I will write one paragraph before I take a break.
- Create a checklist with the student
- Work with the student to prioritize and encourage them to work on either the hardest or the easiest thing first.
- Be prepared to help students through distractions.
For many young learners, learning outside of a classroom or in an individualized setting is difficult. Just as you’ve worked with younger children through activities and exercises, have a few strategies at hand to get students through distractions whether they’re motivational, or visual cues, or rewards based.
- Familiarize yourself with the technology that students are using.
You may be asked to help troubleshoot access and using tools for the following:
- Attending lessons whether on live video or through uploaded videos
- Communicating (email, video, chat, blog, group board)
- Submitting homework
- Internet connectivity
Here are some tips on using popular communication platforms for education. Remember to check if there’s specific guidance from schools regarding use:
- Schedule outdoor breaks and physical activity.
Sitting at a desk in front of a screen or class materials is hard for everyone and especially our youngest learners. Plan to have at least 30 mins to an hour of daily outdoor time and physical activity. They can be scheduled in between learning time or during lunchtime.
- Partner with parents and set expectations.
Parents are your allies and are grateful to you for stepping up and helping with distance learning. Be clear with parents that your role is to supervise and support distance learning and not to replace the teacher or their school curriculum. If a student is struggling, ultimately the responsibility lies with the parent and teacher.
