Well, here we are teachers. We are in the middle of a global crisis. The good news is that educators are pretty much ready for anything and don’t bat an eye most of the time when everything that was planned becomes unraveled. It is a part of the job. We EMBRACE THE CRAZY.
SELF CARE
First of all, I am sending healing thoughts, and I hope that you are staying healthy both physically and mentally. This is anxiety producing. I have to admit that when all of my school districts in the state of Georgia started to announce closings, I started to panic. My mind began to flutter with all kinds of what if scenarios, and I started to worry about the students who need school for many reasons (food, safety, routine, etc.). What worked for me was to sit down and make a list of all the things I can do; I wrote down what I could control. The CDC provides some sound advice about dealing with the anxiety that might be produced by this outbreak. Click here to access that information.
As for the kids who are home from school for at least 2 weeks, I have seen some great postings from parents about creating a daily schedule to keep a routine.
My hope is to use the InspirED blog today as one place to stop for a list of resources. I don’t have the answers, but I have been watching communities and people ban together to find ways to help those in need. If you have an idea or know of a good and trust-worthy resource, please share it in the comments below. Keep in mind that things can change day-by-day and even hour-by-hour.
TALKING TO CHILDREN
I have been posting on social media that sometimes the hardest or most uncomfortable conversations are the most important. I imagine that a lot of adults thought that they were shielding their kids from this news about the virus, but it is inevitable. They have heard something about it by now. Talk. As Mr. Rogers used to convey, we should talk about things or else the fear will become unbearable.
You can find the comic strip posted by NPR about COVID-19 for kids by clicking here.
A middle school teacher turned it into a video:
I am trying to keep up to date with the federal food service to help those children and families in need. For the latest news and states who have received approval waivers for child nutrition programs, please click here.
If you know of someone looking for food during this time, please call your state or local 211 or go to http://www.211.org
Learning is important, but family is vital.
LEARNING AT HOME
Let’s keep in mind that we don’t know what our students are dealing with now that school is out. You know your kids, so try to check in with them. If you find out that they are needing to watch their siblings while their parents or guardians work, you can be flexible and compassionate in modifying their plan. Learning is important, but family is vital.
If students do anything while out of school to flex their brain muscle, it should be reading. Even just a little bit every day. Siblings can read out loud together. The older kids can help the smaller ones. Let them have conversations about the title or pictures either in the book or on the cover. Have kids place sticky notes inside to share their thoughts as they read. It might even be a good idea to have students grab a notebook from the house and start a journal. They can share their thoughts about the next 2 weeks in writing or even by drawing.
A great resource has been social media, especially Twitter when it comes to pedagogy. Check out my friends at #LTHECHAT for a week-long conversation about supporting colleagues with contingency plans during school shutdowns.
I love this shared Word document that Professor Sally Brown has created for everyone to discuss alternatives for face-to-face learning.
If your students have access to a device and/or wi-fi, I might add that there are some great tools to use for on-line learning or conferencing:
I have two educator friends whose passion resides within math and science. I want to share their digital learning tools as well.
Fred Aebli or Mr. Fred helps kids to code at Get Me Coding. What is nice is that he provides support in 3 different ways:
- Teach Kids to Code
- Support Parents to Get Kids to Code
- Guide Educators to Provide Lessons on Coding
To see all of the great opportunities to learn how to code, please go to Get Me Coding. There are a plethora of virtual lessons there that students could start today.
My other friend has 2 podcasts:
Nurturing the Knack which focuses on supporting parents with all things STEM and the ways they might build on their child’s confidence and enthusiasm in STEM education. His latest podcast discusses what to do with those old computers. This might be a great time to work on a project. 😊
Geek Author is not only my favorite name for a podcast, but it is a good resource for some of our high school and college students. Dave discusses his textbook, Computer Organization and Design Fundamentals, chapter by chapter. If you know a student who shows interest or potential in computer organization, this is the place for him or her.
I hope this information is useful. As you are creating plans to support your students and staff, please feel free to add to our conversation by following me on Twitter @EKingCohen or comment below. Be well.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
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