2020 has been tough, for all of us. When COVID hit last spring, it threw the educational system for a loop as we struggled to come up with what virtual learning could look like. In districts like mine, the digital divide meant that we needed paper packets for our students. Everyone did the very best they could but it was hard for us as teachers and it was hard for us as parents.
This fall, I am happy to say we have made it 9 weeks so far in person! I was so nervous for my own children, wondering if I made the right call. We do that often as moms, don’t we - questions ourselves and worry about the decisions we are making as parents. It’s been the start of a year like none other in my teaching career. Our teachers have gone above and beyond, offering our parents an in-person option, as well as a virtual option for parents who felt like that would be a better choice for their family.
From the school side -it meant investing in Chromebooks and Hot Spots for our families, and spending vast amounts of time learning new platforms, and attempting to figure out how to replicate what would happen in a normal classroom, online. Learning how to record lessons, edit them, publish them, create interactive assignments - It has not been easy - as some have said, teachers are literally building the airplane as we are flying it.
Parents too, have had to adjust. Whether you are a parent who has your child in-person in school (while waiting for the other shoe to metaphorically drop as we enter flu season), or you have chosen virtual learning for your child. Either way - it has been an adjustment. Knowing how to support your child educationally, especially after a rough spring, is more important now - more than ever. As a literacy coach, teacher, and my English background, one of the biggest concerns for parents is how we can support reading at home.
I am working on some bundles of different activities your child can work on at home, using Google Slides. In the meantime, I wanted to offer up A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Reading at Home. You can grab it here!
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