It was Friday March 13, 2020. i was getting ready for spring break...some time to finally have some rest and relaxation and gather my thoughts to continue the school year. I was looking forward to catching up on my sleep and binge watching my favorite netflix shows and Disney+ movies.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans. Covid-19 has struck and we were resorting to remote teaching almost immediately. I had to figure out how to teach 20 4 year old's virtually. I had one hour to gather all the curriculum material from school that I thought would be useful during the "couple" weeks we will teach remotely. These couple weeks turned into the rest of the school year and I obviously could not bring home my classroom.
Through various trainings and lots of district support, I was confident going into this new way of teaching and took it as a chance to learn and grow. Monday morning, I had my first session. Now I am an early educator so I have to be extra animated to keep the students engaged. Guess what?! My dog did not like this AT ALL. He thought something was wrong with me because of my extra hand movements, facial expressions, and different tone of voice. My first session took place in my driveway...luckily it was Florida...so the weather was beautiful. First problem solved. Woohoo!!
In pre-k, they emphasize learning through exploration...and I will definitely say the kids accomplished this!!! I was taken on adventures and tours of entire houses and backyards, gross motor skills were developed when kids spent our sessions together going up their bunk bed ladders, and back down for 30 minutes...oh and not to mention the one child who expressed his individuality and creativity by showing up in a costume everyday. I love my students so much and they truly made this experience enjoyable.
Now you may ask, why the title "Where's the bear??" Although this was all a learning process, I had to quickly shift my brain from hands on experiences to virtual learning. It was hard for me to use digital tools instead of the tools the kids and I were used to in the classroom. So for math time, as we were talking about positional terms, I had my bear manipulatives on a stand on my desk. I positioned my laptop camera in a way where the kids could see it, or so I thought. This was an EPIC FAIL!!! Not only did I have to tilt my head to see the kids, but most of them couldn't see what I was doing either because of their view. Things were falling all over the place, they could not hear me for most it because they could not see me, and although I tried my best to make it work, I could not keep them engaged. It was a pretty funny experience, and right after my session, I went online and searched for a digital tool that could accomplish what I wanted. #virtualmanipulatives
The birds started singing as I found the website toytheather.com This tool is absolutely amazing!!!! I was able to do everything I would have in person, virtually. I could easily line up my bears and have the students tell me the position. The students even loved using the website to make patterns, add, subtract, graph, and play educational games at home. It was interactive, user friendly, and gave me peace of mind.
Julie Smith #JGTechieTeacher shared her collection of virtual #math manipulatives that you can feel free to add to your list. Although, I used these tools during virtual teaching, I am still using them in the classroom today. It is great for kids to be given the hands on experience and then enhance their learning through technology. They can easily problem solve to fix their own mistakes, and I can monitor their understanding to provide help when needed. Please check out her blogs and resources at thetechieteacher.net
Thank you for reading my post about my one exciting math experience during remote learning. I will be so happy to know I was not the only one with tales to tell. Please share your ventures and any wonderful tools/resources you have acquired during this learning process.
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