Month: May 2020

Spring brings a new group of children into our virtual preschool classroom. This presented a challenge. It is difficult to know the children’s names if the parents do not know how to alter the name presented on the platform you have chosen as a host. Our preschool uses Zoom. As the host, I am able to change the names of each participant. Prior to our circle time meet up, an email was sent requesting children to make a name tag. During the circle time, the children held the name tags up and I changed the names for each child, One concern was that the names would appear backwards to the other participants. This was not the case. The name appears backward to the person holding the name, but all others see it written correctly. So, no need to invert your writing.

On Zoom (https://zoom.us/) you are able to change the name displayed by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of each participant. There is an option titled “rename.” This makes it easy to learn new children to the group.

Since we were having new children as well as returning, I wanted a way to get to know one another. After we displayed our name tags, we moved to reading a story. On Epic (https://www.getepic.com/) I found a book about a shy giraffe titled, “Too Shy For Show and Tell” by Beth Bracken. The book is available to buy on Amazon at the following link: Too Shy for Show-and-Tell (Little Boost). This book depicts a shy giraffe who has a lot about him people do not know because he is too afraid to share. He ultimately tries and finds he is successful and receives a round of applause. I found this book to be applicable as no one knows anything about the giraffe unless he shares.

A follow-up activity is playing I Spy. I made simple slides on PowerPoint ahead of time that included a box of the color the children were to find.

The children were given the instructions. They were all muted during this part. The instructions are simple. Find something nearby the color that they see. My screen was then shared with the PowerPoint slides visible. At this point, the children were all unmuted. You could hear them shout the color and then scurry off. All of the children were able to find objects. The teachers were prepared ahead of time so they had their items on hand. Once everyone returned to their screen, we talked about the different items. At the end of the game, we talked about how we got to know about one another by the items we found. This activity was very engaging and active! The children were not just sitting in front of the computer. They were active participants.

Our circle time lasted 30 minutes and included; our name tag introductions, reading the story, and finding 3 colored objects.

In the previous blog post, I talked about the use of PowerPoint to create an activity for children to take part in during a virtual circle time. Another activity that was a lot of fun for the children was Pictionary. The children were all unmuted and guessing what was being drawn on the screen.

This tutorial will be for Mac, but I will include a link for instructions for Windows also. There are three programs I used to create this activity.

• The built in recorder for Mac
• Seesaw (https://web.seesaw.me/)
• PowerPoint

Seesaw (https://web.seesaw.me/) is a website used by our local elementary schools to delivery content remotely. There are many features that can be used. I found the drawing app to work well for Pictionary. It is very basic and easy to manipulate. Follow the link to create a free teacher account. I am using a student account to create the drawings. Once you create a teacher account, you can add a child to have access to the drawing app. Any drawing program would work for this activity. You just need to have it open before accessing the recorder.

To access the built in recorder for Mac, use the shortcut. Press shift+command+5. The recorder will now be visible at the bottom of the screen.

Click the option labeled with the number one. This will record the selected portion. The dotted box indicated the area of the screen that will be recorded. You may move this or adjust the size to fit your desired recording. Once you have the area selected, press the record button labeled with the number 2. This will begin the recording. Be sure you are ready to record. Below is a sample of what your final recording will look like when played back.

Once you are done with your drawing, click the icon on the menu bar to stop the recording. The recording will be automatically saved to your desktop.

To prepare these recordings for easy access during zoom, I put them into a PowerPoint presentation. The first slide would be the recording. The next slide would be a clipart image of the drawing with the word under it.

I shared my screen on Zoom (https://zoom.us/) with the PowerPoint up and ready to go. I had the children guess four different bug drawings. The children and parents could be heard guessing, laughing, and offering support if wrong. Zoom Pictionary was a very successful activity!

To record your screen on Windows: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-record-your-computer-screen/

The world quickly shifted in the wake of the pandemic. Preschool and childcare were left stranded. Empty classrooms and empty caregiver hearts. The focus of early childhood education centers on social and emotional skills. These are two areas of development that are difficult to navigate in a world where we are socially distant. However, there are tools available that help caregivers fill the void and bring the classroom back to life in a different way. Early childhood educators are constantly adapting in the classroom, now is the time to shine!

As a general rule, preschool is not the place for technology such as tablets and laptops. Social distance has placed a high importance on connections. One way to make connections is with the aid of technology. Zoom (https://zoom.us/), GoToMeeting, and Teams provide platforms for early childhood educators to reach the young they can not be with. The free version of Zoom is sufficient for the needs of a preschool teacher. This version allows you 40 minutes of face to face time. The attention span of young children is well within this time limit. In 20 minutes, songs can be sung, a book can be read, and an activity can be presented. The best feature of Zoom and GoToMeeting is the gallery view. In this view, lots of children can be seen! The gallery view makes for a lively experience for everyone!

Children are used to the routine of the classroom. Singing familiar songs brings them back to the circle time carpet and draws their attention. Do you start with the same song? Always sing a class favorite? Now is the time to continue these routines. My preschool begins with a Hello song. We meet as a center so we sing for each classroom. “Hello Red Room, Hello Red Room, Hello Red Room. We’re glad you’re here today!” Parents love to sing along too. Send home the lyrics to songs in an email before circle time. Songs with actions keep children engaged and physically moving to make stronger connections. Pull out the old favorites; Wheels on the Bus, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.

Following the songs, my preschool uses an online book tool to read to the children. Epic (https://www.getepic.com/), Hoopla (https://www.hoopladigital.com/), and Kindle https://www.amazon.com/have proven to be easy to use! They are also easy to follow along for the children. Simply have the story open on your browser ready to share. Zoom makes sharing your screen easy! Press the button and all in attendance now has your screen in speaker view which makes the speaker window large and the remaining windows small. Be sure to close anything you don’t want to share before the session starts. Another way to share stories by using flannel board stories with children in the virtual circle time. This is a little bit more difficult as the view on Zoom does not auto change from gallery view to speaker view. If children stay in gallery view during the flannel board story, the teacher remains small and difficult to see. Children do not always have an adult present to adjust the settings. Even though there are obstacles to using a flannel board story, the children find them comforting and familiar. This familiarity helps to keep them engaged.

Activities can be a chance to get creative. Sharing drawings, powerpoint games, and science experiments are a few examples. Prior to the circle time, reach out to families with instructions for the children. Ask them to bring item such as a teddy bear to circle time. Something children can do at home is draw. Give the children a prompt to create and then share them at circle time. These prompts can coincide with the book you are reading or the other activities you will be doing. My preschool has asked children to draw a germ and given the prompt “If you could plant anything to grow, what would it be?” Children brought their drawings to share at the next circle time. Another feature of Zoom is that the host can mute everyone and then choose who to unmute. This makes sharing easier and more personal. Powerpoint games are simple to create. One example is “What doesn’t belong?” On one side have three pictures; banana, donut, cat. Share your screen so everyone can see your powerpoint slide. Ask the children what doesn’t belong. The next slide is the same pictures with an “X” drawn through the one that doesn’t belong. Science experiments can be share live or recorded for children to watch. In the chat window on Zoom, you can share the instructions so families can do the experiment at home.

Virtual circle times are not perfect, nor do they meet the needs of children 100%. But they do offer children a chance to connect with a familiar routine. The people who vanished suddenly are now visible. It is important to make connections with the children while at the virtual circle time. Ask about something that was going to happen in the child’s life or if they are still wearing their favorite shirt. This personalization helps the children make your virtual image less abstract. My preschool has found these virtual circle times to be meaningful to children, parents, and teachers. Connections are vital to early childhood education. Virtual circle times offer children and teachers an opportunity to keep those connections alive.

“Great teachers focus not on compliance, but on connections and relationships.” PJ Caposey in Education Week Teacher