The shift in our social interactions during the pandemic mean children will need additional support understanding emotions. They are feeling different, stronger emotions while experiencing the new normal. Children are seeing masked faces. These masks make it difficult to read how others are feeling. Children are egocentric from the ages of 2 to 7. This means children are not able to see things from another’s point of view. Children believe everyone hears, sees, and feels exactly what they are hearing, seeing, and feeling. Emotions are already a challenge and masks make it even more difficult. It is important to emphasize emotional skills in order for children to succeed socially during the pandemic.

Many young children will find themselves in front of a computer using a program such as zoom to learn in the fall. Children need to be prepared to read emotions in a new way. This can be practiced over Zoom with the use of the following activities.

Children were asked to wear sunglasses for our virtual circle time.

We began our circle time with Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean and Kimberly Dean. This story depicts how you view the world around you is your choice. You control your mood not what is happening in the world around you. Pete the Cat is well known to our children. He is familiar and offers a resounding message for children.

Following the book, we did an emotions activity. Children were asked to show various emotions. We then talked about how their faces looked while they expressed the various emotions. When the children were happy, they had smiles and crinkly eyes. When they were surprised, they had open mouths and raised eyebrows. Below is a video of the PowerPoint slideshow I shared with the children.

The sunglass images are available for your to download to create this activity on your own!

We finished our circle time with the following song available on You Tube.

The children have to watch the characters and follow their actions. This helps children practice watching other people for cues which is an important social emotional skill.

As the world shifts, so do the needs of children. One need is clear to be a high priority. It is a need children have always needed to focus on, but is often skipped due to academic skills being pressed. Children need to develop social emotional skills first before they can become engaged academic learners. The social emotional skills needed today, look a little different than in the past. Children need to experience more virtual learning, need to interact with people virtually, and need to express their feelings appropriately in this environment. I have never been a fan of technology in early childhood settings. I firmly believe children need to interact with others first and foremost. However, the pandemic has changed how I view interactions and technology. Physical interactions can be dangerous at this time. They can be scary due to personal protection equipment and can be restrictive due to social distancing. Technology is one way to overcome many of these pandemic setbacks. Children can still interact with others, just in a different way. Children can share verbally, take turns, play games, and make connections with the use of technology. We are fortunate to live in a time when we are able to still be socially active even during a global pandemic. If you use technology wisely, children will benefit from your program.

This time of year fireflies are out in Michigan. It is a family tradition that we stay up later than usual to get to dark. It can be 9:30 or 10pm before it is dusk here. Then all the kids run around catching fireflies. We put them in a jar to watch them flicker off and on then let them go. The kids see who can catch the most.

Many kids can relate to catching fireflies. It is a common summer activity in Michigan. With fireflies as the theme, I created a counting game on PowerPoint to use in our virtual circle time.

Prior to our circle time, the children were asked to bring a bug. It could be drawn, a plastic bug, a stuffed animal, or real!

We began our circle time by sharing our bugs. Some were colored, some were printed, and some were stickers. Once everyone had shared, we moved on to our story. I had the book, The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle pulled up on youtube.

This version makes the firefly light up. The narrator reads slowly so the children are able to follow along.

After reading the book, I presented the following counting activity.

I created this activity using PowerPoint. I created the bug and jar clipart, but any bug image would work. Add the images to the slide. Include the final number for the bug count. Open the animations tab, select the emphasis button. Choose the pulse option to make the bug glow. On the number, choose an entrance animation to reveal the number after counting.

The activity had basic counting and basic addition.

For this part of the slideshow on PowerPoint, I used the spin emphasis to indicate which ladybug we were counting. The firefly was “flown” into the jar by choosing the bounce entrance on the animations tab. It was fun to hear the kids counting on their own during this activity.

We ended our virtual circle time with a new finger play. I created a basic slideshow with photos showing the children the motions to the Here is the Beehive finger play. I shared my screen and we did the finger play along with the presentation.

The virtual circle time finished with the following song using the beehive finger play.

Have fun while counting bugs!

Sorting with children online can be difficult. It is hard to see what is being asked to be sorted. I found PowerPoint to be quite helpful in creating a sorting activity for preschool children. I used a clipart shell and three clipart buckets of different color.

The shells were three different sizes. With a click of the mouse, one of the shells would spin. The children would then shout out which color bucket the shell belonged in.

To create the shell sort, open PowerPoint. Place the clipart at the top of the page in different sizes. Place where you will sort the objects at the bottom. Select one of the shells and open the animations tab. Select the emphasis effects option. Choose the spin effect.

This will make the shell spin when the mouse is clicked. Now, select the bucket the object is being sorted into. Apply the same spin effect to this object. As the children play the game together, the spinning indicates the objects that are being sorted and where they belong.

Prior to our virtual circle time, the children were asked to create a fish.

We shared our fish and then read The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark.

Our song was by Laurie Berkner. The children swam the fish they created along with the song!

Over the past few months, I have hosted many online circle times. One thing they have had in common, is that many kids bring snacks! Why not ask all the kids to bring a snack and a teddy bear to have a virtual picnic? On social media and through email, the children were instructed on what to bring to circle time. The children were also told that the best way to take part in a Teddy Bear picnic is to come in disguise. The following pattern for bear ears was shared. Feel free to download the template to use with your children.

I began circle time with the Teddy Bear’s Picnic song. It has a catchy tune, but is a bit fast for the kids to sing-a-long with.

After the song, the children shared their bears with one another. Everyone got settled in to have their snack. While we ate, we watched a live stream of polar bears at the Ouwehand Park Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands. There is a Momma and her two cubs!

https://explore.org/livecams/polar-bears/polar-bear-ouwehand-twin-cubs-cam-2

I created a follow up activity for the children using science concepts. The children were presented an image of either a living bear or a teddy bear. They had to decide if the bear was living or non-living. We discussed how we could tell as a group. The activity was created on PowerPoint with the use of images from https://unsplash.com/. Unsplash offers freely usable images!

Our final activity for our Teddy Bear Picnic, was a favorite song. The children love to hear songs they are familiar with from school. Hap Palmer’s Teddy Bear Playtime is a frequently requested song. Everyone got moving with their teddy bear!

Teddy Bear Playtime

The Teddy Bear Picnic virtual circle time was a huge success!

ABA, ABC, AABB, AAB, ABB

Patterning is a fundamental preschool activity. The creation of patterning is a fundamental lifelong math skill. Patterning falls under the category of Algebra. Children will be learning to understand patterns and relationships. The act of sorting and classifying is natural to the child brain. Lessons on patterning teach children how rules apply to sets. Patterning involves the following skills: making decisions, making judgements, understanding how new knowledge fits in with what is already known, and coping with things out of routine.

Summer has finally arrived in Michigan! A wonderful treat many children know about it ice cream. I created activities to introduce patterning to children using ice cream. Prior to our virtual circle time on https://zoom.us/, I asked the children to create a pattern with ice cream.

I included a PDF file for the children to use if they needed additional inspiration to create a pattern. I simply used PowerPoint and inserted triangles and circles to create the ice cream shape. I then used the print to PDF feature to save the file.

I began circle time with the book Splat the Cat I Scream for Ice Cream. Amazon offers this story for free on KindleUnlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M70S97M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I then introduced the patterning activity. The children each shared their personal patterns and shared what colors they chose. Next, we played a patterning game. Children were presented with incomplete patterns and asked what should be next. I created the activity on PowerPoint with the same template I sent to the families. Instead of the circles being white, they were various colors.

Under the white circles are circles filled with red and blue. After creating the circles, choose the animation tab. Use an EXIT animation on the white circles that is triggered when clicked on. This will allow you to reveal the color underneath after the children guess what comes next.

We finished the circle time with Greg and Steve’s Freeze song. This song tied right in with the ice cream theme! I hope you have as much fun with this activity as we did during our virtual circle time!

Additional information regarding patterning can be found at the following sites: https://thekindergartenconnection.com/secrets-developing-sorting-patterning-skills/ https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/ey_lt_maths_understandings.pdf

Pete the Cat button graphing was such a success,I decided to stick Pete for our next activity. “I Love My White Shoes” offers an opportunity to play with color! Prior to our circle time, the children were asked to color a shoe of any color.

I provided a printable version for the children, but also stressed the idea to be creative. The download below is the white shoe the children were provided. Feel free to use it for this activity with your children!

We gathered on Zoom and began with the video of “I Love My White Shoes.”

The children are all excited as they sing along with Pete the Cat! The rhythm is familiar to the and easy to learn quickly. Once the video ends, the children share their shoes they created. We talked about the various colors the children used.

Next, I played an active video to get the kids moving. I chose Hap Palmer’s song “Colors.” During this song, children are asked to stand up if they are wearing a certain color. I instructed the children to use the color of their shoes as to when to stand up. If a child had a color that was not included in the song, they were look at their clothes and stand up if they were wearing the color. This song is an older song, but it is a great way to be active during a circle time! The following link will provide you the song, “Colors.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCrrN857J6s

After all the wiggles are out, we settled in with our activity. I used PowerPoint to create a color mixing activity. On a blank page, I inserted a yellow paint blob. Next, I inserted a red shoe. I used the bounce animation to make the shoe walk onto the page. The next slide is a large orange shoe. When we did the activity, the children named the colors and then guessed what happened when the red shoe walked in the yellow paint. I made slides for a yellow shoe stepping in blue paint and also a red shoe stepping in blue paint. This activity pairs really well with the Pete the Cat book! The children made connections with the colors and were intrigued to see what color the shoe would become.

Have fun with colors during this activity! I am provided the shoes to help you get started.

A popular book series in our classrooms is Pete the Cat. These books offer a jazzy rhythm, provide inspiring messages, and offer slip in cognitive skills for children. This week, we decided to bring Pete to our virtual circle time. We found a video of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons online. The music and rhythm of the read-aloud simply cannot be replicated. I highly suggest introducing your children to the read-aloud version if you haven’t already! The website http://www.petethecatbooks.com/ provides the audio version which would be easy to use while interacting with a felt board story.

Prior to our meeting, the children were asked to create a button at home in one of the colors Pete loses. These include red, green, blue, and yellow. The children then brought their button to our circle time. After listening to the story, we shared our buttons. Some children colored a button, some cut their button, and others used paint. The buttons were all unique! As each child shared their button, we graphed which color they chose to bring. The graph was created using PowerPoint.

PowerPoint has many features that can be adapted to create activities for children. A background, shapes, and animation provides the basis for this graphing activity. The first step is to create a background. I used Gimp (https://www.gimp.org/downloads/) to create a jpeg image of buttons.

The following steps can be used to create the interactive graph:

Open a blank page on PowerPoint. Delete the text boxes so you have a clean slate. Choose Insert then select pictures to choose to insert an image from your file. Place one image of each color button across the bottom of the page.

Next, you will need to create the rows of rectangles above each button. Simply select insert shapes, then the rectangle to insert the shape.

Copy and paste the squares until you reach the top of the page. The default for shapes is to create a blue shape. Leave the shape blue until the end of our process. It is easier to manipulate a colored shape. Once you have the columns created, you will begin the animation process.

Select a square, then choose Animations on the task bar. Highlight the EXIT animation options. Select the animation of your choice for this square.

Next click on the animation pane. This will turn on the column on the far right of the screen. This will display the numbers of each box you will be animating. Once you click the exit animation, look to the animation pane to see the rectangle number you are working on. This is important for the next step, adding the trigger. Click on the lightning bolt Trigger button. Select “on click of.” A menu will appear. Select the rectangle number that is visible on the animation pane. Once you have done these steps, a lightning bolt will appear next to the rectangle on your main slide. Repeat this process for each rectangle.

The final step is to insert the button image into the background. Select the Design tab. Then choose Format Background on the task bar. Choose “Picture or texture fill” to allow you to choose your jpeg image. Click on Insert and then choose the image you created in Gimp. This will place the jpeg behind the rectangles.

Now, go back and change each rectangle to white. It was helpful to leave a light gray outline on each rectangle. This makes it easier to click on the area necessary to reveal the button.

View your activity by choosing Slideshow and selecting Play from Start. Hover your arrow above the square you which to reveal and click your mouse. If you click on an area there is not a trigger zone, your presentation will end. It is important to watch where you are placing your mouse!

We finished our circle time by doing the “Pete the Cat and the Cool Cat Boogie!” http://www.petethecatbooks.com/songs/?videoId=668

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