The Big Cat Courier
Your Source for Barnard News, Right Meow!
Dear Barnard Families,
Over the last two weeks we have all had to plan for and work with a completely new and unanticipated set of circumstances. Everyone’s routines have changed drastically. That kind of sudden change has no doubt led to some stress and anxiety with adults and children alike. Please know that the entire staff of HBS is working diligently to support our students and families through this shift from school-based to distance learning. Teaching is a very personal profession and while distance learning may feel a bit impersonal and uneven between classrooms, we are striving to change that. If you have any questions, we are all available via email, Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
The Big Cat Courier
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Academic News
-Distance Learning Packets went home with students on Thursday, March 12, 2020. These packets were designed to provide our students with 14 days of learning activities. Each of the 14 days was outlined in a way meant to help students and families pace learning across the 14 days. Information about material for an additional week of learning will be coming to you very soon. This additional week of work will take our students up to the beginning of April vacation.
-Remember that children are not built to sit and stay focused on work for hours at a time. The daily work provided in the distance learning packets should take students in the primary grades between an hour and a half and two hours to complete. In the home setting, my own first grader finds it difficult to do the work in one sitting. I break his work into 15-20 minute sections with breaks and activities in between. This makes working from home a real challenge but I’ve found that by planning the day’s schedule of events the night before, it feels less cumbersome.
-Links to supplemental and enrichment resources are currently available on the EPS main page under the “For Students” section. These supplemental materials are there to help keep kids learning throughout the day in different ways. While balancing screen time vs hands on, experiential learning might feel daunting as we look towards starting day 10 on Monday, cooking with you, setting the table together, going for walks and talking, doing creative art projects or simple science experiments together are all foolproof ways of keeping children engaged in learning and away from screens. The more creative you can get, the richer your child’s learning experience will be!
-Many of our teachers are experimenting with prerecorded, live, and even interactive experiences for our students on a variety of different platforms and applications. However, not all teachers have received training on how to effectively connect their classrooms in this way. For now, all teachers are required to be available via email but we are working to expand our entire staff’s ability to connect with students virtually in the event our schools remain closed beyond our anticipated return following April vacation.
Advice from an Educator and Dad
-Create a daily schedule including a start time, work times, break times, outside times, screen times, chore times, etc… I did this at breakfast with my three children on the first Monday morning of the quarantine and although I might not have been the most popular person at the table, it has made a tremendous difference as we all adjust to working from home together. You’ll find that including your little ones in creating the schedule and then referring back to it when they’re having difficulty will help get everyone through in a more positive way!
-Plan some daily quiet time. With everyone at home 24/7, this suggestion is just as important for the adults as it is for kids.
-Keep to a normal, planned bedtime. Children in the Kindergarten through Second Grade age still require between ten and twelve hours of sleep per night. My first grader has trouble sustaining his attention with anything less than 12 hours of sleep under his belt (not to mention he’s a bit less cordial than he could be on days following a late night).
-Find a way to incorporate physical activity into your daily schedule. If you’re not able to get outside with the kids, YouTube and other sites/apps can help you enjoy workout routines, dance tutorials, dance-offs, yoga time, etc…I still haven’t been able to get my children to participate in a dance-off but as time goes on, I’m positive they’ll eventually come to the floor! On a side note, the primary level P.E. teachers have put together a series of activities and challenges that will be posted on the EPS site in the next week or so.
-Try to keep kids away from the news. We all want to be informed about what is happening in the world around us but too much information can be a problem for young children. I am truthful with my children about the current situation but strive to maintain a level of age appropriateness to minimize their worry. All children are different but I’ve found that my youngest is most susceptible to overhearing snippets from the TV and unfortunately, misinterpreting them. Limiting my own consumption of information to before the kids wake up and after they go to bed has been a struggle but one that I’ve found is worth the challenge.
-Most importantly, through this wild and different time, find a way to enjoy the additional time with your child. Whether it’s through board game sessions, additional story reading, video games, building with Lego, tea parties, or even just enjoying some TV time, taking this time together to strengthen our connection with our kids should be viewed as a gift. It’s our relationships with family and friends that’ll get us through this, after all.
Henry Barnard School
Email: jgraham@enfieldschools.org
Website: http://henry.sharpschool.com/
Location: 27 Shaker Road, Enfield, CT
Phone: (860) 253 - 6540
Facebook: facebook.com/www.enfieldpto
Twitter: @enfieldPS