Corona Virus and Teaching with Technology

When working with young children. It is extremely important to maintain a set schedule to maintain the overall structure of that classroom. For instance, if a teacher is out sick even for a couple days, each student's world gets rocked. From birth to the age of three, a child makes 700 neural connections a second. As this is happening in their developing brains, more emotional responses are exuded, and less logical. This leads to unconsolable students.

 With the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have been forced to close. This unexpected incident leaves parents and teachers unsure and unprepared. Parents have to provide the child care we teachers have had the privilege of giving their children and the lack of everyday structure like they are used to (such as circle time, independent work time, group activities) creates a different dynamic to that of which they are accustomed to. This also leaves a lot of early childhood educators feeling helpless.

 I had a parent email me a few days ago saying that their child misses circle time so much that she sits on the living room carpet at home and sings to herself. This email and missing my students gave me an idea. I decided to create a youtube account and post a video of me doing circle time in my classroom just like everyday with all the songs we usually sing and a book at the end. I posted it and sent the link to all the parents in my class. It was a hit. I had beautiful responses such as videos of students singing along and comments from parents in regards that the video made their child’s life feel a little bit more normal.

 The response I got to the video gave me so much joy in such an odd time. I believe that technology brings us as a classroom and learning community together in times like this. Being able to provide impact through technology is so beneficial to educators.