R2P 5- Reflection

Looking Back…

As I reflect on my experience with this semester’s R2P posts, I definitely think my blogging skills have grown and I’ve become a lot more familiar with the platform. I’m glad I’ve focused on blogs the entire semester, because I got more familiar with the blogging process and each post was better than the previous one. I’m glad I had the opportunity to explore all the possible options for a blog such as hyperlinks, adding pictures, linking youtube videos, etc.

Looking Forward…

In the future I hope to continue using blogs and becoming even more familiar with the process. I could see myself writing weekly blogs as a teacher just to summarize and highlight some of the great things that happened in class for the parents to read. I also would like to explore vlogs and podcasts and possibly work with them in the future.

Dear Teachers,

Teaching has become more stressful now than it ever was during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is new for everyone, and there is a lot of uncertainty about how teachers should move forward. Are my students still learning? Did I assign too many online assignments? How do I rewrite all my plans for the rest of the year? The most important thing to remember is no matter what you’re doing, this is all new and its okay to change your new plans two, three, four, or however many times it takes to get it “right”. Here are a few reminders as we move forward.

Take it easy on your students 

This is stressful for everyone, and all of your students have different lives and responsibilities at home than at school. If you feel like you aren’t assigning enough work or the assignments are not challenging enough, let it be. Don’t feel pressured to assign more work, and also don’t be afraid to assign less work either. This adjustment period is new for everyone and all students are going to be able to complete their work at a different rates.

Take it easy on yourself 

Make sure to find some time in your day to take care of yourself. Read a book, watch a show, go for a walk, cook a nice meal, whatever you need to do as long as you are giving yourself some time to decompress. Once again, this is a new experience for everyone, and we are all trying our best. Try not to feel defeated or discouraged if you are having problems with online learning platforms or coming up with redesigned lessons.

Moving forward …

As we move forward, remember that you are not alone this. If you are having a hard time coming up with ideas and ways to redesign your lessons to fit the online learning platforms, talk to other teachers about it. If you have a student who hasn’t posted any work or logged on to zoom classes, reach out to them. Most importantly, you are doing enough, you’re learning new things and getting better every day, and you are not going through this alone.

Dear Parents,

The closing of schools and workplaces due to the outbreak of Covid-19 is a very stressful time and it’s also new, uncharted territory. Maybe you have a couple children at home, all at different grade levels. Your child’s teacher may have provided detail plans of how your child can continue their education at home, or barely any classwork at all. In this blog post I intend to highlight some of the important things to focus on when helping your children get through this weird time and provide a few resources to do so.

One of the most important pieces of advice I could give is to stick to a routine or schedule. It doesn’t have to be as specific as a school day schedule, but the children should still be waking up early and have some type of consistency throughout the week. Students learn best when they know the plan for the day and have some structure to follow.

Getting outside should also be an important part of your routine each day. Even with parks being closed, there are plenty of activities you can do with your children at home. Go for a walk around block, take your dogs for a walk, draw on the sidewalk or in your driveway with chalk, create a scavenger hunt for things in your back yard, or even just eat your lunch outside. Getting out of the house is important, even if you don’t get to go very far.

 

There are also many resources available with ideas for cool lessons and activities you can do with your children at home.

Pinterest is a great website for finding interesting and easy activities and lessons to do with your children.

The homeschool scientist is a good website for finding interesting science experiments for all different types of sciences.

Yoga Journal is a website that has yoga exercises and online classes to help you move, relax, and de-stress.