Homeschooling Q

Hey ladies. I live in a well regarded school district that started virtual learning a few days earlier than the rest of Long Island (we had three staff members sick in mid-March with Corona).

Since we started this distance learning, my kids (1st and 4th grade) have received "review" work on Google Classroom. Both of my kids are good students and became bored quickly. I ordered those Sylvan workbooks on Amazon and we've been working on the next grade level math / ELA.

Both DH and I are lucky enough to working FT from home from right now. We understand that it's our job to help keep our kids learning during this crazy time. However, our school district is not making an attempt to "teach" anything new, just review it. We reached out to our principal. She sounded compassionate but basically said there was nothing she could do.

I'm disappointed that the teachers, administration, BOE isn't doing more. I wouldn't expect a plan in place after a day or two (even a week) of this chaos but now it's been two weeks with no end in sight.

If your school is doing MORE, can please share with me how so I pass this along to my district?

Thanks for reading!

Homeschooling Q

we're in NJ... my boys are K and 3rd. our district seems to be doing a good job handling this crazy situation. this is our 3rd week on Distance learning. my 3rd grader was already using Google Classroom at school, so hes really transitioned well to using it for this. My kindergartener had some worksheets for the first 2 weeks, and this week they are starting to use SeeSaw for activities. so hes doing well with it too so far.
Our teachers do seem to be introducing new things during this, not just review stuff. They are making Youtube Videos to explain new concepts to the kids, or doing voice recordings of themselves explaining new concepts (my younger son was just listening to one his teacher posted explaining letter Blends, my older son had one about comparing fractions.)
my older son's teacher also posts a "morning meeting" video every morning, complete with the flag salute LOL and just goes over the day and things that she put on Google Classroom. She also hosts a "Google Meet" at 10:30 every day for any of the kids who are able to go on at that time. just for them to say hi to each other and "chat", and she sometimes will go over something if she's been getting a lot of questions about anything she's given them. My younger sons teacher seems to be dong a Google meet once a week-- but the kid's are younger so it makes sense that its harder for them to "handle".
So i feel like thy've found a way and gone above and beyond to be able to introduce new topics and make sure they kids are staying on track.

Re: Homeschooling Q

We are in N.J. in a top ten district in the state.

We have had distance learning in place now for three weeks.

My daughter is in fifth and my son is in seventh. For the past two weeks they have had review work using google classroom to get them familiar with all of the programs. They each have zoom meetings with their entire class learning new materials, then small group time with the teacher on zoom for answering questions. They have moved to an A and B day schedule so classes are now an hour and a half to enable students to “meet” with their teachers.

For fifth grade they were sent home with the book Number the stars. They have to read a chapter a day, write essays, answer questions on google classroom. Then for math there is a video and then they fill out questions on google classroom. They sent home science pamphlets on the human body. They sent home a time out kids for social studies. They have to watch videos and answer questions about what they are learning. They have Spanish, gym, and art assignments.

For seventh grade it is a full day of school at home. They are doing similar formats to my fifth grade student. They are learning new things. I get emails from all of my sons teacher. He even cooked for us to do his foods cycle. Our kids are learning new things, and going to be graded with a combined third and fourth marking period.

Message edited 3/30/2020 10:19:29 AM.

Re: Homeschooling Q

On content delivery days, teachers will be engaged in one or more of the following with their students:
? Mini lessons
? Opportunities for direct instruction
? Assigning and giving directions for activities
? Answering student questions
? Small group meetings
? Optional live class meetings
? Monitoring student participation and work
On non-instructional days, teachers will be engaged in the one or more of the following:
? Professional Learning Community meetings
? Collaboration with support teachers
? Communication with counselors, CST
? Communication with students and parents
? Lesson planning
? Grading student work
? Gathering/researching instructional resources
? Following up with individual student concerns/questions
? Holding optional office hours or supporting individual or small groups of students
? Engage in professional development activities


Our superintendent has sent out 22 emails, so close to daily, updating the community on what is happening. This was from last night. Not sure why the bullet points turned into question marks.

Message edited 3/30/2020 10:30:59 AM.

Homeschooling Q

Schools in my area are doing review only as well. I think that was the initial directive from the state. As of this week, we are allowed to “explore” new topics but not count any of the work they do.

Homeschooling Q

My DD’s teacher has started with all new work for Social Studies, math and reading. None of her work the past 2 weeks has been review.

Re: Homeschooling Q

Homeschooling Q

5th grade LI- for the past 2 weeks it was review type work (not going ahead in the Math chapters for example) on Google Classroom. Starting this week (last Friday actually, started a new math chapter. The teacher is stating there is legality issues with Zoom or video conferencing from the district (I’m not really sure what that means) so there has been zero face to face interaction in 3 weeks. She’s trying the best she can to answer questions when the kids are conversing on google classroom but there has been zero feedback on the work (doesn’t correct math answers or feedback on writing paragraphs etc). This is all so new and everyone was just thrown into this, it’s so emotional. She’s kept it so it’s not overwhelming for them which I do appreciate. This is such a trying time for families

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Homeschooling Q

My kids are learning all new things in 4th and 2nd grade. They had started their math units at school but, they were new subtopics... Thankfully they are good at math so it's been easier for them.

Homeschooling Q

My DD is in 6th grade. She has had zero interaction with any teacher since this started. All work is on google classroom. The math teacher just introduced algebra with videos from virtual nerd. This is her first year in this school. The school has specifically said there will be no video instruction because everyone's situation is different (no computer, parents working from home, first responders whose kids are in daycare settings etc). I know from parents in her previous school, that those students are all getting classroom instruction by the teachers in interactive video sessions. I would be happy with recorded video messages from the teachers just to say hello and let the kids know they are missed.

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Message edited 4/14/2020 8:15:22 AM.