Keeping things safe, creative and fun is this online JK teacher's mantra
'The things they're able to accomplish online at such a young age is remarkable,' École St-Paul teacher says
Online learning is a way of life now for students, including sitting in front of a computer every day, all day. Teachers are trying to find ways to keep students interested, but how does one effectively teach a class of boisterous junior kindergarten students through a device?
Teacher Julie Punkkinen says she's trying to make online learning as fun and as engaging as she possibly can for her four- and five-year-old students at École St-Paul in Lively, in Greater Sudbury.
"It's hard to get them to all be able to communicate online at the same time," she said, noting she has 29 students in her class.
"The two favourite phrases of the day that I use the most are 'turn on your mic' and 'please mute your mic.'"
Punkkinen says she tries to stick to as many "normal" routines as possible, like morning attendance, singing the national anthem and saying prayers.
"We try and keep the routines very similar, as if we were in class," she said.
"We like to dance and move in the morning to get our brains awake and our bodies moving, so we'll do a fun song that they all know that we used to do together in class."
Once these large-group activities are done, the class is split into two groups. While one group is taught online, the other group does assigned work offline, and then they switch.
Engaging lesson plans
Punkkinen says her days are filled with some hilarious sights and sounds.
"Every day I get full house tours. I get tours of their mouth, if they have loose teeth. We get to see up the nostrils. We get meet-and-greets with all the pets. It's just it's really, really fun," she said.
Teaching online allows everyone to see each other's faces, which Punkkinen loves.
"I get to see their full expressions and those beautiful smiles."
When it comes to learning, Punkkinen says getting creative with lesson plans has been key. For example, when it came time to learn about the five senses, she asked the kids to do treasure hunts at home to learn about sight and to go outside and listen for certain sounds to learn about hearing.
"And then we finished the week with a virtual breakfast all together, and they had to create a breakfast plate of their choice that represented all the five senses on their face," she said.
"So I had kids that used waffles and fruits. I had other kids that had bacon and eggs as eyes and ears and noses. And we all got to eat breakfast together and they got to present to me their plate and what was on it."
Just recently they learned about plants, and Punkkinen dressed up as a gardener in a wig.
"We're growing hair," she said. "Because we seeded some grasses, and we're going to measure how tall our grass hair is going to grow in the next two weeks."
Punkkinen says she thinks of her students as "rock stars" as they learn online at home during the pandemic.
"They blow my mind every day. The things that they're able to do and accomplish online at such a young age is remarkable. And their parents are incredible. The parents have been so supportive."
But she does think the kids are missing out by not being together "to a certain degree."
"Luckily, they get to see each other on camera and we do let them chat and do show and tell. But the interaction, I think it's something that we're all lacking. Even the adults," Punkkinen said.
"I'm sure it's affecting all of us in different ways, but we're doing the best we can. And we'll keep doing what we need to do to keep everybody safe. But yes, hopefully I have everyone back together very soon because it is fun to be together to learn in person."
