Looking Back to When It All Began
Who would have thought that on Friday, March 13th, as we handed out work packages to families just as a precaution, within the next couple of hours our lives would be transformed in a way we couldn’t imagine? We were sitting in our staff meeting discussing our precautionary provisions for remote learning, anticipating news from government, when BANG! We learned at the eleventh hour that we would be closed for at least five weeks! We all sat there in stunned silence, and then the flurry began.
Luckily, we had already started to source items for work packages earlier that week, for the “just-in-case scenario;” Team Casa had made a very quick – but ultimately prudent – decision on that Friday morning to start printing them, whether or not they would be needed. It was hectic but we managed to get it done.
The news of extended school-site closure till the end of the school year has hit us hard, just as it has all of the children and all parents. If we had known then what we know now, we would have just fully immersed ourselves in and enjoyed the company of the children on that day, for that would be the last time we would all be together this school year. To travel back in time and remember and cherish every second of that last day in our classroom would be amazing… but we must keep our sights on the horizon, and steer our way forward and through the waters of uncertainty and change.
Thank goodness for technology! Although Ms. Nicky has struggled with technology more than Ms. Zoe has (Ms. Nicky consistently manages to destroy a laptop or computer yearly at home), we are getting there, as we sure you all are too! We have been grateful for the Teams platform and we so enjoy seeing the children and connecting with them. We will all be computer wizards by the end of this! If you still haven’t had the chance to connect with us, please e-mail us at casa2@mbts.ky. There are many different ways to connect: by phone, a WhatsApp call, Teams, etc. We understand all of you are juggling many things, but please be reminded and reassured that we are here for you and truly enjoy – and deeply miss – chatting and interacting with your child!
As you all know, facilitating and guiding the learning of the child – every single day – is no easy task. If you are finding that your child is starting to struggle with focus, try and do one task for 15 minutes and then break it up with something different and fun. Remember that Casa-age children need lots of gross-motor movement, so get up and get moving outside during a break time. If they were in the classroom, children would be working and learning whilst also moving freely and socializing. It’s not realistic to expect young children at home to sit down and stay focused for big chunks of time. Give your child – and yourselves – the breaks that are needed throughout the day!
Last Friday, the third-year/Kindergarten Casa children had their first live sight-word spelling session with Ms. Zoe. It was a great success and we will continue to roll out more live lessons and events; we will keep you posted! We have had some wonderful feedback on many of our video lessons, and we always enjoy the videos submitted by families; for example, we loved watching videos of some of the children – and their families – performing some of their own verbs! Please keep the videos and photos of our beloved children coming – we so love seeing what they have been getting up to!