From in person teaching to virtual teaching - From never wearing a mask to wearing a mask everyday - From sharing supplies to individual supplies for each student - From group work to students needing to work 6 feet apart - From 4 chromebooks to 1to1 tablets. We never knew this is what teaching would look like in 2020.
2020 - My year of teaching at a glance
👩🏼🏫August 2019
5th year teaching
New job at public school
kindergarten teacher (1st grade previously)
👩🏼🏫 January 2020
Teaching kids to share, play, read, write and solve math problems.
A ‘normal’ year brought with laughter, sharing of supplies and some behavioral challenges.
new curriculum
Classroom observations
Assessments
Collaboration meetings
👩🏼💻March 2020
Phase 1 shutdown due to COVID-19.
We found out one night the kids wouldn’t be returning to school- Never thought the day before would be the last time we would see these kids.
Teachers had one day to get things from the building and report home.
No contact with students, no chance to hug them goodbye
printed paper packets were given to students by the district.
👩🏼💻April 2020
Phase 2 of distance learning
District Wide website with work for students to complete daily.
Daily Check-in forms
phone calls and emails to check in on students.
👩🏼💻May 2020
Phase 3 of distance learning
teachers post lessons and activities on seesaw.
District collaboration meetings across grade levels to create lessons and activities.
Car parades to be able to see our students from a distance.
💻 Devices only given to students in need.
👩🏼💻👩🏼🏫August 2020
Delay start of school year- extra teacher days given to prep to return safely due to COVID-19
👩🏼🏫 👩🏼💻 September 2020 -
Hybrid Model A-K cohort on Monday and Thursday. L-Z cohort Tuesday and Friday. Virtual Wednesday for all students.
On top of hybrid students also a group of 100% virtual learners- They join us for live CREW (morning meeting) and we post lessons and activities to seesaw Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
💻 1:1 devices provided to all students
👩🏼🏫👩🏼💻 October 2020
In person learners Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
Wednesday virtual learning.
Post lessons for virtual learners Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Virtual learners join live for CREW.
👩🏼💻November 2020
2 weeks 100% virtual
all students learning from home.
Live teaching on zoom 8:30am -1:30pm.
Follow up activities posted on seesaw.
Recorded lessons posted for those who miss live meetings.
👩🏼🏫👩🏼💻December 2020
In person learners Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,.
Everyone is virtual on Wednesdays.
Virtual learners join for crew and complete seesaw lessons and activities.
December 16th - went into virtual teaching until January 19th
This year certainly wasn’t a year of teaching we all expected and it definitely brought so many challenges. After reflecting on how my year as teacher unfolded I look back and see how far we have come as a world of education, as a district, as a school, as a teacher. Along with the challenges it taught us to flexible and adaptive to changes. It forced us to be creative and patient. It may not be easy but we have done it so far and we will continue to make it work. We will continue to make changes and adaptations to our schedule and curriculum because we are teachers and we do it for the kids. Our students are so lucky to have us and I must say I am lucky to have my students.
As we come back from break, our school will be virtual until January 19th. When we are virtual, I see the kids on zoom from 8:30am-1:30pm and I try to make it fun and engaging. There is something to be said about the children’s spark of joy hitting me differently when we are in person vs. virtual. However I am grateful for the district decision to keep us safe as the virus continues to spread around us after the holidays. I do miss seeing the students in person everyday, but I know that this is our safest option. Each day I put on a brave face and work hard to make it the best day possible for my students wether in person or virtually. We are teachers and we are strong. We will get through this together.
🌟🌟 In case you need to hear it today- you are doing a great job! There is no “perfect” way to teach, we are all in this together learning how to navigate a new world of teaching. If you are still helping your students daily, building personal connections and showing them they are wanted then you are doing the best you can! Always remember you are enough!
Happy New Year! The Best is Yet to Come!
