INTO THE VIRTUAL WORLD WE GO...

I have to be honest, I’m not even sure how to begin this letter.  Of course, I hope all of our families and children are safe and sound… and feeling well!  As the parent of a 6 year old, I think it goes without saying that most of us are suffering from cabin fever, and trying our best to figure out this new normal, which will hopefully be as temporary as possible! 
 
We have had many conversations this week about the current state of events, our collective ethics and philosophies around early childhood, reflections upon the tenants of preschool education, and considerations of how we can best try to serve all of you, our Gan Shalom families.  In that effort, we have decided to proceed with virtual offerings for our children during this challenging time.
  
Beginning on Monday, Gan Shalom will be going online!  The general framework will include a ZOOM morning meeting/circle time with your child’s teacher, which will look a bit different for each age-group, but will include “live” engagement with our Gan Shalom children through songs, circle time activities, discussion, etc.  Each class will have a ZOOM classroom created for them this weekend, and a letter you receive over the weekend will provide you with the log-in information for your child’s class, as well as the weekly schedule for when “circle times” will be held. 
 
We will also be offering daily story times, daily lessons for play and/or activity-based learning, and daily “Facetime” or ZOOM calls with each individual child.  These personal daily “live” calls with individual children will focus on some element of learning, spanning fine-motor tasks and story comprehension to lessons focused on social and/or emotional development. We will be setting up sign-in sheets hosted within each class’ Remini home page, so that you can sign-up for your call at a daily time of your choosing from the window your teachers will provide.  You will receive an email in the next day or two when this feature is up and running.
 
Our plan is that beginning on Monday, you will be able to access:
A Daily Morning Meeting/Circle Time Live Streamed via Zoom
Daily Activity Plans to Guide At-Home Learning Time
An Individual Call Each Day For Your Child (scheduled via a sign-up app in Remini)
Two Different Story Time Videos Daily, Hosted By Your Child’s Teacher(s)
Resources from Community Helpers (i.e. Librarian Leslie)
 
Please understand there is a steep learning curve for both myself and many members of our teaching staff.  Please also know that it is the shared acknowledgement that virtual engagement is not the ideal for children of this age.  However, in times like this, providing a sense of continuity with the routines and people that children know, and lending a sense of structure and uniformity to all of our days, will hopefully help us all to get through this time stronger, together.  So, in the next day or two, please check your email for links to our new “GAN SHALOM VIRTUAL ENVIRONEMNT,” scheduling details from Remini, and the information to access your child’s new “ZOOM classroom.”  Please also know that I am happy to “host” other gatherings if your individual classes may want them, within your ZOOM ROOMS once we get up and running. 
 
We hope it is only a couple of weeks until we can return to our brick-and-mortar Gan Shalom home, but in the meantime, we are excited (tempered with nervousness and tech uneasiness) to join together through the offerings outlined above.
 
If you have any questions, please let me know.  I will be home learning how to host our new site and create our ZOOM ROOMS.

​​​​​​​Rhya