Gabriela Fairstein
I’m going to talk about virtual activities in kindergarten and why I think strategies from other educational levels don’t work well
The reality is that the formats for developing virtual activities in the kindergartner are basically designed for the primary level going forward. And kindergartners, while adapting proposals to age, maintain the same format. That’s why it’s important to think about virtual formats specific for early childhood.
Let’s start with synchronous virtual encounters, by zoom or meet: it’s the most used strategy. But in kindergarten, they don’t work well.
At this age children do not have the necessary concentration, cannot wait shifts to speak and they get anxious they get angry. Perhaps a good idea would be to make small encounters by video call, with groups of two or three children. short-lived,with unstructured proposals, only for maintaining contact
that can also be done from a cell phone, because there is not always a computer available for the use of children under 5 years of age
In addition, at other educational levels, the link with the school and its teachers is also developed through the written word. Reading to your teachers, writing for your teachers, is a way to feel their presence. In kindergarten we have to think about other strategies to be close.
That’s why I think of video calls individually or small groups, where they can be heard, show their toys, or interact more closely with a game proposal.
Another issue: the place of families.
In kindergarten we should not think that they accompany: here families are protagonists.
Because they are the ones who are carrying out all education; at this age, any school proposal is mediated by families.
How can we recognize and enhance this leading role of families?
The kindergarten should generate a message, a speech, addressed exclusively to adults.
Not only invite them to play with their sons and daughters
But establish a dialogue, a channel of communication between adults.
What I mean is that one way for kindergarten to continue educating children during quarantine is to help families, advise them, and provide ideas.
Explain to them, for example, how to organize time at home, the importance of promoting moments of play, establishing routines, ensuring physical activities, being outdoors, even on a balcony.
These are issues that kindergarten knows a lot about and can advise families to take up this new role they are playing, of full-time educators
In addition, accompany them and contain them, to manage the limits, fights or anxieties, which are also intensified by isolation.
By doing this, the kindergarten will be working to generate a space and well-being time for children. And that’s also an educational goal.
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