Daily Online Teaching for Reception

[HorneG18]

After the government's announcement yesterday of another Lockdown, any tips on how to structure the teaching day for remote/online learning of Reception class? I only started teaching Reception in September so I've had to get used to a lot of the EYFS way of working (previously taught Y5). My mind is a whirl - any help from anyone would be useful. 😬

[Jules]

Hello! My heart goes out to you, you'll have so much to think about and so quickly too. 

I have taught Reception in the past, but I haven't had to do so remotely. 

My first thought is to keep things short. And once you get into a rhythm, keep the structure the same each day. This will help parents to know what to expect. 

I'm going to pass your post onto a colleague of mine, Ben, who I think will be able to give you more advice. 

Take care. 

[BenTapestrySupport]

I think giving little things that they can do at home with resources that they have / can make is a great start. You can also record short introduction videos to share with the children to explain what you want them to do and model. 

As Jules says, structure will help - think about what the children would normally be doing if they were in, and try to organise things around that. 

You might not always do a maths input for example, but you would probably do maths every day with some children through their play. Think about how you support their play and get that in to an activity that they can do at home. 

It's really not about long tasks though with Reception - that would just be so frustrating for the parents and the children, and might actually put a lot of them off from doing things. 

You might find some of these sheets useful for activities: https://tapestry.info/infographic-library.html#EYFS

Let us know what you think of or if you need further help. 

 

[PointersEYS]

Hi there! 

We structure our daily online learning like this:

• Literacy Input (story & instruction) + activity
• Maths Input (hands on video instruction) + activity
• Topic Input (story/instruction video) + activity (either art, role play, or STEM activity)
• Phonics (Phonological awareness game & Twinkl powerpoint as that's our scheme) + optional activity

Each activity has an option for parents to complete it by printing a sheet or on their own paper/using objects from home. We also have daily 10 minute video calls with the TAs and weekly 15 minute video calls with the teachers as well as weekly 30 minute small group work. We also really encourage parents to do extension play activities to extend the learning. 

I hope that helps! 

[HorneG18]

Thank you all so much for your help! We are getting there. The input is short with stories, a video, ppt etc. I then set a task - they've been quite simple and structured (mainly to help out the parents). So far it seems to be working - we have to stay online throughout the morning to answer questions/ queries - I usually check back in on everyone at home each 1/2/ hour to see if they need any help or suggestions, making sure they take breaks, go play, do something practical. The afternoons I set a practical activity, exploration, play based learned, craft activity etc. but we are not online although available by email if the parents need me.

My worry is, I feel that it's not as reception should be, as my time is split so much. Free flow and play happens if the children are in school but having the time to observe, do focus work and ensure that the children are ok online, is difficult.