Keeping younger-aged kids engaged with academics online requires a specific set of skills (not to mention a whole lot of patience). Our elementary specialists have mastered how to ensure their wiggly littles don’t get too distracted and get as excited about their online classes as they would be in person. Below we’ve compiled a list of tips from some of our top-notch elementary specialists about their strategies for keeping younger-aged kids engaged in online lessons. Enjoy!

Think Outside of the Box

Our teacher Tracia says: “When working with early childhood students, engaging them with songs and fingerplays is a developmentally appropriate and fun way to teach information and keep them interested. Recently I brought some live Monarch caterpillars to a session with a 4-year-old. We sang songs with fingerplays about the life cycle of a butterfly. A document camera is a powerful tool for sharing science lessons such as this one.”

Digital materials are great but for teaching the elementary age group, it’s imperative to mix-up mediums and incorporate hands-on lessons so the kiddos are doing more than sitting and looking at a computer for the entire lesson. Just because the lessons are online doesn’t mean live animal demonstrations can’t be part of the fun!

Switch it Up & Enjoy the Silence

Our teacher Moriah shared these tips for supporting younger-aged kids online:

“1) Don't underestimate drawing a picture or diagram as a way to be hands-on! It's a great option for when few manipulatives are available and can be a versatile, fun way to show knowledge.

2) Switch it up every five or ten minutes - this doesn't necessarily mean switch the content area; it just means switch modes to keep things interesting. Maybe a lesson includes a mini-lesson, a short video, and a song, each of which lasts a few minutes.

3) Get used to quiet think time. It can feel awkward to teach via Zoom, and each moment of think time can feel like an eternity, but it's what kids need to think and process. Here's a tip I recently learned: Each time you pose a question, take a sip of water! This gives the student a beat or two to think before responding and before they hear another prompt from the teacher/tutor.”

From Our Training

At Pacific Preparatory, we provide in-depth training for our teachers who will be working with younger-aged students online because we understand to truly do a good job requires a certain set of skills and tools. Here are a few tips we can share from directly our training:

Plan for brain breaks: wiggly kiddos need opportunities to get out their wiggles. Teachers need to come to lessons prepared to lead activities that allow them to release their energy as needed in a contained and effective way.

Bring manipulatives: Unifex cubes, pattern blocks, ten frames, books, story cards, dice. Every online teacher working with elementary-aged kids should have an arsenal by their side as they teach.

Life check-ins: don’t forget to ask kids about their lives. A great way to do this is to use a check-in “scale” or conversation structure like a “rose, bud, and thorn.”

Play games: get kids engaged by playing games and ideally offering opportunities for the kids to play the role of the leader, encouraging them to think in new ways.