Support for Parents with Pre-Kers

Here you are, three months into the school year, and you still are not sure what you should do with your Pre-K virtual learner. As you may know, being on a computer for over an hour is inappropriate for young students. With that said, knowing that Pre-Ker’s virtual classes tend to last for an hour at the most, you might be wondering what to do with your child for the rest of the day. The answer is simple--- create a complete academic daily schedule for your young scholar and stick to it. This will help your child have a better sense of an academic day.

It would be great to have your Pre-Ker to be up and ready before class begins each morning. Just like you would do for regular attendance to school, give your child time to get washed up, groomed, clothed, and fed before class starts. This helps your child to focus solely on learning during virtual learning classes. We recommend for you to have a set wake-up time, grooming and breakfast time, class time, story time with you reading to your child, homework time for assignments that are given by your child’s teacher, lunch time, outdoor time, quiet/ nap time, purposeful play time (i.e. for building with blocks, cooking in a toy kitchen set), snack time, and closing activity time (e.g. singing a ritual “end of the day” song, having your Pre-Ker tell you what he liked about his school day). An example of a complete schedule is at the bottom. Please consider using a schedule and commit to it each week day.

Homework/classwork is a vital part of your child’s education. It gives her confidence academically and the opportunity to express what she knows. Even if her teacher does not assign any homework/classwork, have your child practice writing letters and numbers, recognizing and drawing shapes, counting from 0-20, drawing pictures, recognizing uppercase and lowercase letters, and spelling and writing her first and last name on a daily basis.

During this unprecedented time, having a Pre-Ker at home full time may seem overwhelming. Remember to take deep breaths, and take one scheduled day at a time. You got this!

Example of Daily Schedule for Pre-Ker

8:00 AM Wake Up

8:00- 9:00 AM Grooming, Getting Dressed, and Breakfast

9:00- 10:00 AM Virtual Learning Class Time

10:00- 10:30 AM Play Time

10:30- 11:00 AM Homework

11:00 AM- 12:00 PM Outdoor Exploration

12:00- 12:45 PM Nap/ Quiet Time12:45- 1:45 PM

1:45- 2:00 PM Story Time

2:00- 2:15 PM Snack

2:15- 2:30 PM Closing-the-Day Activity