Hello Families!

Thank you all so much for the work you’ve done the past two weeks.  We are living in some challenging times, to say the least.  I’m sure the fact that you had to take on the role of teacher didn’t make things any easier!  Thankfully, this week marks a new beginning in your child’s remote learning education.  The following email is long, but will have some precious little nuggets of information, so thank you in advance for reading.

Google Classroom Daily Routine

Beginning tomorrow, your child will have lessons posted in his/her Reading Google Classroom each morning by 8:00 AM.  In order to access the video lessons, they will need to first go to the LPS Portal, and open the “MyVRSpot” application.  This is like using a key to unlock the door to the lessons, if that makes sense.  Then, your child will log into Google Classroom and click on the “Reading” class.  Every morning I will have a “Job Board” posted.  On it will list the lessons and activities for each day.  The lessons and accompanying materials will also be posted.

Your child will have a new reading lesson on Mondays and Wednesdays, and a new math lesson on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  These are the only “must do” lessons this week.  Everything else posted is only suggested practice, though highly encouraged.

Spelling

Spelling practice is encouraged!  Lists will be posted on Mondays, and suggested practice will be posted during the week.  A Friday test is optional.  You can give the test the traditional way, or have the kids go to “Spelling City” and take the test online.  Under the “Spelling” tab of our class web page, there are directions how to access the online test.  Those directions will also be posted in their Reading Google Classroom every Friday.

Printing

The lessons (especially Math), have accompanying links to PDFs or documents you can access.  Ideally you can print those resources out at home, but I know that is not possible for some.  I don’t believe Chromebooks can print either, so you would need to rely on a home device of some sort for the printing.  This is far from ideal, I know.  Thanks for doing the best you can under these circumstances to help your child practice his/her lessons.

Introduction Videos

Each reading and math lesson is produced by LPS.  However, each lesson will begin with an introduction by me.  Even on math lesson days, the kids should first go to their Reading classroom to view the daily Job Board.  Then, they access the math lessons by going to their Math classroom.

Just to note, I’ve invited all the kids that travel to another teacher for math to join my Math Google Classroom.  That way they can watch my math lesson introductions, if they are so inclined.  There are also a long list of Math Fact Quizzes they will be able to access for practice.

Web Site Changes

I know this is a lot to take in, so thanks for staying with me!  To make your life easier, there is a new tab on our class web page called “Remote Learning.”  There you will find the following links to make your life much, much easier!  🙂

Daily Digital Routine – This shows the kids how to begin each morning by accessing the MyVRSpot application.

Remote Learning Suggested Weekly Schedule – Here you will find a suggested template of what a week of Remote Learning school could look like for your child.

Digital Books – Lists a number of access points to free digital books!

Educational Game Sites – Lists a number of educational sites to enjoy!

Zoom Conferences – Feeling stressed and in need of support?  This link shows how you can still access the school’s counselor and other support staff.

Zoom Class Meetings and Reading Rainbow Watch Party

I really enjoyed our first “Zoom Class Meeting” last Friday!  I would like to make that a regular, weekly appointment.  So, this Friday we will meet again at 12:00.  We can chat about the week, and I can hopefully answer any questions the kids might have about their weekly lessons.

Then, at then end of our meeting I would love to have a Reading Rainbow watch party!  I can share the video through my computer, and we can enjoy the show together.  The Reading Rainbow this week is called “Germs Make Me Sick.”  A very timely lesson for what we are all experiencing right now!

Well, I think that covers it all!  Please let me know if you have any questions today or during the course of the week, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Thanks again for all your hard work the past two weeks.  I’m very happy to take it from here!  🙂

Eric Wachter