Today was our first day of virtual teaching in kindergarten. I was nervous, stressed, and excited. It felt good to be in my first day of school outfit, to have lesson plans, and to be in the classroom. As promised, we’re sharing what worked, what didn’t and some lessons we learned. And yes, there’s a video of our day!
Lessons I Learned On Day 1
- Practice with your setup. I learned during our live teaching today that my set up was awkward so I rearranged and simplified.
- When doing activities that you want to model, have examples at various steps so the kids don’t have to necessarily watch you do the entire thing. That doesn’t work well in the virtual setting.
- Using visuals for muting and unmuting worked GREAT!
- The wireless doorbell worked GREAT! I used it to help them focus back on the screen!
- Teaching from the classroom is a game-changer. It felt official. The kids loved it.
- I had 6 (out of 11) show up. Two tried but had tech issues. We spent the afternoon addressing tech issues so I expect more to show up tomorrow! (More kids will register this week and next!)
- I recorded the entire live block and posted it to YouTube and shared the link to all the families so everyone has access to the same teaching!
We are using Teams for live teaching and Schoology for our learning management software. We teach live for 2 hours (we will build up to that). I’m sending paper packets home so the kids can do activities at home. I modeled the activities and we talked about them. They completed them and sent me pictures. Here are some samples of their work:
And to cap off our day….I got this message from a parent:
Here’s the video of our day:
For more on our day, check out this blog post:
We used these resources in our lesson:
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66 comments
Thank you for sharing, and being honest! I can’t wait for my setup and my first day of virtual school
We are REAL! No props or staging of the classroom. Just 100% real with the good, the bad, the ugly AND the GLITTER!!! 🙂
Hello! I saw the microphone and mute cards and rule for free the other day, but can’t seem to find them to download now. Can you direct me where to go? Thank you!!!!
They are from Creating4 The Classroom on TPT: https://bit.ly/VirtualMeetingKidsClipart
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QgRHjXjHLtEgFUkOgs0PekRQE_8x_GaT/view
You probably went down a rabbit hole! I found the on his Scheduling Sundays post.
Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to our first day. I teach 1st and will have a longer day online. Xx
Thank you so much for sharing this! It was so helpful to “see this in action” and it really helped to lower my anxiety level!
I’d love to hear more about how you’re using schoology and teams (my district is using the same, teams just for live video) and I’m trying to figure out how to make them both kinder friend since I’ve never used either before. Especially trying to figure out how to set up schoology to make it easiest for students to find and access everything they need.
https://bit.ly/VirtualTeachingFAQ
Where did you get your laptop stand?
Amazon, here is the link: https://amzn.to/3gwwu0R
I’d love to hear what you rearranged and how you simplified. I thought your setup looked amazing so I’m curious about what changes you made.
There’s a blog post all about it! Take a look at all the recent posts for more info.
Thank you so much for sharing your first virtual day! I also teach Kindergarten and we will also be 100% virtual until further notice. Your video and notes from day one have encouraged me. I’m still a little uncertain about keeping students engaged with online lessons for a full day – we will be online from 8:15 until 3:15 daily with breaks to bring the day to 6 hours and 5 minutes. Our support teachers will also jump on for 50 minutes a day so I personally will have my students online for just over 5 hours. I like your set up with two computers; that seemed to work well. I also like your mute/unmute cue cards. Could you
possibly share these or tell where you found them? Thanks again for sharing your first day with those of us who haven’t yet started our virtual year.
Head to the Schedulin’ Sunday blog post!
Paper packets:
-Do you make a packet for the whole week?
-How did you manage packet pickup?
Did you have an opportunity to meet with your students and parents before today?
When you play the songs, are the students able to watch the video on their screens or was it music only?
Did you create a school supply bag for each student or only the glue sponges?
Thank you!!
We have a few blog posts that answer most of these questions. Simply go to the blog and look at our recent posts! https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/
Hi Mr. Greg! Thank you so much for sharing your first day. I have a question… how do you use music and put your video on YouTube for students to refer to later? This last spring anytime I did this, YouTube would block the sound. Is there a trick to make it legal? I sing a lot in my class and want to make sure those who may have to watch later can still hear. Thank you!!
https://bit.ly/VirtualTeachingFAQ
Ilove the sounds song! What is the title of it?
Alphardy by Dr. Jean
tAloha, thank you so much for sharing your first virtual day…that was awesome Mr. Greg…I luv your mic cue cards, did you get
iit from TPT? looking forward for day 2 in kindergarten….much mahalo
You can get them in this blog post: https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2020/08/the-first-virtual-week-schedulin-sunday.html
Thank you for sharing your first day! Many of us are trying to figure out the set up for our classroom. Can you explain in more detail how you can meet with your kids on Teams on your computer and project on the promethean at the same time? Do I need to use my phone for live streaming Teams and my computer to project on my promethean board? I am looking for the very basics of how to do this. I know many other teachers are looking for more details of basic setup. Thanks!
II love to watch your videos- you’re making me feel better about teaching virtually! Will you make those mics on/off posters available?
They are available in this blog post: https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2020/08/the-first-virtual-week-schedulin-sunday.html
Hello! Thank you so much for sharing this – I do feel a little better about this whole virtual Kindergarten thing. I noticed that you asked the students if they had practiced their singing before the morning song – had you sent them links to the songs beforehand or was that just conversation?
I think this post will help: https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2020/08/virtual-learning-supply-kit.html. Also be sure to checkout all our other recent posts about virtual teaching.
Is it possible to see the view of your set up from a student perspective? Thank you!
Stay tuned! We’ve got a detailed video coming tonight!
[…] Posts Virtual Teaching FAQ And Details Virtual Kindergarten: The First Day Virtual Learning Supply […]
Hi thank you for teaching us teachers too. What is the Alien song called i couldnt find it.
Alien Alphabet from Intellitunes
I love your first song of the day! Can you please share the artist and title? Thank you!
A beautiful day by Jack Hartmann
This awesome love your detail on it. I purchased abc boot camp a few years ago at the CA kindergarten conference in Santa Clara. How can I get the update to have the virtual part to it?
Thank you always for sharing your classroom!
Just re-download!
I I teach in Alberta and we will be going back to an extremely modified classroom setting in September. We will be having to spend a lot of time in desks to be physically distant. Most of our morning routine previously was being close together. I really liked the morning songs that you sang and think it will be a good way to ‘gather’ and still be seated or in our own space. I’m wondering what and where you found the songs to start your day? Rise up children and the alien alphabet.
Thanks and I hope that when things settle down with travel and large group gatherings that you will consider coming back to the Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention
They are just songs i’ve found over the years. No place in particular. I use Jack Hartmann Beautiful Day and the alien song is Alien Alphabet from Intellitunes.
Can you explain you technology set up? It looks like you are recording your lesson from a phone/ipad…you have 1 computer for your Zoom meeting and then another computer that is hooked up to the smart board behind you. Looking to figure out how manage all the devices and what I truly need the purchase. Thanks!
Head to our most recent blog post. I think it MIGHT help. Otherwise, stay tuned. We’ll continue providing details of setup etc…
Greg, I think it is so fantastic that you are willing to share your first virtual teaching day! You make it look easy, my friend. I always think that I’m not doing it “right”, or that other teachers do their first day differently/better/more organized, so it is just so nice to see that I am literally going through the same things other teachers are going through. And I LOVE your singing. 😉 You’re precious and I am so glad I follow you!! Thank you for putting yourself out there! Amazing.
Thank you so much for sharing your first day! I feel much better already! Best of luck to you these next few weeks/months/??? LOL!
Thank you for sharing your day! It was fun and helped me to relax and not be so worried about “my first day”!
Are you able to see all of your students on Teams? I’m trying to decide between Teams and Big Blue Button (the options my district supports), but I can’t figure out how to see all my students for Morning Meeting.
Yes! They recently did an update so you can see up to 49 squares! Hope you’ll consider joining our webinar this week: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/VirtualTeaching
You can see all of your students in BBB when you go to a breakout room.
Thank you for sharing! What type of interactive board do you have?
It’s a Smart Panel from the Smart company
Thank you so much Mr. Greg for sharing your morning routine. I’m wondering how a full day of teaching kindergarten will be. I hope you have more videos to share. Thank you again.
Join our webinar coming up this week! https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/VirtualTeaching
Just found out Friday that I will be teaching K virtually this year! I am so excited for this new adventure. Thank you for sharing it all with the world, it helps to see and hear from real people in the classroom situation (esp. for kindergarten)!!
Thanks for this post! I work closely with teachers as a coach and have found your post a great place for teachers to feel like they “can relate” to someone else in their shoes. I was wondering how you had your students share photos of their work with you?
https://bit.ly/VirtualTeachingFAQ
https://bit.ly/VirtualLearningToolKits
https://bit.ly/VirtualTeachingDay1
I just want to say THANK YOU for sharing your first day and all of your resources with us. I have been following you for years and think you are truly amazing.
Thanks for sharing your first day video. We are going back with a hybrid and/or virtual model. Do you have any ideas for videoing and presenting lessons in this situation? I am concerned that I will be moving about and not in view of the camera.
What platform did you use to put your clip art into for your virtual teaching signs?
Not sure what you mean? I used Keynote to make the poster.
Where can I find the crayon cutting activity?
It’s in this: https://bit.ly/SchoolSupplyResearchProjectTKS
Wow this is so amazing!!! I have been feeling super overwhelmed and seeing someone else go through their first day is so so helpful! Thank you so much!!
What document camera do you use? I am full virtual kindergarten this year. Loved seeing your first day! Gave me hope.
I use a camera that came with my Letters ALive kit however, I recommend HUE HD
I have never taught K and I was asked to do it virtually. The only reason I had the courage to say “yes” was because your videos made it look “do-able.” Thank you. By sharing what you do, you help so many kids have a better teacher. Just one question. Does the Alien Alphabet song have a video that goes with it? I bought it but it just has the music & a white sheet of words that aren’t in a kid friendly font or size. Am I missing something. Thanks again for everything.
Hi Mr. Greg! I love your lessons! I am a first year Kindergarten teacher. I am just wondering, do you play the alien alphabet and the alphabet sounds songs every day? I am playing them every day currently, but I am not sure if this is “right” or not. I know there is no “right” answer, but I was just wondering if there is a point in the year when you stop playing the alphabet songs? Maybe when you are done with ABC bootcamp? Thanks so much! You are an amazing and inspiring teacher!
We play it every day for only the first few weeks, basically after we finish ABC Bootcamp