Access the full blog post here. Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey, two amazing kinder teachers, join me to discuss home learning strategies for primary students that ALL teachers can use. These awesome educators share amazing home learning strategies for primary students, and honestly, ANY teacher can learn from this episode.  This is a MUST-LISTEN episode for all teachers. Shoutout Laura Steinbrink joined me on Episode 56 to chat about choice boards, but she’s back with an update. She is revising her choice board based on feedback from her students. Some of them prefer a big project rather than small ones. She shares how she has now updated her board to offer either one big project a week or several smaller ones. Keep shifting and changing to find what works for you and your students. Quick Tip of the Week: Copy Direct Link to Google Classroom Assignment Depending on how you are creating assignments in Google Classroom, this tip can help you quickly link to assignments elsewhere. Go to the 3 dots (more menu) on the assignment and select “copy link.” You can now share that assignment wherever else you need. Watch this YouTube video to learn how! Get all the weekly tips on this page. Home Learning Strategies for Primary Students That All Teachers Can Use! You are going to love the ideas from these two awesome kindergarten teachers. Together we will learn some home learning strategies for primary students that all teachers can use. Jessica and Christine, both kindergarten teachers, have been collaborating for over three years with their classes. They’ve set up a number of rituals for their kids so that they stay connected all year long. From the “Wish You Well” hearts to their daily updates on the weather and happenings, their kids know that learning happens outside of the classroom. These collaborations and technology integration during the regular class meetings have set these students up for success during the unexpected home learning that is now taking place. Jessica says this cross-country collaboration helps students better understand that learning can live outside the four walls fo the classroom. Their students already have a growth mindset and a foundational understanding about how learning works--giving them an advantage to understanding the new home learning approach. How Learning Has Changed on Opposite Ends of the Country California hasn’t fully stepped into a true digital classroom. Their spring break is coming up soon, so until then, they’ve been providing supplements and enrichment activities for families. After the break, Christine thinks they’ll move to requiring the kids to turn in assignments and do more targeted activities. New Jersey instead has stepped fully into focusing on ongoing learning versus just enrichment. They are working to keep grade-level consistency as well, which is extremely important. Jessica mentions that both districts are using similar technology; they’re overall goals are just a bit different. Why Supporting Families is Important Right Now This change has been hugely impactful on parents, so giving them the tools and support that they need to help educate their children is necessary. Jessica shares how her district is using Seesaw and Flipgrid to help provide spaces for the parents and kids to learn and communicate.  Also, the focus is on hands-on learning and experiences versus “book” learning. For the youngest students, we have to be careful with too much screen time. It’s also important to note that for many families, school is happening in the evening. They need to have access to resources even though they aren’t teaching during the regular school day. These technology tools were already in place before schools closed. This is not the time for new tools, use the tools that have already been proven.  What Has Been the Expectation for Time and Assignments? The goal for both Jessica and Christine’s districts has been to promote learning without expecting these kids to sit in front o