Continuity E-Learning at Bambini Creativi
At Bambini Creativi, we are proud to deliver our high-quality education and fulfill our mission in the context of our preschool and elementary program. We are also optimistic that we will be able to do so under these exceptional circumstances that may require a suspension of gathering and closure of the school. In such cases, our commitment is to provide an alternative means of education in the form of the Bambini Creativi- Continuity E-Learning Plan.

 

Continuity E-Learning is the experience students will have when school remains in session, but when students are not allowed to physically attend school because of an unforeseen school closure event, like the (COVID-19) Pandemic. While Continuity E-Learning does embody the lessons and activities of onsite learning, our teachers can deliver essential instruction and meaningful learning experiences that allow students to meet expected standards in an online environment. Bambini Creativi’s Continuity E-Learning experience remains in alignment with our core values and principles for learning and teaching. Our students will continue to be empowered to participate in how they reach learning goals; engage in digital collaboration to solve problems; feel safe to take intellectual and social risks while persevering through current challenges and state of affairs; are supported with modeling, specific feedback, differentiation, and opportunities for reflection and revision of work; while continuing to be passionate, intrinsically motivated, and inspired learners who take meaningful action. The success of our Continuity E-Learning program is achieved by the planning of our dedicated educational team, the engagement and motivation of our students, and the strong parent and community support for this new mode of online learning.

 

The outcome of such learning experiences will expand our students' academic progress while tending to our students’ social and emotional well-being. While, for many of us, this is a time of uncertainty and challenge; it is also a unique time that provides us with unlimited opportunities to connect with ideas and classmates who are spread-out throughout our city, two neighboring states, and potentially beyond. We believe our educational team, students, and parents are all prepared for this challenge. We feel Bambini Creativi is prepared to make meaningful learning experiences for our students regardless of the situation!

 

The intention and purpose of this document is to outline how Bambini Creativi will continue to offer an online e-learning model, which includes both an Asynchronous Learning Environment, as well as Synchronous, real-time engagements together. An Asynchronous Learning Environment- is a learning environment that does not require participants (students and teachers) to be online at the same time. Students and teachers can work independently on or in the online classroom at times most conducive to their availability and varying schedules. It is important to mention that we understand that not all families and students will have access to online learning at the same time. Synchronous, on the other hand, offers real-time engagement and opportunities for students to participate with their teachers and classmates at scheduled times to allow for interactions in real-time.

* Research analysis and review of Online Learning Studies from the United States Department of Education indicates that a combination of online and face-to-face instruction, on the average, had stronger learning outcomes than did face-to-face instruction alone.

The following Bambini Creativi E-Learning Plan is designed to address the following scenarios:

• Asynchronous learning ensures the opportunity to learn for all students

• Synchronous engagements support learning and social-emotional well-being of students through real-time engagements and collaborations

• Limited and variable online access to technology and the internet for some students

• Extended flexible timelines for Continuity E-Learning delivery (at a minimum, two weeks or potentially longer)

• A commitment to monitoring and improvement of this plan and the student experience during the time of its implementation

Bambini Creativi's Continuity E-Learning Plan will define the following:

• Implementation Procedure to conduct school remotely until resuming to normal school operations

• Details of the Expectations required of both teachers and families for the successful continuation of student learning and family communication

•  Lesson Plans that address developmentally appropriate and meaningful student learning experiences

Continuity E-Learning Platforms at Bambini Creativi

The following Online Platforms support both E-Learning and (teacher, student, family) collaboration to ensure a quality student educational experience when planning and delivering remotely:

1. Bambini Creativi email and Facebook (Family Page) are still the primary communication tools used to contact and communicate with our families

2. Seesaw, Google Hangouts, and Pintrest are the online Continuity E-Learning platforms used in the Preschool and Elementary Program (Preschool-5th Grade)

​

**In addition to the above resources, we recommend students and parents to contact their Classroom Teacher if they have any questions or need technical support.

​

Roles and Responsibilities of Bambini Creativi's Head of School & PYP Coordinator

• Develop thoughtful and intentional plans for the Continuity E-Learning experience.

• Communicate with the educational team and parents.

• Support teaching team members and parents during Continuity E-Learning implementation.

• Ensure effective implementation of the Continuity E-Learning plan and accountability to teacher planning and student learning.

Roles and Responsibilities of Classroom Teachers (Preschool-5th Grade):

• Collaborate with colleagues to design Continuity E-Learning experiences for students in accordance with learning and development goals.

• Develop meaningful student learning experiences.

• Communicate with students frequently and provide timely feedback.

• Communicate with parents, as necessary.

​

Roles and Responsibilities of Specials Teachers (Art & Spanish):

• Support co-teachers in the development of quality student learning experiences with learning and developmental goals.

• Curate and develop resources to support Arts and Additional Language Learning (Spanish)

• Communicate with students frequently and provide timely feedback.

• Communicate with parents, as necessary.

​

Roles and Responsibilities for Students:

• Dedicate appropriate amounts of time to learning, comparable to a school day, and as guided by your teacher/s.

• Check appropriate online platforms for information on activities, assignments, and posted links and resources daily.

• Be sure to attend the regularly scheduled synchronous engagements/meetings offered by each of the classroom teachers.

• Find a comfortable and quiet space to study and learn.

• Create your in-home learning space with the permission of your parents or caregivers.

• Engage in all learning activities with academic honesty.

• Submit all assignments by provided timeline and due dates.

• Collaborate with teachers and peers.

• Support and encourage teachers and peers.

• Ensure your own social and emotional balance by keeping healthy habits during this time.

• Be a leader and reflect the IB Learner Profile traits.

• Be appropriate at all times in your online engagement.

​

Roles and Responsibilities for Parents:

Parents support their child/ren in their learning by:

• Providing an well-lit environment conducive to learning (access to technology, safe and quiet space during daytime).

• Engaging in conversations on posted materials, assignments.

• Helping your child, especially the younger ones, with documenting, posting, and commenting regarding online learning activities and engagement.

• Monitoring the time your child spends engaging in online and offline learning, including variables like that of preferred learning times (morning, afternoon, evening).

• Encouraging attendance, as much as possible, to the regular synchronous engagements offered by each of their child’s teacher/s.
  Support emotional balance by providing ample room and time for reflection, physical activity, conversation, and play.

​

Conscious Not Crazy Parent Support (Ms. Kori):

• Will share developmentally appropriate videos regarding self-regulation, meditation, anxiety, mindfulness, and wellness strategies that students can practice during this time of Continuity E-Learning.

• Offer support to parents for implementing Conscious Discipline and other best practice strategies for disciplining and supporting children during this in-home learning time.

​

Continuity E-Learning Overview at Bambini Creativi
The Educational Experience at Bambini Creativi is always a partnership. In an online e-learning environment, especially at the elementary level, this partnership becomes the pulse and vitality of our learning. Over the course of our Continuity E-Learning experience, our classroom teacher's will partner with parents to engage students in learning activities that will expand their understanding and stretch their skills and approaches to new learning. Teachers will continue to play an important role in this process by continuing to guide, support, and challenge students to take on new responsibilities and to become excited about their new learning platform. Our families will have options and flexibility that will give them choice and ownership as the Continuity E-Learning experience progresses. Teachers will communicate with parents through email and Seesaw. Parents and students will also be visiting other online resources to engage students in rich learning tasks. All classroom teachers will also invite students and parents to visit them daily from (9:00-10:00am) for face-to-face discussions and questions via Google Hangouts.

​

Parent Involvement and Support
As Preschool and Elementary School students are still developing their independence, a teacher-parent partnership is necessary for students to engage in Continuity E-Learning tasks and to access on-line resources. The designed learning activities and assignments will provide direction and guidance to families with the understanding that assignment completion largely depends on each individual families’ access and circumstance. We understand and recognize that parents may have more than one child to guide and take care of, therefore we post the weekly e-learning lesson plan on Monday morning, and daily lesson plans the morning of so you can plan your day and week. Our lesson plans have a mix of online and in-home learning, with screen-time not exceeding 1.5 hours a day, and this includes reading assignments and navigating resources and links posted each day by the teacher.

 

We ask parents to please do the following to prepare for the Continuity E-Learning Experience

• Read the Seesaw classroom updates from your child’s teacher(s).

• Increase your familiarity with Seesaw as our primary instructional tool: Seesaw is the main platform for e-learning during our school closure. The Seesaw Class app is a platform our students and their families will rely on and will learn to appreciate. Your child’s classroom teacher will provide detailed instructions regarding how students/parents can send home learning codes to families.

• View the Monday morning message and Weekly Lesson Plans on Seesaw with your child where the teacher will welcome you and introduce the assignments and activities for the day.

• Read the assignments and activities posted on Seesaw with your child.

• Help your child log-in to Google Hangout sessions for interactive lessons, questions, and discussions online.

• Designate a place in your home or where you are temporarily located so your child can work independently on his/her assigned tasks and complete independent reading each day.

• Email your child's classroom teacher if you or your child has questions and/or if your child needs extra help and support

• Email the Head of School, Brianne Teevan-Bongiovanni at brianneb@bambinicreativi.com, with your questions regarding anything school-wide related.

​

Getting Started and Launching Continuity E-Learning Monday, March 23rd

Bambini Creativi's Continuity E-Learning experience starts Monday, March 23rd. This will be our school's first week to launch an e-learning programming. Please be patient as we get students and families acclimated to the new learning routines and onboard all of our e-learning platforms. This is new for all of us and we are determined to make the children's online learning experience special and better each day.

 

Continuity E-Learning Plan for Early Year's and Elementary- Content and Timing

 The first week of Continuity E-Learning at Bambini Creativi will focus on launching Units of Inquiry and getting everyone familiar to the new online e-learning routines and experience. We will troubleshoot and support you to the best of our ability to ensure your family is set up and ready for the e-learning experience.
 

• All learning tasks for the week will be posted to your child's Seesaw Classroom no later than 8:15 am (Central Time) on Monday mornings. Daily e-learning instructions, assignments, and activity links will also be posted on your Classroom Seesaw no later than 8:15 am (Central Time) each morning. Additional resources or tasks may be added throughout the week at varying times.

​

The following weeks of Continuity E-Learning will focus on developing new skills, knowledge, understandings, and concepts, as well as using creative-thinking skills and reflecting on our learning practice.

​

• All learning tasks for the week will be posted to your child's Seesaw Classroom no later than 8:15 am (Central Time) on Monday mornings. Daily e-learning instructions, assignments, and activity links will also be posted on your Classroom Seesaw no later than 8:15 am (Central Time) each morning. Additional resources or tasks may be added throughout the week at varying times.

• Weekly optional synchronous sessions on Google Hangouts will occur everyday in every virtual classroom from 9:00-10:00 am (Central Time). Your classroom teachers will send you instructions for how to use Google Hangouts through email or Seesaw.

​

Continuity E-Learning Plan for Assessment and Progress Monitoring

Teachers will monitor student progress through the activities that students engage in on Seesaw and other digital platforms. Teachers will provide students daily, with specific and constructive feedback about their assignments or e-learning work. Teachers will also adjust lessons as needed to meet the goals of their students. Please inform your classroom teachers if your child needs modified support to be successful in our e-learning experience.  Lesson plans are designed with the developmental goals and learning benchmarks from Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment and IB Scope and Sequence. By posting documentation and work samples daily, your teacher can effectively assess your child's progress and learning through their engagement and completed assignments.

​

Continuity E-Learning Experience for the Early Year's Classrooms (Piccolo-Medio)

The Continuity E-Learning Plan in our Early Year's Classroom will include a list of home learning activities, engagements or invitations parents can facilitate with their children.

Learning Experience: At the beginning of each week, Classroom Teachers will post a video on Seesaw to welcome their students and parents to the Weekly E-Learning Lesson Plan. Each day they will either give video or written instruction explaining the activities and learning approach and goals to focus on for the week.   Early Year's  students and their families will participate in 5 components of their e-learning experience- Project Work, Creative Development, Language Development, Math Development, and Movement. Art and Spanish will have additional activites that are optional and extra engagements.

Online Office/Classroom Hours: Students will also be invited to participate in daily optional face-to-face synchronous meeting online via Zoom from 9:00-10:00 am.

​

Learning Time frame:  The bulk of the Continuity E-Learning activities will be posted in within approximately one hour starting at 8:15am each morning, with the understanding that you may complete these activities throughout the day on your own schedule that works for your family.  Activities may include reading aloud, pretend play, investigations, writing, drawing, going on backyard nature hikes, dancing, etc.

 

Each day students should spend approximately...

•  20 minutes in Language Development (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)- Language development activities usually connect to current project work and unit of inquiry.

• 20 minutes in Mathematical Development (playing games, counting, working with shapes, patterns, measuring, etc.)- Mathematical development activities can connect to current project work and the unit of inquiry, however, math time can also function as stand alone skills.

• Limitless time for Movement, Creative Arts, Language Learning, Science, etc.-  We encourage you to spend time as a family in learning that often feels like play. Play is children's work in the early years. For example, you can play a game the requires math/strategy/critical thinking, working on a creative projects, cooking together, reading books, having family dance party, creating videos for our virtual classroom, going on nature hunts, etc. We will be sharing many more ideas for the weeks to come.

It is important to keep in mind that the quality of this experience is closely related to how deeply the child is connecting to the the learning experience, activities, and content. This level of engagement doesn't require a lot of time; it does, however, take care and intention.

​

Learning Specifics: Teachers will be using Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment, IB Scope and Sequence, and the classroom's current Unit of Inquiry to guide e-learning curriculum and activities to target developmental benchmarks and standards.

​

Online Educational Content: Teachers will be posting resources from a variety of reputable online educational websites, such as: Youtube Kids, Discovery Kids, Fun Brain Jr., Time for Kids, PBS Kids, Make Me Genius, ABCya, Nick Jr. Sprout, Starfall, Kid's CBC, Boowa & Kawala, Fisher Price, Orsinal, etc.

​

Continuity E-Learning Experience for the Elementary Classrooms (Grande-Creativi)

The Continuity E-Learning Plan in our Elementary Classrooms will include a list of home learning activities, engagements and/or activities that parents can assist their child in completing.

Learning Experience: At the beginning of each week, Classroom Teachers will post a the Weekly E-Learning Lesson Plan on Seesaw to welcome and to explain the assignments and activities to focus on for the week. Each day, teachers will provide an explanation of the assignments in more detail.   All elementary students will participate in Project Work, STEAM, Integrated Literacy, Integrated Math, and Movement. All social learning will take place through the interactions on Seesaw and Google Hangouts. A variety of academic assignments will be included, and some learning activities may include other online resources.

Online Office/Classroom Hours: Students will also be invited to participate in daily optional face-to-face synchronous meeting online via Zoom from 2:00-3:00pm.

​

Learning Time frame: The Continuity E-Learning Program is designed to take approximately one and a half to two hours a day. It is important to observe your child as he/she engages in the learning activities to know when and how you can help guide and offer support. We also and always encourage you to explore familiar experiences and activities like that of reading for pleasure, journal writing, and play to extend and enhance your child’s learning experience.

 

Each day students should spend approximately...

• 20-30 minutes of Project Work- Project Work assignments and activities are outlined in the goals of the classroom's current unit of inquiry. Project Work may include research, creative projects, viewing online videos, written work, interviewing, documenting facts and inquiry, collaborating on projects, gathering resources, etc.

• Limitless of STEAM time- Is a creative time for students to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math projects. These projects tend to be creative and playful and a nice break from academic rigor and expectations. STEAM projects can be conducting a science experiment, working with electronics, playing online educational games, building models, creating inventions, painting, or playing board games with your family.

• 25-30 minutes of Integrated Literacy- Integrated Literacy projects can consist of reading, writing, viewing and presenting, and speaking. Students may journal, make a video and present what they researched, read an e-book or book at home, watch an online educational video, write spelling words, etc.

• 25-30 minutes of Integrated Math - Integrated Math can consist of assignments and activities directly related to the current unit of inquiry. For example, if students are studying War and Conflict, they might do a data handling graph to demonstrate the amount of US soldiers who fought in wars between 1950-2000. Our Integrated Math program also has other components of single subject learning using Singapore Math, Khan Academy online, and hands-on math learning.

• 20-30 minutes of Movement-  The health of your body and mind also needs to be stimulated and care for during this time. Students are encouraged to move their bodies playing games, sports, dancing, doing yoga, stretching, and other ways to have movement each day in our e-learning program.

It is important to keep in mind that the quality of this experience is closely related to how deeply the child is connecting to the the learning experience, activities, and content. This level of engagement doesn't require a lot of time; it does, however, take care and intention.

​

Learning Specifics: Teachers will be using Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment, IB Scope and Sequence, and the classroom's current Unit of Inquiry to guide e-learning curriculum and activities to target developmental benchmarks and standards.

​

Online Educational Content: Teachers will be posting resources from a variety of reputable online educational websites, such as: Youtube Kids, Discovery Kids, Fun Brain, Time for Kids, Make Me Genius, ABCya, BrainPOP, Khan Academy, RAZ Learning, National  Geographic Kids, Pinterest, etc.