Patriotism, faith and the backing of a school is helping an Okotoks family cope with suddenly teaching children at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have taken the approach of trying to make it business as usual,” said Crystal Linton, who has three children attending École Good Shepherd School. “The kids really crave the structure and the schedule of school. In this uncertainty we are trying to keep it as normal as possible.
“We play O Canada on Spotify at 8:30 a.m. and then we take turns saying a little prayer.”
With mom and dad working at home, and the children taking classes at home, things are far from normal – but staff at Good Shepherd has helped them get by.
“I have to give the teachers a ton of credit, they have modified the teaching plan in such a short time to come up with a plan so we can all get through this,” Linton said said. “I’m sure there will be some hiccups along the way.
“We’re very fortunate our kids have three amazing teachers.”
Grade 5 teacher Jenna Beaton has established a website, in which classes are set up in tabs on the web page.
"You can click on the tab and you can read what is required of my son (Elliot) that week,” Linton said.
Linton also has a daughter Kathryn taking French Immersion Kindergarten in Nicole LeBlanc's class.
“There was a really nicely structured email on some guidelines on what we could be during with her – practising her letters and things,”Linton said. “I ended up downloading a couple of apps for French learning just so she can keep hearing those words in French, the colours and things, because we don’t speak French at home.”
Computer time at the Lintons can be an issue.
“The two boys they share a computer so we just have to figure out in our day – the Grade 5 needs a little bit more time,” Linton said. “When Elliot is on the computer, maybe Graham (Grade 2) is doing math minutes on a piece of paper.”
Beaton said when the schools were closed to students on March 15, it was difficult as staff adjusted to no teaching from the front of the classroom.
“We just buckled down and worked together to come up with a plan and we just had to go with it,” Beaton said.
She created a website for parents and students.
“What I am able to do is upload their work our Google Classroom and then hyperlink it to our website, so it is one place they can go to and click on each one subject area,” Beaton said.
The Grade 5 class began using Zoom last week – which allows the students to have their faces on the screen, kind of like the opening of the Brady Bunch, she explained with a laugh.
“I can see them all,” Beaton said. “It’s actually quite a cool set up.”
She is also capable of working one-on-one with a student on Zoom or to set up the students in separate groups.
“I can just zoom in on that particular group and have them work together,” she said.
She’s is trying to emphasize to students things are okay, just different.
She said the downfall is she doesn’t get to see the students for real.
“There is no place I would rather be than in front of my kids,” she said. “It is going to be a challenge, but I have to be the strong one for them… I am going to be loving and positive.”
Grade 2 teacher Cathy Losoncy has been teaching for 19 years and just like her students, she is facing some fast-paced learning these days.
“It’s been a whirlwind, a lot of learning in a very short time – a lot of taking initiative, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” Losoncy said.
She said there are several Internet options for learning, but Grade 2 students may not quite be as ready as an older student.
“A lot of our little guys they don’t have a lot of computer experience and we have to consider they might be working independently,” she said. “My technology is pretty basic right now.”
An initial difficulty is making sure the students had all the resources they needed.
A physical package was available for parents to pick up. For those who couldn’t get to the school, Losoncy is scanning assignments, suggesting novels and for parents to access online.
“I try to make the lessons as detailed and easy to follow as possible, with as many visual clues I can put in there – with me explaining what the lessons is,” Los said. “A lot of video-taping me performing what I would like them to do.”
There’s one issue she can’t fix.
“I miss the interaction – the interaction in the classroom with the students is priceless,” Losoncy said. “I miss those smiling faces and those ‘uh-huh’ moments on their faces… They are missed and we are all this together."
