Little Learners share their projects over zoom.

Toddlers and preschoolers might not be the obvious candidates for blended learning environments, but as with many things, COVID-19 is forcing changes for everyone.

Camila Alvarez is the owner, director, and head teacher at Little Learners Spanish-immersion Preschool in Playa Vista, CA. Since the beginning of stay-at-home measures, she has had only a few kids coming to her in-home program each day. She’s trying to keep her days as normal as possible– both for the kids still coming, and the ones at home. Alvarez has the new and challenging task of caring for children each day, while also trying to support her families that are at home. Enter blended learning for the youngest age set.

Maintaining Normal

Part of maintaining “normal” is being able to continue the study of aquatic animals as was planned for the month of April. To do this, she created packets of materials and dropped them off at the homes of her families. The packets are full of the art items required for their projects, so that whether or not the kids come to her program each day, they can participate alongside their peers.

Alvarez reads an aquatic-themed book on Epic.

Each morning Camila broadcasts her circle time over Zoom so the families at home can participate. These are very interactive meetings where they sing songs, go over the weather and days of the week, and use puppets. They use the Epic app to read stories together, and work on projects as a group over video call.

Little Learners is a Spanish-immersion program, so helping parents continue that learning at home is also important. Alvarez has been using Teachers Pay Teachers to curate special Spanish learning folders for the parents to use at home.

Examples of a Little Learners Activity Packet

Looking for ideas to extend the learning at home? Check out this resource.

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