We work with both Zoom and Seesaw, two learning platforms which perfectly complement each other.

Seesaw: Teachers post videos and activities both in English and French following our preschool curriculum. Children complete the activities at their own pace, and respond individually to the teacher. The teacher listens to the responses and sends feedback. This is a flexible way of learning, and each child is able to manage their day in a way that works best for their family.

ZOOM: This is direct/ live communication with the teacher and classmates. It allows us to reinforce concepts learned on Seesaw, or to introduce new concepts, which will then be reinforced on Seesaw.

• a 30 minute ZOOM session every day with the teacher or class assistant. One day in English, 4 days in French.

The session begins as a circle time with both teacher and assistant present. Then, as in the classroom, we divide into two smaller groups. This maximizes ‘talking time’ for everyone. We finish back in our full group to complete the session and say ‘goodbye’.

• A 15 minute ZOOM session every afternoon with one of our two assistants (except Wednesday). These are more informal sessions. Parents sign up to the session of their choice.

• Seesaw activities in English and in French 4 days a week. Wednesday is a catch-up day for Seesaw activities.

We will post some optional activities on Wednesdays. Fiona will post ‘Let’s Find Out ‘Magazine (great non-fiction reading), and Caroline and Marie-Jeanne will post an Art activity.

• a 20 minute ZOOM session in small groups of 3 to 4 children in French and groups of 6 children in English with the teacher or class assistant. We are favoring small groups as much as possible as to favor both receptive and expressive skills. One session in French and one session in English every day, including on Wednesdays.

• Seesaw activities in English and in French.

• a 20 minute ZOOM session in small groups of 4 children with the teacher or class assistant. Four times a week in French and twice a week in English.

• A 20 minute ZOOM session in the afternoon with the 2nd assistant twice a week.

• Seesaw activities in English and in French 4 days a week.

Wednesday is a catch-up day. No new activities are posted.

FLL K

A 20-30 minute Zoom session with the FLL teacher, Anne-Lise Diamond on Mondays and Fridays with the beginners group. These sessions are designed to target specific language skills such as; speaking, and listening skills on a wide range of themes and real life situations. In addition on Wednesdays, Anne-Lise will work with the same group but with 1 or 2 students at a time to target and address certain obstacles such as pronunciation and sentence structures skills.

Anne-Lise also posts some seesaw activities to review the language skills that the students have worked on, or new skills that she will as well emphasize on Zoom.

The seesaw activities are flexible for the students to work at their own pace and practice the skills and the vocabulary as many times as they need.

On Seesaw and Zoom, she will also support students on what they are currently working with their class teacher.

FLL PK

A 20 minute Zoom session with the FLL teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the beginners group. These sessions are designed to target specific skills such as; speaking, and listening and sentence structures skills on a wide range of themes and real life situations. In addition Anne-Lise works with the class teachers to share activities on Seesaw that encourages language skills.

• Sit with a grown up in a quiet spot so they can help you concentrate

• Listen to the teacher

• Follow the directions to participate in the activities

• Stay in the screen frame

• Do not eat or drink during sessions

Please note that students who disrupt an online class may be muted, turned off video or removed from the session at the teacher’s discretion. The integrity of synchronous sessions must be preserved for the benefit of the whole group.

How much time should my child be spending on classroom activities (Seesaw and Zoom) each day?

Your child should attend the scheduled zoom sessions as much as possible. In addition, where possible, they should watch the videos on seesaw and complete the activities. There is not a specific amount of time allotted as each age group is different and each child is unique.

Why does my child have equal time with French and English on Zoom, when in class the emphasis is mostly on French?

Zoom sessions in preschool are run by our teachers and assistants in their native language. Therefore some afternoon sessions may have more French or English depending on the teachers' native language.

My child seems to be losing his French since distance learning has started. What can we do to help with this?

In addition to the zoom sessions with teachers we would suggest you use the references for French activities listed in the references section of this website. Many streaming content sites (like Netflix) also offer preschool programming in French (click on the audio of the program and change the language to French.

My child is not very motivated by the distance learning activities, what can I do to help with motivation?

Young children often respond to excitement around something new. As a family you can talk about zoom sessions before they occur to build excitement. Your child might want to choose a special shirt to wear, where they want to sit for the session and an item to hold for a feeling of security. Adults can make sure they have used the bathroom and have had a snack or a drink of water in advance.