Growing Relationships
You definitely don't have to do ALL of these, but here are some ideas about ways to build connections and relationships while learning online:
Above all: Grace, Grace, Grace: Choose your battles and be kind. Most people these days are experiencing varying degrees of "crisis fatigue" (it's a real thing) and feeling more fragile that ever. We don't know all the details about what's happening in every student's home. Personally, I'm not going to hunt anyone down or punish kids over something like a missing Seesaw activity. If there are patterns that are negatively impacting their learning (like they're not doing their reading lessons and it's showing), OF COURSE we should address it... carefully. Use empathy. Have grace for yourself, grace for your students, and grace for their families. <3
Open the meeting early or stay a few minutes later: especially for kids who want to chat and tell you things that are important to them like that they have a wiggly tooth or they got a new pet, or they made something cool, etc. Remind them when you'll be there and tell them how much you want to hear.
1:1 time: Make sure you get to talk to each child one-on-one every week. There's no right/wrong way to do this, but maybe it's something you schedule (like I meet with 5-6 kids every afternoon for 10-minutes each) or maybe you just check in with kids in breakout rooms during work time and keep track of who you've met with.
Set some office hours: let them know that they can pop in anytime during this window to see you.
Send them audio or video feedback for their work. It's a little more personal than text.
Mail them some love: send them a postcard or little goodies like a bracelet or bookmark or ??? I actually wrote a Donor's Choose project for little gifts like this and was gifted tons of things to send my kids to show I care. You could try that or maybe your school can help pay for postage or has postcards you can use.
Show & Tell or Question of the Day: are both great ways to get to know each other more.
Breakout Rooms: Let them chat in smaller groups and really feel heard and seen by their peers.
Be Real: don't be afraid to make mistakes or laugh at yourself. Sometimes when I share my screen I accidentally share my Zoom view and they all see themselves. That always gives us a big laugh.
Lunch Bunch or Snack Chat: invite a small group of kids to eat lunch with you over Zoom. Try to do some friendship match making. :) During 1:1 I ask kids sometimes who they are friends with or WANT to be friends with and make notes of that.
Zoom Play Time: My teacher friend masterminded this for us and the parents and kids LOVE it. It's 100% optional, 30 minutes long, and each day of the week has a theme: like "Once Upon a Time Wednesday" (come dress up and pretend with dolls or stuffed animals), "Creative Corner Tuesday" (come do some art projects), etc. It's all unstructured. We're NOT planning the activities or providing supplies. Kids take the lead and the teacher is there to guide or put kids in breakout rooms, etc. Kids don't have to bring materials- they can also just come to chat.
Establish a routine: for how you start and end your day in special ways. Is there a certain song or order of activities kids can connect with?
Give virtual high fives, fist bumps, praise, and cheers: You might be surprised how BIG they smile when you just say "High five!" and zoom your hand towards your camera. I have fun cards I use here, too. It's not as different from face-to-face life as you may think! Kids LOVE to hear what they're doing well at. Call out what you want to see and you're sure to see more of it.