Staying Connected
While We’re Apart
Each day we will add content to this page with new materials from Metropolitan teachers and classes.
Story Time (click the pic)
Check in Daily for new stories read by MNS teachers.
Videos and Class Meetings
Click the icon above for videos from our teachers and invites to class meetings.
Music, Movement and Chapel
Music, Movement and Chapel videos.
Daily Activity Ideas
The Washington Post published this Ultimate Guide for Parents for summer.
What We’ve Been Up to While Away
Click on class icons to view or add photos and videos of MNS children at play/work at home.
Home School for Preschool
One of the primary purposes of preschool is for children to start learning in a social setting. During the weeks ahead, while schools are closed and social distancing is the norm, we will need to forgo that goal for a while and focus on teaching how to be good citizens in their own home. The biggest challenge for parents will be how to fill the time and keep children engaged in meaningful activities AND how to stay connected with your nursery school family. The Nursery School staff are here to help. If you have questions, please email your teachers, we are all still online (maybe more than we want to be). They will also be reaching out to you and your child during this time. We miss the work we do and we miss your children. Please make sure they know that. In the meantime, below are some useful tips and activities to get us started. We don’t know how long this time at home will be, so I will update this list after Spring Break if we find we are still unable to return to school.
Please know that these are unprecedented times and whatever you are doing to keep your family and home safe and sane during these weeks is ok. If that means a day of movies so you can get work done, so be it.
A Schedule is your friend. Having a schedule is part of what makes school work. The schedule becomes a de facto teacher in the room, ushering us from one part of the day to the next.
Give your child 100% of your attention for parts of the day (such as story time). You will be surprised how doing that will make it easier for you to ask them to play independently for longer periods of time without interrupting you (so you can get some work done too).
Allow routine to be a friend during this time. Consider the schedule below and the day-of-the-week activity ideas in the links above (which can be used during the “Activity Time”) to help set a rhythm to your days. Routine and rituals help keep us from having to constantly decide “what are we doing next” and provide an anchor for everyone that may help ease anxiety during this time.
The times is green are when you will need to help/assist your child but can likely be focused on other things as well, the times in orange are when they can be expected to mostly entertain themselves, and the times in blue are when you should attempt to give them 100% focused attention.
