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  • - [Announcer] The broadcast is now starting.

  • All attendees are in listen only mode.

  • - [Vicki] Hi, everybody.

  • Thanks so much for joining us today.

  • I'm Vicki Lang,

  • I'm a learning scientist here at Khan Academy.

  • And I'm joined by Dan from our marketing team,

  • who will be facilitating our Q&A

  • toward the end of the broadcast.

  • And a special guest, Dr. Lindsay Portnoy,

  • she's a cognitive scientist from Northeastern University,

  • who recently published a book called, "Designed to Learn."

  • She's an expert in using design principles

  • to work with kids in schools.

  • And she's a parent of two children herself.

  • So she's home working, managing multiple kids,

  • and is a great expert to draw from

  • for this broadcast today.

  • Before we launch into the topic,

  • I just wanna thank our sponsors,

  • Bank of America, Google.org, Novartis, Fastly, and AT&T,

  • for supporting this broadcast as well as other webinars

  • that we're providing during this time of crisis.

  • So, we've been getting a lot of questions

  • about how do I survive at home with multiple children

  • who have different schedules and different needs,

  • and different assignments and there's only one of me,

  • or there's two of me, however many,

  • and how do we do this?

  • So, we brought this expert here to talk with you

  • about some ideas for that and I'm gonna let her kick it off.

  • - [Lindsay] Thank you, Vicky.

  • Thank you for having me everyone.

  • I'm excited to be here today.

  • So, yeah as Vicki has mentioned,

  • I have been working in education for quite some time,

  • and when this whole event transpired,

  • I quickly moved to figure out what it was

  • that we were going to do to help support our kids,

  • and community, some sense of scaffolding and support,

  • in a time of very uncertainty.

  • And so, what I have shared for you today,

  • is something that I like to call, "The Five C's

  • "For Bringing Your "A" Game."

  • And, what I realized is that we really are

  • a very faithful family, and we do very much seek the joy

  • in all of the learning that we try to do at home.

  • And so, the C's that I'd like to share with you

  • are clarity, curation, creativity, curiosity and compassion.

  • And I'm gonna go through each of these

  • and show you of how they addressed those mean questions

  • that Vicki has shared previously.

  • And Vicki, hopefully, you can help me along here

  • to make sure that we're getting the most important pieces.

  • But the idea is that we're trying to keep it

  • as simple as possible.

  • We're trying to be as realistic as possible,

  • given the current constraints.

  • As (mumbles) now we have lost power.

  • So it's always something exciting and new,

  • but simplicity with consistency

  • and always leaving room for iteration.

  • The first C for clarity,

  • I think is a really big overarching concept,

  • which is basically about establishing expectations,

  • understanding communications and resources.

  • And it is really to address this question here about,

  • what ideas you have for scheduling

  • with such a diverse group.

  • So as Vicki and I were talking

  • I shared with my game plan.

  • So we use gaming as the analogy,

  • what's the game plan with our team?

  • So beginning of each week,

  • if we have a teacher that's sending us a week case.

  • So what has to be done and by whom?

  • And I've created this really simple and fun looking calendar

  • that my kiddos are now at this point quite used to

  • in week eight.

  • And they know what's happening at every time,

  • where they will find what they need,

  • and where we will find what we need to help support them,

  • where everyone will be in the house in terms of space.

  • We'll talk about that later.

  • And then when you know it's time to stop what you're doing

  • and have a break and eat and relax

  • and stretch and just and check in with us.

  • Also, another really important part of clarity

  • for us has been, why are you doing what you're doing

  • and when are you going to get feedback

  • on the work that you're doing?

  • And that really is about communication

  • and I'll show you later on.

  • This is just the big game plan sheet that we have,

  • but later on I'll show you a little bit about

  • how I should check in about with my kids as they're working

  • without necessarily getting up

  • and having to physically go to them

  • and sit with them every second of the day,

  • which became pretty burdensome pretty quickly.

  • Does that makes sense?

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, that makes lots of sense.

  • And it doesn't work perfectly.

  • We just saw I was distracted 'cause my six year old came in

  • and had a question for me.

  • So it doesn't work perfectly.

  • But we have a schedule also at our house

  • and we've done another webinar on that with Khan Academy.

  • And this idea of clarity

  • and just the kids being on the same page as the adults

  • of understanding what's happening when

  • and who to get helpful with

  • and why they're doing what they're doing

  • is really, really important.

  • So how do they know what to work on Lindsay?

  • And how do you prepare it for them?

  • - [Lindsay] Good question, that's a great question.

  • So the next C is curation.

  • And curation is really all about preparation.

  • So predicting what they're gonna need and when

  • and planning ahead.

  • And this reminded me of the question

  • that I saw which is,

  • how much active caregiver engagement

  • should I aim for and when?

  • When should I be available?

  • Because like many folks out there, we're working full time.

  • And so we have to ensure that we're doing our work.

  • So again, this is a similar picture

  • to the other one, but this is our schedule.

  • And the idea is, we have to know ahead of time

  • what the work is that they have to be doing in each day.

  • But we also have to predict what problems may arise

  • and whether it's my two boys getting in an argument

  • over who gets to use the computer at this time

  • or figuring out what hang ups they might have to log into,

  • one of the platforms they use in my kids' school is Clever.

  • So if they have trouble logging in, where can they go

  • and just anticipating what potential issues they may have.

  • And then also making sure that the materials

  • that they need are accessible for them.

  • That they know which space they're gonna be sitting in

  • and when in terms of timing for each child.

  • We try to figure out a day in advance if we can,

  • sometimes the week

  • and that we can see, who's gonna need more time and when.

  • I mean, I don't know how you're feeling with your kiddo

  • but for us, this has been really helpful

  • just to know ahead of time,

  • what information we're gonna need to give to them

  • so that we can have it in one place.

  • I circled here for you the hyperlinks,

  • I'm a big fan of hyperlinking

  • because that way they know where their schedule is,

  • everything is in Google Doc.

  • And then they click on the hyperlink

  • and it takes them right to where they have to go.

  • And there's no questioning,

  • they don't have to come and ask me for the the website

  • or the access or whatever, it's already all there.

  • It's like baked into the document.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, and this makes me--

  • Oh, sorry, go ahead.

  • - [Lindsay] No, I was wondering,

  • is this similar to what you're using?

  • - [Vicki] Yeah.

  • And it makes me think of when I was in the classroom,

  • I was a fifth and sixth grade teacher

  • and one of the most fundamental things you're doing

  • when you're a teacher is anticipating roadblocks

  • that kids are gonna hit

  • and questions that they're gonna have

  • and trying to set them up for success in advance.

  • 'Cause can you can you imagine if there's 27 students

  • and they all have different questions,

  • and you haven't anticipated that?

  • It's a management nightmare.

  • So this is a skill that teachers have.

  • And when I'm baking with my daughter

  • is another thing It makes me think of;

  • if you think about cooking with your children

  • when they're young, it helps if you,

  • I know it's easier for me if I set out the measuring tools

  • and the ingredients ahead of time,

  • and maybe I already have a list

  • of how much of each ingredient we need,

  • or maybe I've already measured it out,

  • and they can just help me by mixing,

  • that goes much more smoothly than if I just say,

  • "Hey, let's bake cookies."

  • And we go into the kitchen at the same time

  • and I'm looking for stuff

  • and she's like eating the chocolate chips

  • while I'm not looking and there's like everything at once.

  • It helps a lot, it's hard sometimes to find the time

  • ahead of time to invest to make a plan,

  • but on the weeks and days when I am able to do that,

  • the rest of the day goes much more smoothly.

  • That does sound very familiar.

  • - [Lindsay] Yeah, absolutely.

  • No, I mean for sure that we're familiar

  • and again, that was like using the game as the frame here.

  • Knowing the different players

  • and knowing what they're gonna need,

  • because every kid is gonna need something different.

  • One of my kids is much, much faster

  • going through the writing part of his work

  • and the other one needs a little bit more help

  • and support and scaffolding.

  • And so even just knowing where in the day,

  • they're gonna need a little extra love and encouragement

  • so I can go and make myself available to them,

  • or maybe switch where it is in the day.

  • So if, for instance,

  • I know that there's a big writing project,

  • maybe I'll put it at a time

  • when I know I don't have meetings with my colleagues

  • so that I can be available to him and help him out.

  • So yes, know your players.

  • The next one,

  • if it's alright if I move along, is creativity.

  • And here I'm talking about multiple opportunities to soar

  • and again, the folks are asking questions

  • about what happens in multi-age families,

  • how do you create a schedule when there's an older kid

  • and they see their younger sibling play,

  • they'd rather play and that is very real.

  • So again, following along with the game analogy,

  • is leveling up by being creative and being flexible

  • and thinking outside the box

  • about for instance where people are working

  • at different times of the day

  • so we have quiet spaces where we know

  • that we can go to if we have a meeting,

  • if we have to do go to webinar,

  • we know that nobody's going to bother us there

  • and then there are other spaces that are more open.

  • And of course, this isn't easy every place

  • and it's not a perfect panacea.

  • But just being creative and flexible

  • about where we should be at different times of day.

  • And then setting aside when we know

  • we're gonna have lunch together, for instance,

  • which is a lovely thing.

  • But if we don't make it for them,

  • we have to make sure that we have snap up for the kids,

  • we really did become so much more independent

  • about finding what they need,

  • I don't know if you're having the same experience,

  • but it's been quite impressive.

  • Flexibility in the resources and who has access to devices.

  • Also in communicating so one of the things we talked

  • about earlier and teachers do this in space

  • is give great feedback.

  • And so how do we continue to help them get feedback,

  • their teachers are still giving them feedback

  • in many instances.

  • And during the day,

  • we need to be helping them with that as well.

  • So I have on the screen over here, the morning reflections,

  • I have my kiddos write morning reflection,

  • and I have them reflect at the end of the day

  • with what I call Today I Learned.

  • And they're a bunch of questions for them

  • just to think about.

  • And as they're writing down,

  • sometimes I'll give them feedback in there

  • or I'll just write a little note to them

  • like, "Wow, I was really impressed to see,

  • "when you when you flew through that."

  • Or my older son wrote this beautiful,

  • compelling argument for why the US women's soccer team

  • should get equitable pay to the men's soccer team.

  • And I was really taken with it

  • and so I gave him feedback here.

  • And I could tell, I mean, he was so excited

  • he came running in and we had a great conversation about it.

  • So I think communication is key.

  • You can do it in Google Docs, you can use post-it notes,

  • I have whiteboard here.

  • I think it's fun if you if you have the space

  • for a family whiteboard, we don't

  • but it would be a really great thing if we could.

  • And also being creative about the responsibilities

  • and reflecting on what is working and what's not working.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, and I'm seeing just...

  • I totally agree with all of those suggestions.

  • And I wanted to say I'm seeing some questions

  • about some of these resources in particular,

  • and I wanted to say that we're gonna share some links

  • to some of these resources for morning reflection

  • and schedule some things at the end.

  • So you'll have those.

  • - [Lindsay] Yeah, all the templates are available for free,

  • you should have access to all of them.

  • We'll make sure that you do afterwards.

  • The next one is, the next C,

  • I think it's very important that sometimes it's okay

  • for us to just let them play.

  • I think that this moment is a very tense moment

  • for many of us, for a host of reasons.

  • And so I really think it's important

  • that we allow our kids to sometimes just play,

  • just go outside if you can, go ride a bike, go read a book.

  • We have certainly had more hours on fortnight in Minecraft

  • than probably I'd like to admit,

  • and I'm okay with that right now.

  • In fact, I'm okay with that in general,

  • that's a different conversation.

  • But I think that one of the really important pieces here

  • is that it's okay for your kids to play.

  • The next one is curiosity.

  • And I say game on to curiosity.

  • One of the things

  • that I think we should be more curious about

  • is that feedback piece we were talking about earlier.

  • I have a whole (mumbles),

  • my kids were doing these reflections

  • and they were like, "Well, Mom, you're not telling me

  • "if I'm doing it right or not."

  • And I was surprised that they actually wanted the feedback.

  • They wanted to know if they were doing it,

  • what else they could do to make it better or did I see it?

  • So I created for them a super simple one point rubric

  • that I shared, and I'll share with you all as well.

  • Also being reflective on what they're learning

  • while they're learning it.

  • What did you love?

  • What is something that you never would have thought

  • that you would have been excited to learn about?

  • My kid got so excited about studying,

  • they're studying Ancient Greece.

  • And he was so excited and inspired to learn about it.

  • And he said, if I hadn't had the time to sit there

  • and watch that documentary,

  • I don't know if I really would have gotten vested in it.

  • So I think that, game on, be curious.

  • Silver linings for us,

  • I'm able to spend time having lunch with my kids

  • maybe once or twice a week,

  • but that's once or twice a week more than I ever did before.

  • And to me, that's incredible.

  • Also, in finding new ways to play,

  • I have this sheet that I'll share with you as well.

  • It's called "while you were waiting."

  • And basically, there are two columns.

  • So if you have an internet connected device,

  • you have a host of things that you could do,

  • if you don't, have a host of things that you can do

  • and I'll share them with you as well.

  • And so, there are amazing opportunities

  • that our kids can be doing.

  • If they're waiting for us if they need us to help them

  • before they can move along,

  • they don't have to stop playing,

  • they don't have to stop learning

  • because as we know,

  • we're always learning especially when we're playing.

  • How does that sound?

  • - [Vicki] That makes lots of sense as well.

  • There's so many great suggestions in here.

  • - [Lindsay] So we're ready for I believe the last one,

  • and maybe the most important one,

  • we probably should have started here.

  • But compassion.

  • And I think, everyone's asking the same questions

  • about how do we serve all of our kids?

  • How do we meet their needs?

  • And these are the questions

  • that teachers asked every single day.

  • And so I think we're getting a really important glimpse

  • into the life of what it is to be a teacher.

  • And I think that in terms of compassion,

  • the most important thing right now

  • is that we are compassionate maximum XP,

  • to level up in order to achieve a higher score,

  • be compassionate with our kids

  • and their teachers and ourselves.

  • And I have an asterisk here

  • because not only is it made for it,

  • it's also Teacher Appreciation Week.

  • So I wanted to just call out

  • that we have these incredible humans

  • that teach our kids all day, every day, all year

  • and we really are now seeing, I mean, always

  • but how important they are in our lives,

  • and I just wanted to,

  • as we're compassionate with ourselves,

  • and our kids also reach out to our teachers.

  • Also be compassionate and communicating the reality

  • of what's happening in this world right now.

  • And also being flexible with the expectations

  • if you need to reach out to your teachers

  • and let them know that your kid is struggling

  • and can't do the work or just needs a break, that's okay.

  • And I think we need to have permission to do that.

  • And again, you'll notice I said don't forget to play

  • 'cause I think that's important as well.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, this is so important.

  • And it can be really hard to because we wear so many hats,

  • we want everything to be just right

  • and it also is very emotionally draining.

  • Especially if our kids are fighting

  • or if our kids don't wanna do what they are supposed to do.

  • It can be very emotionally exhausting for any adult

  • and at those times,

  • it can be really hard to maintain compassion with yourself

  • or with your kiddos as well.

  • It's really important.

  • - [Lindsay] And I think it's important to remember

  • what is most important right now and if you are together

  • and you do have the ability to be together with your kids

  • I think that's a great gift.

  • And just, I guess taking a minute to just breathe

  • and be okay with where you are and forgive yourself

  • and cope with the world around you

  • is going to be as compassionate.

  • And if not let me know and (mumbles)

  • to hep and find that compassion.

  • The next piece that I really wanted to share

  • is that there over 76 million students and kids

  • to higher ed schools in the United States right now.

  • And many of those individuals

  • are currently learning at home.

  • And why is that important?

  • It's important because we're not alone.

  • And as we're struggling

  • and as it's important to have these baffles

  • and as important to have all of these great resources

  • to tap into, and ways to give our kids feedback

  • and help them keep learning and stay on track

  • and make sure that they're not losing

  • any instructional time,

  • it's also important to remember

  • just as we're being compassionate, that we're not alone,

  • that we really are in this together

  • and that together, we can move through this.

  • And hopefully, my goal is,

  • all of us should be better on the other end

  • than maybe we were going into this in terms of education.

  • I wanted to share also with you a quote

  • that is one of my favorites.

  • I have no idea who said this.

  • When I had my first son,

  • my husband brought home this postcard

  • and it didn't have an author,

  • but it was "Survival is the new success."

  • So let's just keep moving one day at a time,

  • there's no such thing as perfection.

  • Pinterest makes everything easy,

  • it's not and it's okay to be messy.

  • In fact, I think that that's how the best learning happens.

  • So what I have for you here

  • are a couple of different slides on resources,

  • the daily activities that I made for my kiddos,

  • but the game plan is available

  • as are the morning reflections in the spare line.

  • There's some really incredible content

  • that we have all from Khan Academy

  • that my kids have gotten engaged with

  • in terms of writing Pixar in the box was incredible.

  • And what I did is I created a document for them

  • so that they could document their learning

  • as they were using the Khan Academy content.

  • But there's also the MIT work there, it's extraordinary.

  • So was the Big History Project.

  • There are tons of amazing resources.

  • I also shared the feedback for the win.

  • So if you wanna give your kids feedback

  • in a Google document, very easy,

  • just take it, copy it, download it, use it for yourself,

  • and a list of while you're waiting

  • whether or not you have a device,

  • there's plenty of stuff to do.

  • And then here are some some non tech and tech toys

  • and games and playful experiences

  • that you might wanna check out in this interesting time.

  • And one of the things that I wanted to call out here

  • is that you could challenge your kids

  • to create their own versions.

  • I don't know if you've ever played (mumbles) perhaps

  • with your kiddo.

  • - [Vicki] No I don't know that one.

  • - [Lindsay] It's a great game.

  • And it's a great game that you could play

  • and have her create a version so you guys can play together.

  • All of these are games that are pretty easy

  • for your kids to hack.

  • And then they themselves can play the game

  • that they've created which is also very fun to do.

  • I wanted to end on a light note, very heavy time.

  • I wanted to say May the 4th be with you.

  • And I know we probably have tons and tons of questions

  • so if you'd like to go to them, we can do that.

  • We can go back and look at any of this slide.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, no, we have.

  • I wish we had an extra half an hour

  • to answer all of these wonderful questions

  • that Dan has been compiling for us to look at.

  • So we'll try to keep our answers to the point,

  • so we can get to as many of them as possible.

  • Dan, I'm gonna turn it over to you to facilitate that part.

  • - [Dan] Yeah.

  • Thank you, Lindsay and thank you, Vicki.

  • Hi, everyone.

  • I'm Dan, and I'll be moderating the live Q&A session.

  • Two things before we get into the question section.

  • First, go to the handout section of this webinar

  • and grab a copy of the presentation.

  • It contains all of the tips,

  • the C's that Lindsay walked through;

  • clarity, curation, creativity, curiosity and compassion.

  • And it has the links to all of those resources

  • that both Lindsay created,

  • as well as Khan Academy links

  • to just some of our normal resources

  • that you can find on our site as well.

  • We already have a ton of questions.

  • So first before we start,

  • I just ask for all of your patience,

  • just because we have so many

  • and we only have about 10 minutes.

  • And we'll try to get through as many as we can.

  • Please submit more

  • and we'll try to get through as many as we can.

  • All right, I get to ask the easy questions

  • and then Vicki and Lindsay will do the hard job

  • of actually trying to answer these.

  • Lindsay, there's a great question on reflection.

  • So what actually is it?

  • So there's a question from M.A Lorraine

  • what do you mean by morning reflections?

  • Can you just give a quick high level overview

  • what that means?

  • - [Lindsay] Yeah, so the morning reflection

  • is a document that I made for my kids,

  • and it really is just reflecting

  • on what they've done so far during the day.

  • So anytime before, they typically do it

  • the last thing before lunch,

  • and there's a question of,

  • what did you read today and how did it make you feel?

  • What did it remind you of?

  • So it's some of the similar questions

  • that you probably are familiar with

  • from your kids answering in school,

  • making the text to text, text to self,

  • text to world connections.

  • I also ask them,

  • I have a whole bunch of just silly questions,

  • how do you define curiosity?

  • Or What does it mean to be creative?

  • Or if you were to be a scientific explorer,

  • where would you go and what would you want to discover?

  • So they really are just a host of questions

  • that my kids respond to every day.

  • You have them for free,

  • I think on the handout I added them all there.

  • That help?

  • - [Dan] Yeah, that's great.

  • Vicki do you have any opinions

  • like what's a question that you ask your kid every day?

  • - [Vicki] Oh, every day we reflect more

  • at the end of the day

  • on what's something that happened

  • to you today that was good?

  • What happened to you or that you felt or experienced,

  • that was good?

  • Something that was a "No thanks."

  • And something that was confusing.

  • And that helps kids to see

  • the whole spectrum of life experience,

  • not just to focus on on what's good.

  • - [Dan] I like that, I'm gonna use the "No thanks" moment.

  • We have a great question about just timing

  • and how to schedule these things.

  • So from Laura, she asks,

  • "How much time each week

  • "should I expect to spend lesson planning,

  • "planning out a schedule per child?

  • "Some teachers have provided a daily plan,

  • "some have, some haven't."

  • So just just curious if you all have some perspective

  • on both of those things.

  • Vicki, perhaps you first then Lindsay,

  • you could take from there.

  • - [Vicki] I don't, I spend time at breakfast

  • with my daughter planning her day while we're eating

  • and it takes 10 minutes, and she's very excited about it.

  • But I have a couple of just go to

  • I have a book of math problems.

  • We just do a page from that every day.

  • And that are thoughtful discussion-based questions

  • she spends time reading.

  • So I have repeated activities

  • and don't need to plan fresh lessons every day.

  • I use bedtime math is what I'm using right now.

  • I'm Lindsay, what about you?

  • How much time are you spending?

  • - [Lindsay] So I would say,

  • I don't know if I said this before,

  • I have a fourth and a sixth grader.

  • And so I have to give a lot of credit

  • to their teachers are still sending lessons.

  • So it's not as if I'm fully lesson planning for my kids.

  • At the beginning of this

  • when I was lesson planning for my kids,

  • I was pulling from different resources.

  • And I was being very flexible by saying,

  • "Look, instead of having 45 minutes

  • "of a particular subject area,

  • "you'll have an hour and a half to explore."

  • And so, I don't know, I had this flexible template

  • that maybe took me a couple of hours on the weekend

  • to put together and I would just iterate

  • throughout the week, it was not a happy burden.

  • If you have younger kids,

  • and you do need more flexible planning,

  • I think it's just a matter

  • of making materials accessible for them,

  • whether it's, play dough or paint or games

  • that they can play with siblings or by themselves.

  • I think it just depends, it's widely varied.

  • It depends on if the teachers give you work,

  • how old the child is,

  • but it shouldn't be an exhaustive experience.

  • - [Dan] Yeah, that's good.

  • That's good, good point.

  • We have a question from Nema

  • who has kids ages seven and nine

  • who keep comparing the amount of homework with each other?

  • I think it's probably, "She has less, he has less"

  • or something like that.

  • What should NEMA do about that?

  • - [Lindsay] It's a really great question.

  • So in our house, it's a really great opportunity

  • to talk about the difference between equity and equality.

  • And I have a fourth and a sixth grader

  • and you know, "That's not fair, he's done first.

  • "That's not fair, he's done first."

  • And I say, "Well, that's interesting,"

  • to my sixth grader,

  • "What happens is if I would give both of you the same test

  • "for a sixth grader?"

  • Well, of course, the sixth grader would finish faster,

  • and the fourth grader would struggle.

  • So everyone's really getting what they need

  • and it's not always the same thing.

  • This is very much like a very typical parenting conundrum.

  • And the best thing you can do

  • is saying everybody's getting exactly what they need

  • to meet them where they are and to help them grow.

  • And maybe instead of being upset

  • that somebody has more to do,

  • maybe you could go and ask them, "Hey, can I help you?

  • "What can I do to chime in and to help?"

  • - [Dan] That's great.

  • We have a question from Lizzie

  • about tips from families juggling younger kids.

  • "I have a preschool and a first grader.

  • "So they aren't as self sufficient."

  • What would you recommend for that situation, Lindsay?

  • If they need a little bit more guidance on on getting set up

  • and getting ready with certain activities and assignments?

  • - [Lindsay] Yeah, I mean, I don't know Vicki

  • if you want to chime in,

  • I know your kiddo's are a little smaller.

  • But when I worked in early childhood,

  • it was really about setting up centers.

  • If you think about going into a classroom,

  • and there's different centers

  • and I think our kids are more capable of being independent

  • than maybe we think that they are.

  • I think it takes a little bit of scaffolding over time,

  • which is the gradual release.

  • First you say "Look, hey, this is the space

  • "where we're gonna be creating flowers out of play dough."

  • And you do it a couple of times with them,

  • and then one day, magically,

  • they don't need your help anymore

  • because they can do that by themselves.

  • And so whether it's practicing with scissors

  • and cutting on different shapes

  • and having things cut out for them

  • or having magazines for them,

  • that they can tear out and use almost looted,

  • just stick them on to something

  • or you even if you teach them how to do a mongola

  • or just any sort of coloring, drawing sort of activity,

  • over time, you can slowly release,

  • that's the point of scaffolding, you're not there forever.

  • You have to release them, let them become independent.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, yeah, that's what I was thinking also

  • was any kind of sensory play

  • and you can google sensory play activities for preschoolers,

  • and you'll find lists and lists and lists,

  • anything that's sensory like giving a kid shaving cream,

  • that kind of thing will hold their attention for a while.

  • Also note that developmentally speaking,

  • preschoolers aren't that independent

  • and they're not gonna be able to play on their own

  • for a very long time,

  • and it's not appropriate to ask them to,

  • it can be really hard for them.

  • But at the same time, we know that we have to work

  • and so it can we really feel like this push/pull.

  • When my daughter was two and three,

  • I was newly a single parent

  • and was trying to figure out how to live alone

  • with a two year old and do the dishes sometimes

  • and I needed a little bit of space.

  • And one thing that really helped me at that time

  • was podcasts for kids,

  • and I've mentioned that on some of these webinars before,

  • but for my daughter,

  • if I could give her a pile of craft supplies,

  • and put on a storytelling podcast that was age appropriate,

  • I could get enough time to do the dishes.

  • And that could that could help now

  • if you're needing enough time to be in a meeting

  • or do some work.

  • That can be helpful.

  • - [Lindsay] I want to say that painters tape is magical.

  • It is magical because we make a ginormous mess of it

  • and it comes off of everything and doesn't leave a mark.

  • So if they really are tactile and needing to be doing

  • and making you want to let them do that without being afraid

  • that they're going to destroy your walls

  • then that's always an option.

  • - [Dan] Right, and we have--

  • - [Lindsay] (mumbles) nothing

  • that we're using to play games.

  • You can play games on the iPhone, if you have

  • or if you wanna watch a show on PBS.

  • I mean, I'm okay with that.

  • I think that that's completely fine

  • and they're great resources.

  • - [Dan] Yeah.

  • And so that's a good segue to a couple questions

  • we have about screen time.

  • So Shree as well as Jennifer asks, both around

  • with a lot of work, learning, remote learning,

  • as well as some of these other activities,

  • there's a lot of screen time that their kiddos are getting.

  • And then another question around,

  • how much TV or tablet time is acceptable

  • for a pre-K four year old?

  • Before I pass it over to Vicki and Lindsay,

  • I just wanna comment

  • that the American Association of Pediatrics

  • just released a COVID-19 screen time recommendation,

  • which is a little bit more flexible than their normal.

  • I think their recommendation for earlier learners

  • are like 20 minutes a day

  • but I think they recognize that this is unusual times

  • and to be a little bit more flexible

  • and forgiving about that as well.

  • So just be sure to be mindful of that.

  • And with that Vicki or Lindsay,

  • do you have any opinions on screen time right now?

  • - [Vicki] We use a lot of educational apps

  • she does Khan Kids we, I love Khan Academy kids.

  • She'll also watch shows on PBS,

  • I do try to limit it to no more than an hour

  • or two a day, that's what I do.

  • But I think that's a personal,

  • what I need in order to balance my day for work

  • and to limit it for her.

  • We also watch, she loves science shows,

  • we'll watch Nova, or any science documentary.

  • And then she'll tell me, one thing she does,

  • is watch an episode of Nova

  • and then write down three facts she learned

  • or two questions she has after this show

  • or something like that.

  • - [Lindsay] Oh, I love that, Vicki.

  • We, early on before the kids started getting homework

  • from their teachers,

  • we would have a list of acceptable things to watch.

  • And we would have them share with us over dinner,

  • the goal was that they had to watch it,

  • but then they had to come to dinner

  • prepared to share with us what they had learned.

  • So that was another way to build a sense of

  • "Wow, celebrating what I'm learning."

  • I know we have more questions coming up.

  • So I'm gonna let you keep moving along with them there.

  • - [Dan] Yeah, sure.

  • So I think we have time for one more question.

  • And this one, we have quite a few questions around,

  • as a parent, how do you stop yourself from getting upset?

  • How do you deal with your frustrations?

  • And this is really important.

  • So Vicki, I think maybe if you could tackle this one

  • and then Lindsay, if you can close out

  • with answering this as well,

  • it's really important right now.

  • - [Vicki] Yeah, managing our own emotional regulation

  • as adults in frustrating moments is really hard.

  • And it's not, like you can't help your kid to be calm

  • unless you're calm yourself.

  • So this is really about, and I'll recommend some resources,

  • it's really about being able

  • to take a step away for a minute,

  • take the deep breaths you need to get yourself calm again,

  • and then come back and help them try to figure out

  • how to solve their problem.

  • One strategy for that is called box breathing.

  • Very quick, you just breathe in for four, hold for four,

  • breathe out for four, hold for four.

  • It's a box because it's four, four, four, four;

  • in, hold, out, hold.

  • And the military uses that, emotional scientists use that,

  • everybody uses that,

  • it'll physiologically calm your nervous system down

  • and then you'll be in a calmer place

  • to respond to your kids.

  • There are also a lot of great parenting resources on this.

  • one I really like "Hand in Hand Parenting,"

  • they have a ton of resources on their website.

  • As a parent with limited time,

  • I like to follow my favorite parenting educators

  • on social media.

  • So I'll follow like Seed and Saw is an Instagram account

  • that I really like.

  • And so it's just, she'll post a little square image

  • on Instagram of tips about how to regulate my emotions

  • and how to regulate my kids' emotions

  • and how to respond to her.

  • So that's some things I would recommend.

  • But it's what's gonna work for you, is gonna vary.

  • And with that, I think we'll turn it over to Lindsay,

  • to wrap up.

  • - [Lindsay] Yeah, I mean, Vicki,

  • I think you just did a stellar job.

  • I think that the most important piece

  • is that your mileage may vary, everyone is different,

  • and everyone needs a different way

  • for managing their stress.

  • For me, the most important thing is acknowledging

  • that it's okay to be frustrated

  • and it's okay to get anxious and it's okay to be angry

  • and to be sad and to be confused.

  • And I think for us in our house,

  • I'm very honest with my kids,

  • and I say to them, "Hey, I've never done this before.

  • "None of us have done this before."

  • And you don't want to lose the sense of stability

  • and strength and certainty

  • that everything's going to be okay,

  • but you also wanna be vulnerable enough with your children

  • to let them see that you're also trying to figure this out.

  • Nobody has all the answers,

  • we're all going through this together.

  • And I also think it's a really great opportunity

  • to take perspective

  • and to think from the perspective of your kids

  • and how they're feeling and why they're feeling that way.

  • And then also invite them

  • to take the perspective of other folks in their community

  • and in the wider global community,

  • and how it is in other places of the world.

  • 'Cause everyone is having a different experience,

  • we have the shared experience of this very strange pandemic,

  • but we also have very different living experiences.

  • And so it's an opportunity to say,

  • "Let's be reflective about what it is

  • "to live in different parts of the world,

  • "different parts of the country."

  • And that's helped us quite a bit.

  • And even to just verbalize that to our children,

  • we've had some beautiful conversations;

  • hard, beautiful conversations.

  • - [Dan] Thank you, Lindsay.

  • Thank you, Vicki.

  • I just wanted to thank the audience for joining us.

  • I know everyone's incredibly busy during this time,

  • and thank you for sparing that time to be with us.

  • If you missed anything and you wanna review this webinar,

  • we'll be sending out a recording for those who registered.

  • And we'll also be making this available online.

  • As well as the presentation will also be made available

  • in both places as well.

  • You can always go to Khan Academy,

  • and there's a blue ribbon at the top

  • taking you to all of our COVID response resources as well.

  • So if you miss anything, you can always go there.

  • And then I would ask you to do one final thing

  • before we close out here,

  • there's gonna be a pop up that shows up

  • at the end of this webinar.

  • We ask you to do two things for us.

  • First, tell us how we could make future iterations

  • of this session even better for you all.

  • And then secondly, what other types of sessions

  • would you like to hear from us?

  • And we'll try to plan that out

  • and get that out to you as soon as we can.

  • And in closing, as I mentioned,

  • we know you're juggling a lot

  • and this is really uncharted territory for all of us.

  • And I think what Lindsay and Vicki closed out with

  • is really important just as parents

  • and as busy folks right now,

  • just be kind to yourself.

  • It's super important to remember

  • that this is incredibly stressful

  • and challenging for all of us and you're not alone.

  • So just be mindful about being kind to yourself.

  • So with that we here at Khan Academy

  • wanna remind you please check in occasionally

  • and thanks again.

  • And good bye.

- [Announcer] The broadcast is now starting.

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