Surviving with kids at home during COVID-19 limitations in Los Angeles
Dear MUSIC TEACHER LA Families,
With recent quarantine limitations, school closures that are speculated to last through June 2020 and rainy weather, many kids are staying home Full-Day!
Humans are naturally social and keeping the social distancing affects children differently- some are acting overly energetic, while others seem more withdrawn and depressed. We will work on bringing happy moments and sunshine to our beloved students via continuous in-home or online lessons!
I received calls from families asking about increasing frequency of lessons, switching to online lessons, or even suspending lessons for the time being. Thank you to those who chose to continue taking music lessons. We highly appreciate your support!
In-Home Lessons
As of Monday, 3/16/2020 Los Angeles County has 94 confirmed cases and 1 death (see http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/ ).
So far, as of Monday, 3/16/2020 91% of our students are continuing with in-home lessons, although we are encouraging you to try study music online with your teacher- it proved to be enjoyable, interactive, educational and stress-relieving for those who tried them for the first time this weekend. With the recent development, the schools might be staying close through the end of the school year!
From what we know, young children with no pre-existing conditions rarely get sick with COVID-19. As of today, there is a limited proof that a child can transmit a coronavirus to an adult. Our teachers were suggested to limit the socialization and every instructor then reported limiting contacts to loved ones and our students only- no outings, no performances, no shows, etc. Thus said, we take the precaution and remind you to notify us if your child or you get sick.
Online Lessons
All of our teachers have obtained experience teaching online. We are offering live virtual music lessons via Zoom application.
Additionally, we are ready to handle some misbehavior from over-active children due to the kids’ latest low physical activity. I came up with some games, testing on my kids this weekend. In collaboration with other teachers, more ideas were shared about how to keep lessons engaging, fun, enriching, with some physical exercises related to music for younger students. I further tested online lessons using a laptop and then a smartPhone with my own children (my youngest is 3 years of age) and did not experienced a technical problem on any of the devices. I surprised my kids by teaching them in different masks and learning process went smoothly.
Finally, those teachers who taught online lessons this weekend found the online classes easy to teach, kids responding to their familiar teachers well, and no behavior issues occurred in young students so far.
Optimal Schedule for Children During Quarantine
Schedules and routines help both children and adults. It empowers us, because we know what to expect next. Additionally, a routine gives the feeling of normalcy to everyone whose schedule is lately disrupted.
This fun chart, found online, seems optimal for a school-age child or a preschooler.
FREE Resources during School Closure
There are educational resources, all free during schools’ closure (click on the links of the documents below):
1. shorturl.at/hlDQ2 — DiscoverEd, BrainPop, MysteryScience and more
2. shorturl.at/iMRT1
3. https://messymotherhood.com/kids-home-from-school
Students Referrals
MUSIC TEACHER LA instructors are continuing bringing the love of music and we are welcoming your generous referrals of students to MUSIC TEACHER LA.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Olesya MacNeil | President
