Resources to support nanny in virtual learning

[Anonymous]

We have a beloved nanny who has done infant and afterschool care for DCs (now 2 and 6). We didn't have her work for the last 4 months for various reasons. She's now back and we are thinking about the school year. If (when) our school goes online, we are going to need to supplement with in home effort because our eldest really didn't take to online interaction and because our Montessori school just really isn't equipped for this whole online thing.

It's neither the nanny's training nor previous work experience to do more educational activities for preschool/elementary school age kids. She's great at singing songs with babies and the like and is open and willing to try new things, but just doesn't have the knowledge base. I can buy workbooks and sign up for ABC Mouse (or whatever) and download activity ideas but I'm looking for something to help our nanny think about how to use these things and generally adapt in the course of a day to encourage learning. Especially for the 6 year old. We muddled through the spring without her and frankly we need to do better next year.

Does anyone have suggestions for books, resources, maybe a short training course to help the nanny and us do some groundwork before the Fall starts? Or even ideas about what to call what I'm looking for? Really, do we just need to try to convert to homeschoolers with a nanny taking the lead?

p.s. Getting a new nanny is not on the table. The emotional support and relationships are far too valuable.

[Anonymous]

If your elder child hated dl that much, just switch to homeschooling. There are tons of options available. If you’d like some help navigating, email [e-mail]. I’m NOT available to work, but I’d be happy to help you skip hours of research to find something that could work better for your family.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP. I am considering starting a service for families to provide support to nannies/caregivers to help them with the education side of their role, which is growing with distance learning or cancelling preschool. (I am a (well-educated, experienced) preschool teacher who is undecided about returning to the classroom this fall due to COVID risk.)

Would this kind of service interest you? What would you like in such a service? here are some ideas I have:

-short written articles that explain the educational value of some basic early childhood play activities. Option to make short videos if that would be preferable.
-a list of activity options that give children playful learning in different developmental domains (literacy, fine motor skills, etc).
-supply lists for materials needed for activities
-available via phone or zoom call for Q&A, or a set 'office hours' time to discuss how to implement activities.
-short online training sessions for nannies on educational activities: what they are, why they are educational, what to add to make them beneficial for children.
-available to consult with nanny/parent on specific child's interests / needs / issues, and what I recommend to help support that child's learning. I could tailor educational activities to a child's interests and needs: a dinosaur-loving 3 year old who needs to strengthen her fine motor skills may have a fine motor manipulative activity that involves dinosaurs, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. I am considering starting a service for families to provide support to nannies/caregivers to help them with the education side of their role, which is growing with distance learning or cancelling preschool. (I am a (well-educated, experienced) preschool teacher who is undecided about returning to the classroom this fall due to COVID risk.)

Would this kind of service interest you? What would you like in such a service? here are some ideas I have:

-short written articles that explain the educational value of some basic early childhood play activities. Option to make short videos if that would be preferable.
-a list of activity options that give children playful learning in different developmental domains (literacy, fine motor skills, etc).
-supply lists for materials needed for activities
-available via phone or zoom call for Q&A, or a set 'office hours' time to discuss how to implement activities.
-short online training sessions for nannies on educational activities: what they are, why they are educational, what to add to make them beneficial for children.
-available to consult with nanny/parent on specific child's interests / needs / issues, and what I recommend to help support that child's learning. I could tailor educational activities to a child's interests and needs: a dinosaur-loving 3 year old who needs to strengthen her fine motor skills may have a fine motor manipulative activity that involves dinosaurs, for example.

Career nannies already do educational activities. Housekeeper nannies wouldn’t be interested.

Now, if you are qualified to consult on preschool through high school homeschooling, balancing the needs of two upper level elementary students with one kindergartener and one preschooler or helping two children (elementary and high) with severe adhd find a way to manage the chaos/frustration of dl (parent doesn’t want to withdraw and homeschool, in case they go to hybrid by November) while also searching for the love of learning they’ve lost in the classroom? If so, I’d be happy to share my consulting, because I have over 20 families right now.

If not, I’d suggest looking for a pod of preschool students. I’d bet that you could make double teaching 3-5 preschoolers in a pod compared to what you would make in a preschool classroom. Who knows, you may decide you want to nanny share for preschoolers going forward.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you need to hire a teacher for a few hours per day.

[Anonymous]

Don’t let these posters stress you out, OP. Your child is still at the age where it is very easy to homeschool.

My homeschool curriculum for twins just a little younger:
1) Every day they read me a book—if your DC isn’t reading yet, I really like Learning Dynamics’ 4 weeks to read program. It is very user-friendly and is great for kids who get easily intimidated by new skills. If your child is already reading, then you just need a generous supply of books that gradually get more challenging. BOB books are basically the floor, then the Level 1 readers from various publishers, then Level 2, then they can branch out a bit with things like Mo Willems or the Little Critter books.

2) Writing: Every day have your child write something. My guys do a daily journal. They draw a picture about something they did that day and then write a few words about it (such as “Trains Big Wheels”). i am gradually encouraging then to expand their writing and I’m starting to get short sentences (“Red train is fast”).

3) Math: We do a daily math worksheet from a book (Scholastic makes some great workbooks) mostly so they get comfortable writing the numbers. We play a lot of board games that require math (such as any game with two dice, most card games, etc.). We do counting activities where they have to match the number using cheerios or buttons or pennies—basically DIY manipulatives. We also do a cooking project together at least once a week, which helps them think about measuring, fractions, etc.

4) History/social studies/science:
We read a LOT and when we do screen time we watch things that are related to topics we are reading about (National Geographic has a ton of great mini documentaries on science topics via youtube). We do science projects related to what they are interested in (I just google search based on whatever they are interested in and asking questions about). The Magic Tree House series is a great one to read-aloud because they cover a huge range of topics. They also have companion volumes called “Fact Trackers” that are basically the non-fiction version of whatever the matching Magic Tree House novel is about, e.g., the novel takes place in the Amazon and the Fact Tracker is a nonfiction book about rainforests.