Dear Genesee Hill Volunteers,
Our school kicked off a Virtual Lunch Bunch for our students the first week of February. The teachers are seeking ways for kids to connect “outside” of class like you would at a cafeteria table of 6-10 students. We are building as we go with hopes to expand our reach as volunteers sign up. We also hope that when spring arrives and vaccines are further distributed, that we can take this program outside with brown bag lunches, classroom and cohort recess, scavenger hunts, geocaching, etc. I need your help facilitating this idea. Please help recruit too! Please send this to any Genesee Hill Parent or grandparent/caregiver that you think has capacity to help.
Objective: Connect Genesee Hill students, build community while online learning continues.
Who: Caregivers of 4th-5th graders, then 3rd, and eventually open to all grades.
What: You will be doing one of the following: 1) facilitating a breakout room (being the adult in the room to handle inappropriate behavior if need be), 2) “teaching” or helping your student lead a game or craft, or 3) facilitate outdoor activities (brown bag lunch, etc) if and when we can do this
Room size: We aim to have different break out rooms for kids to interact in that can hold 6-15 kids at a time.
Time: Presenters log in their room at 12:05, students enter 12:15-12:45. Start with 2 days a week, build to 3-5 days.
How: We have a calendar on google docs that is updated as new activities are created. Students are sent the calendar by their homeroom teachers each week. Students enter through provided Teams links to the breakout room of their choice. Volunteers are in a room awaiting kids to join. Then they facilitate the activity for 20-30 minutes. The rooms have an array of options. Here are examples:
o Interactive games – Escape Rooms, Minecraft, Among us, Gather.Town, etc
o Discovery – learn about animals or wonders of the world like the Pyramids or White Rhino through book read alouds or fieldtrips to museums and zoos
o Fitness themes – Yoga, Jump rope, Hip Hop dance, Go Noodle
o Enrichment options like crafting, fingerknitting, Genius Hour ideas, etc
o Social connections, connect new students through Kahoot, Gather.Town,etc.
Training: Asynchronous training will be provided to help guide online experience, online safety, teams features (leading teams/zoom meetings, sharing screen and other helpful tips).
Volunteer Commitment: One time, once a week or once a month, it’s up to you!
Timeline:
2/1-5: Roll out calendar with 2-3 options that week to 4th grade.
2/1-28: Build momentum with wide variety of options for all cohorts by last week of February. Continue weekly through school year as needed.
We can’t do this without a team of volunteers who can host the rooms. Maybe you have an idea not listed above? Or go through the below links to see if something appeals to you?
https://www.edutopia.org/article/13-virtual-games-play-your-elementary-classroom
https://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2020/05/01/virtual-escape-rooms/
Please go to this volunteer sign up (find the “start here” tab) if you are able to commit to any of the following, and include how often (one time, weekly, monthly, etc) …including if it’s to say you can join us when we roll out to the younger grades.
Have more questions? Check out the Q & A here.
Kelley O’Connor, Room Parent Coordinator, 102Kelleyo@gmail.com
Check the schedule, Q&A, and sign up here.
