Decisions made on behalf of your children are not easy ones to make, especially decisions regarding their schooling. These days, there are multiple learning options, including virtual and in-person — it can be difficult to distinguish which may be best for your child.
Online schooling is on the rise and has a lot of people debating if it is the right option for their kids. Virtual learning for young children can have many benefits, including parental participation, a safe learning environment, self-paced learning, flexible scheduling, and many others. Having your kids do kindergarten online can be highly beneficial to their early education.
Is Online Learning Good for Kindergarten?
You may wonder if online schooling is right for your child and what you can expect from virtual kindergarten. The following are a few reasons to do online kindergarten as well as its benefits for both your child’s education and your family.
1. Personalized Learning
Through the use of online learning, your children get a more personalized educational experience. One of the main goals of personalized learning is to give students the chance to explore what they enjoy. It allows children to express their curiosity. It also helps them put forward their best work with the tools and strategies that highlight their abilities. This individual learning enables students to think for themselves before asking for help and learn how to solve problems and think critically.
Students still have the ability to interact, learn social skills, and express themselves with other children on the online platform. Students get to interact online in ways that they never have before. Social interaction is an important part of any child’s development, and it is important that they get this interaction even while learning virtually.
Even when going to kindergarten online, learning fine motor skills is essential. Teachers are able to come up with activities that allow children to practice these skills from their own homes. Some of these activities involve using the mouse in online games — however, parents should be involved in using different physical methods to teach fine motor skills such as beads on a string, coin banks, and using tweezers. There are even printables that some teachers may have online students use from home.
Personalized, individual learning can be greatly beneficial to young minds. It will teach them to learn what they love, problem-solve, and think for themselves.
2. Engaging Content
Learning online from home may be a much less distracting environment for children. Fewer distractions often mean better focus, and better focus leads to a better intake of knowledge. The learning content on online platforms engages students and keeps them focused on the task at hand.
Young students often find that learning on the computer is much more fun than going to school, in turn keeping them more interested. The curriculum for online kindergarten programs should keep students interested and engaged while also preparing them for elementary school and beyond.
3. Safe Environment
Virtual kindergarten can provide a safer learning environment than traditional schooling because parents get to control this environment. Online learning offers a safe place for children with illnesses or compromised immune systems to participate in school without risk. They are physically in a safer environment and have much more freedom to do the work when they have the ability.
The United States has experienced over 2,032 school shootings since 1970, and 948 have occurred since 2012. Because gun violence has been on the rise over the last decade, keeping children at home may help keep them safer.
Parents can offer a safe, secure environment free from bullies and peer pressure. One out of every five students reports being bullied, so parents often find comfort in knowing that they can avoid this by placing their children in online schooling.
If safety is your main priority, online kindergarten can be a great route to prevent complications with compromised immune systems, gun violence, and bullying.
4. Flexible Scheduling
While parents have little to no control over traditional school scheduling, online parents get to set the routine. Parents create the atmosphere and schedule that they find works best for their children. This scheduling freedom may help children because they can work during their most productive and focused times of the day.
With online kindergarten, students get to work at their own pace and do tasks based on a timeline that makes them the most comfortable and efficient. This practice may help blur the lines between home and school so that learning and keeping an open mind are integrated into every part of the child’s daily life. Online schooling often does have some fixed-schedule events, but they have a much higher degree of flexibility.
5. Student Independence
One of the greatest benefits of online schooling at an early age is the independence and responsibility that it teaches our children. A sense of independence can instill confidence in younger minds as they feel like they have some of their own responsibilities. Fostering independence allows students to learn how to think for themselves and problem-solve. When a teacher is not present, students must troubleshoot and use their minds to find solutions.
6. Parental Influence
In traditional schooling, parental involvement is limited to parent-teacher conferences, homework, and chaperoning. Many parents are not aware of their child’s academic performance but for a handful of times a year. This disconnect gives parents little ability to correct behaviors and study habits.
When students learn remotely, there are greater opportunities for parental involvement in everyday activities. Parents get to be learning coaches and structure the child’s learning as they see fit. Every parent may choose to do this differently, but online kindergarten allows parents a much more hands-on approach than traditional schooling.
Learn More About CCA’s Kindergarten Curriculum
Having your children complete kindergarten online can be a very rewarding experience for both you and them. Not only will they receive personalized learning, a safe environment, engaging content, a flexible schedule, and independence, you also get to be a part of it all.
Commonwealth Charter Academy’s kindergarten curriculum encompasses everything your child should know by the time they reach first grade. They will learn the core studies of English language arts, social studies, science, and math along with special studies such as art, physical education, music, and success skills.
To learn more about CCA or request information, please be sure to visit us online and check out our kindergarten information session.
