The Virtual Leap

Circa early 2020. Rainforest skit was ready. Songs were set to tune. Props were ready and so were our children to act their script to a T. Dry runs were on. And then things went dry, literally. The pandemic hit!  We cancelled our summer programme, advanced summer holidays and very optimistically announced that we will open the school end-May 2020.  And resume business as usual. 

Technically, we kept our word. We started Leap Years #school@home in May 2020.  The primary objective of the online session was to open up a tiny window to socialise for all of us, by then battered by multiple lockdowns. 

I was aware of the challenges involved in going online. Personally, for someone who was averse to screens of all kinds, to start online meant a fundamental change to the core belief system 😊  

Besides, Leap Years prides itself on its mostly-middle-aged-tech-challenged teachers. Learning the tricks of survival in the virtual classroom wasn’t easy. But what’s a software to conquer? Keypads and a few apps aren’t strong enough to deter us.

The first goal we set was to get our children used to wearing masks and using hand sanitizers. Social stories were written and uploaded to a google drive along with many many worksheets for visual perception, literacy and numeracy skills, brain gym, fine motor, gross motor et al. 

We met on zoom three times a week, twice a day: at 11 am and 4 pm to accommodate WFH parents. Academic learning wasn’t the priority. So zooms were mainly circle time that we so enjoyed at school. Attendance, calendar, some interesting bits of news, songs and disperse. Breakout rooms made an entry even as lockdowns were beginning to partially open up.

When couriers started plying, I got busy making learning materials, laminated them so they can be sanitised and used repeatedly and shipped them to children. The kits typically have what’s easily available around home: Number cards accompanied with rajma as counters, pebbles for fine motor, a needle, thread and cloth etc. And a few instructional videos on how to use them.

We haven’t looked back since. By July, we were well on our way with #Leapyearsonline: circle time followed by ppt lessons on social skills, geography and EVS thrown in for good measure. Breakout rooms were a breeze and a blessing. 

Now, we have one-on-one sessions before our regular circle time. Multiple kits have reached children, some of whom have moved to their native in Kerala and Andhra. And we are prepping for Open Basic Education exams; participated in Kalaangana 2020 in full force and won a few!

Of course, we are yearning to get back to our space. Fight a little, hug a little and learn a lot. Can’t wait! 

-Written By: Shashi Rao