In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools went virtual. Others opted for a hybrid format, with some students learning in school and some learning from home. Even now, with record numbers of students quarantining, schools and families continue to vacillate between face-to-face and virtual learning. This presents challenges for teachers, students, and families. Before the pandemic, most schools had no established curriculum or guidance for virtual learning. And many teachers quickly discovered that fostering connection and teaching skills was tough to do through a computer screen. In this episode, Dr. Becky Bailey talks with early childhood educators Jennifer Kist and Jill Hegarty about their experiences with virtual learning. Jennifer and Jill saw virtual learning as an opportunity to bring Conscious Discipline and SEL skills into the home, connecting home families with the School Family in ways that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Their approach to virtual learning focused on connection. It was individualized enough to meet each child’s needs, while being universal enough to function collectively. Listen in to learn how Jennifer and Jill used creativity, brilliance, and Conscious Discipline to make virtual learning a meaningful experience. ESSENTIAL TAKEAWAYS Jennifer and Jill made School Family Circle Time Books for each child to take home. They continued to incorporate the Brain Smart Start, Wish Well Ritual, greetings, jobs, and more into their virtual lessons. They also sent home breathing strategies, and they used virtual learning as an opportunity to coach parents in managing their child’s moment of upset. Some parents were hesitant at first, but they were soon fully bought in and engaged. Jennifer and Jill teach children with special needs and IEPs, many specifically related to social-emotional goals. They met with children individually to work on skills like conflict resolution, and they saw enormous growth. Meaningful connection and learning is possible in any format, even with limited resources. With Conscious Discipline, relationships and interactions are the SEL curriculum. SHOW OUTLINE 0:34 What is Conscious Discipline? 0:55 Introduction of special guests Jennifer Kist and Jill Hagerty 1:33 Join Dr. Becky Bailey in conversation with Jennifer and Jill 2:33 Virtual learning during the pandemic 4:30 Embedding Conscious Discipline into virtual learning 10:46 Parent participation in virtual learning 15:01 Virtual School Family jobs 17:00 Working on IEP goals and SEL skills virtually 23:15 SEL strategies you can use with limited resources 27:28 Lessons you can teach with limited resources 30:20 How much time should kids spend learning virtually? 32:23 Recap 34:52 What’s Becky up to? There are many ways you could have spent this time today, but you chose to spend it with me and I am grateful. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others via your favorite social media platforms. Also, would you consider taking 60-seconds to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes? Your feedback is extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and I love to hear your feedback! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!