How to Engage the Kindergarten Virtual School Learner

Virtual schooling for a kindergarten student? Yes! Students of all ages, even kindergartners, are learning successfully in virtual schools—and loving it!  

These days, kindergarten in any school is no longer equivalent to spending the entire school day playing with sand tables, coloring pictures, and playing house. Little kindergartners are now expected to do much more than in the past. Check out these top five reasons why parents choose virtual kindergarten for their children. 

How do I engage kindergarten students in online learning?

How do parents keep their young, squirmy children with short attention spans focused in a virtual school setting? This is how engaging kindergarten students in online learning can be done, and is being done, by thousands of parents each and every day in the virtual school environment. 

 1. Find outside activities and tie them into your kindergartener’s online learning. 

A young brain can only learn so much through actual classroom materials and settings. So, take them on different field trips where they can see their lessons play out in real life. 

Virtual kindergarten should be filled with varied learning opportunities, such as: 

• trips to parks and museums 
• craft projects that tie into a math or reading lesson 
• play dates with other children 
• singing songs 
• other creative activities 

Their minds learn through visualization, so seeing it happen will stick quicker than hearing about it.   

 2. Switch between lessons often.

You know how bored you get when you keep talking about the same thing over and over? Well, a kindergartener’s brain hits that plateau even quicker, and you need to make sure to avoid that burnout.  

Lessons designed for kindergarten online learning should be broken up into 15-minute chunks so the student has time to process the material. If a kindergartner is spending more than 15 consecutive minutes doing the exact same thing, he or she will not retain the knowledge.  

When doing a reading lesson, for example, have your child listen to part of a story, then stop to ask questions or do a picture walk to predict what might happen next. This is enough of a transition to keep your child engaged in the story and continuing to work. 

3. Practice kindergarten writing.

Another good way to engage kindergarten students in online learning if to have them help you write out numbers and letters.  

A fun way to do this is to have your child help make a shopping list: 

• Ask your child to write the number of apples you need to buy  
• Depending on his or her abilities at the time, either draw a picture of apples or,  
• Write out the word while you spell it 

Now, we understand that they don’t yet have a full grasp of the alphabet and the numerical system, so you’ll want to keep this simple. They’ll feel a sense of accomplishment while practicing some of those key developmental skills.  

4. Personalize kindergarten art projects.

Many virtual school students love to tackle kindergarten art projects. Tack on a fun writing lesson for them by write a letter to Grandma, Grandpa, or some other significant person in his or her life on the backs of their art “masterpieces.” 

Not only will your child feel proud of the artwork, but also someone else will receive a personalized gift they’ll treasure for years.  

5. Learn more about virtual school for kindergarten.

The key to making the most of virtual school for kindergarten is to make the most of everyday opportunities. Your child might have a hard time sitting through a lesson some days, and that is fine. One of the benefits of kindergarten online learning is that your child can learn even while hanging upside down off the couch! 

Learning should be exciting, new, and rewarding, especially at this age.  

Check out our additional homeschool curriculum enrichment resources to help make school from home fun and engaging.