How to celebrate important events in the online school format

Every month, the Online School of the Free and Caring celebrates different memorable dates or festive events. It it is necessary for children to be included in the world context, to know and respect the historical memory of our country, as well as to lighten their school days a little with bright emotions.

In order not to turn the marking of dates into boring 45-minute lectures, the Online School integrated them into learning process. Teachers prepare a suitable program, interactive exercises that help children learn more about this or that event in a light game form. Thus, students quickly learn the material, from an early age they become aware of what is happening in the Ukrainian and global information space, they keep and take care of their own, just have fun.

"Children are very happy about these holidays. For them, it is like a breath of fresh air, they are very glad, because it is different from the lesson and accordingly they actively participate, sometimes they themselves offer something", - Lidiya Khorshunova, a mathematics teacher at the Online School of the Free and Caring.

How does the preschool education look like?

The teachers of the Online School of the Free and Indifferent carefully select the material, combine it with various games and interesting tasks. The main goal is to capture the attention of the student, to involve him in the discussion, because it is in the dialogue that the truth is born. When the students start to ask questions, express their own thoughts, this is a sign that the child is interested, he is not indifferent to the relevant topic and is ready to learn.

"We never miss important events. We always try to adapt training to the calendar program of the School of the Free and Caring. Of course, we prepare presentations, educational photos, video materials, and we come up with various creative tasks. Children are always actively involved in the process, they add a lot of their own ideas, improvise," comments Ukrainian language teacher Iryna Dmitrova.

What does it look like in practice?

Let's take the Day of Dignity and Freedom as an example. During the Happiness lesson, the children together with the teacher discussed why Ukrainians celebrate this day, why it is so significant for our country. For clarity, students were shown on the screen a presentation with photos and videos of the times of the three

Revolutions Revolution on granite, Orange Revolution and Revolution of Dignity. The design lesson was also devoted to this topic.

"We created a poster of dignity with the fifth-graders, on which we depicted the Heroes of Heaven Hundred, what the children think about this holiday, defenders, and what dignity and freedom are in principle," says Natalya Salo, a teacher design Online school of the free and indifferent.

Another example is the Holodomor Memorial Day. This is a date of mourning, so children need to be presented with such a topic delicately and at the same time with a clearly defined position. Creativity is one of the best ways to bring this idea to life.

Also there are days, such as Hairstyle Day or Pajama Day, when pupils and teachers try on strange outfits, wear pajamas with funny prints, and make original hairstyles. Our children adore such holidays and look forward to them with special thrill!

In general, despite the stereotypes about the online format, the Online School is very adaptable and retains its essence - "living learning" - even in such things as celebrating important events or commemorating memorable dates.

Children like it very much, they feel their involvement in something important and at the same time they can immediately talk about it with the teacher or classmates. At the same time, an important mission is carried out - students nurture the main values of the School - dignity, tolerance, will, etc.