At Dailies, we understand the importance of academic success, of course. That is the majority of our mission and our vision. We have many resources, supports, and classes put into place to support that intention.
That being said, we know that academic success is not the ONLY indicator of student success. We know that well-rounded students are so much more than those who succeed academically. Well-rounded students are those who possess, and demonstrate, academic skills as well as behavioral skills, social skills, and so much more.
In order to support THAT mission of well-rounded students, we make sure that an emphasis on socialization is built into all of our class offerings. In fact, we feel so strongly about this, that we also have an offering made currently available to our DailiesSchool students that is solely focused on unstructured socialization. In other words, it’s a time for kids to be kids!
When discussing our programs with potentially interested families, a common concern is about their child’s socialization. They feel that their child might lack the social skills they might otherwise participate in and receive in a traditional school setting. In a traditional virtual education setting, we have that concern as well. However, at Dailies, we have firsthand seen how our homeschool and virtual education students have taken advantage of these programs we have in place to promote socialization. We know the importance of it, and we act accordingly. We are proactive in addressing this concern because we understand that it can be a valid one.
All that to say, have you heard about our Social Breaks offering, part of our DailiesSchool program?
Social Breaks are a set, scheduled time that allow for unstructured communication and socialization among students. While there is a teacher there monitoring and moderating the conversation, the students get the freedom and responsibility to lead the conversations. We currently offer three Social Breaks a day that are split up by student grade ability levels, and we know we will be growing in the upcoming school year!
Our Dailies Virtual Educators have the opportunity to sign up for these Social Breaks in order to moderate and join in on the fun. I frequently get the opportunity to participate in them, so I confidently can speak to how impressive and social the students are in these Social Breaks. It has truly been mindblowing to see their development with these social skills.
At the beginning of this current academic school year, the students were hesitant to talk to each other without the teacher’s support and prompting; they were unsure of what to do with the unstructured time and what to converse about. They felt comfortable talking to the adult moderator but were unsure of how to talk kid-to-kid. Moderating these sessions sometimes felt like pulling teeth! Now, as we are nearing the end of our DailiesSchool year, it’s the complete opposite, and I am lucky to get a word in! They do a wonderful job of taking turns, listening when another student is talking, and coming up with ideas and games to talk about. I saw these skills gradually developed as they participated in more and more Social Breaks.
Our students have been creative at creating “clubs” they can all participate in during these unstructured breaks. They teach skills or drawing to each other, they pretend they are newscasters sharing the weather that is coming from one state that one of them lives in to another state that another one of the students lives in, they open a pretend restaurant and order/”cook” food from and for each other. They do lots of imaginary play, pretend to call each other on the “phone”, and use the time as show and tell. Some of the kids bring their lunch or snack to this time, others play with their toys as they are talking. It’s all acceptable, all appropriate, and all promoting incredible social break- while being so much fun for all who are involved!
When observing and participating in these Social Breaks, I find myself continually thinking how surprising it is that they haven’t met “in person” because they act like they are lifelong friends. They are so excited to see each other in the more laid-back Social Break setting each day, and they always comment on how quickly the time goes by. It’s simply a time for kids to be kids, and what kid doesn’t need that, especially in today’s society?
If you’re interested in chatting more about our Social Breaks or if you already know you want to commit to taking advantage of this offering that we wholeheartedly believe in, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at Dailies. As we remind you of frequently, we are here for YOU and YOUR child…and that includes ALL of their needs.
Written by
Jennifer Blanchard Read all posts by this author