How to Manage an Online Class – Toys

Hey, hey teachers! How do you manage an online class? How do you manage an in person class? What new, or old, discipline areas have you encountered this school year? Excessive talking? Not knowing how to be in the classroom? More toys, especially from your at home learners? Cameras off? Teaching ceilings or foreheads? Which one has been the most challenging for you? When I first started teaching online, I struggled with all the toys. More often than not, students were taking classes in their bedrooms surrounded by all their stuff.

Anytime the lesson got difficult, or they got bored, or it just went on too long, I noticed a toy would come out, or they’d start looking around their room for something to distract them. It was so hard to enforce the ‘no toys’ rule when there weren’t any real consequences to give them. There was no recess time to use for tutoring or make up time. No before or after school hours. I couldn’t have a designated spot for their toy to sit because they weren’t in my room!

Welcome the toys into your classroom

So, I had to, you guessed it, get creative. I should make shirts! Instead of resisting the toys, I welcomed them inside my classroom. I used them as props, which I will talk more about in another episode. But, I used them as learning tools. Let me give you a couple examples. Let’s say we are learning colors or shapes. I would often have the student run around and find something in that color or that shape to show me understanding. If they were distracted with an action figure or a Barbie, or a stuffed animal, I included them in a lesson plan. “Barbie, what is the sum of 2 and 7? This got my students talking and reengaging with the lesson, while also allowing me to quickly assess their understanding. 

Negative discipline was reduced, as well as my stress. I also started bringing my own toys into class with me. I showed them my childhood bear. One of my favorite things to do was bring pictures from my life with me. You can print them off, or show your phone, but I usually just held my phone to the camera. I loved using this for my language learners. If we were talking about family members – brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, I loved showing off pictures of my family! And, if there was time, or the student came prepared with their own picture, they also showed pictures of their families!

How it helped

I found that these quick moments of picture sharing helped build relationships and connection between myself and other students. They learned about lives and cultures. They learned how to converse with one another, on and off the screen. In turn, I learned so much about my students that helped guide my daily lessons. 

I learned their likes and dislikes. I learned their passions. My favorite part, however? Meeting their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, pets, and everybody in between. That is a connection I couldn’t forge in the normal classroom. Think about it. How often do you see the parents of your students? A few times a year? What circumstances are they under? I’m willing to bet they’re pretty formal. Meet the teacher night. Open house. Parent teacher conferences, the minimum amount of conferences if it was quote unquote normal, more if that student had some sort of exception. 

How did your forge relationships with the grown ups?

How often did you see the family members in informal circumstances? Maybe you ran into a family at the grocery store, and quickly tried to duck away? Maybe you belong to the same church, or live in the same neighborhood. But, how often, in all of these informal meetings, did you forge meaningful conversations with the grown ups? So many times, when a grown up is brought on screen, my students are bragging about something they love about them. Their cooking. Their dress. Something they created. There is always such a huge smile on everybody’s face – including my own. This has been one of my favorite parts of online teaching.

What’s it have to do with toys?

But, what does this have to do with toys? By allowing toys inside my online classroom, I created a safe space for students to share their hopes, dreams, passions, likes, dislikes, families, and so, so much more. Ok, now I know, I know why toys aren’t typically allowed in the classroom, online or in person. They can get stolen. They cause fights. Toys are a huge distraction. I can’t tell you how many arguments over Pokemon cards or Silly Bandz or Fidget Spinners that I’ve fielded. Trust me, I get it.

A cautionary tale

That’s why, along with allowing toys, I also believe in firm, practiced procedures surrounding them. I know every teacher and classroom is different, but here’s what works for me and my students. First, I set boundaries around what can be shown and how long it can be shown. This is important and I’m going to tell you why. I specifically tell my students that they can only show me their toys. Not their sibling’s, not their grown up’s. Here’s the reason for this. There have been multiple stories among online teachers who have shown belongings that aren’t theirs. What they’ve shown instead is something that belongs to their parents…and belongs inside the bedroom. I’ll let you fill in the blank for the rest of that story.

Rules and procedures for toys

While I haven’t had this exact scenario happen to me personally, I have had something similar happen inside the physical classroom. It’s never a fun situation for anybody involved. It’s quite awkward, but makes for a great story later. Ask my friends, you better believe they heard that one. So, in order to avoid as much of this as possible, my number one rule is that students must only show toys that belong to them.

The next rule surrounding toys is that they must show their toy within their time to share. I like to set visible timers so that students can see how much time they have left. Sometimes they get to share one at a time, but other times they all hold their toy up at once. Regardless of the share, students get their time to share and no longer. We also discuss what ‘no longer’ means. Inside of my classroom that means the toy is on the floor out of sight. It’s not on their desk, or table, or bed. It’s not in their hands. They aren’t continuing to show it in the video frame. This helps keep the share productive and educational, while also allowing those toys.

Positive redirection

Now, I know, the inevitable always happens. Toys are fun and tempting, and without fail somebody always revisits their toy. In this case you have a few options. You can have the student take the toy back to their room so it’s not in the same place they are. You can involve the toy in the lesson like I mentioned before. It could be something like “Pikachu, what color are you.” “Hey, T-Rex, what is the preposition in this sentence?” “Thank you so much T-Rex, that is correct! It’s time to let Jack have class now! See you next time!” This lets you redirect the student without shame or disruption. 

When used correctly, toys can be a great resource in your classroom. So, I want to challenge you this week to step outside of your comfort zone. Let the toys be, as long as you can make them educational as well. Prepare yourself for some practice teacher friend. You and your students will both need it. You are entering what has been previously known as uncharted territory. How often were they encouraged, or even allowed, to bring their toys to school and show them off in class? Let’s let these kids be kids, and get a great educational experience along the way. 

Do it messy!

I hope you find the best way to incorporate this strategy into your classroom. I believe it is so, so worth the work. I hope my anecdotes today provided you with a little laugh, and a lot of inspiration. I hope you allow yourself time to incorporate the toys in your room, do it messy. I’ll see you on the other side. Chat soon!