Back to school with Covid-19

 As we are well aware, the pandemic is not over, and there is every possibility that we will  continue remote learning at the beginning of this school year.For remote learning to be as successful as possible, we need to better understand a few things that happened to our students in March 2020.

Our students LOST: COMMUNITY & ROUTINE

How do we implement now, in the classroom, Community and Routine to better transition our students for a more successful remote learning experience, with much less trauma, for both them, their families, and faculty?

What role does ROUTINE play in a child's life, besides creating a schedule?

• It BONDS a group together – strengthening values, beliefs, and interests.
• Establishes EXPECTATIONS – even for more mundane or unfun activities.
• Gives a child CONFIDENCE and INDEPENDENCE – knowing what to expect gives them confidence to make some decisions on their own within the framework.
• Establishes HEALTHY habits – resulting in managing time, self-discipline.
• Creates a CALMER classroom – as the stress of what comes next is not an issue.
• Offers an opportunity to be EXCITED about what comes next.
• STABILITY during times of stress.
• Provides a framework for "Daily Rituals" – a regular time set aside for the group to bond.

Examples of "daily rituals", especially useful during transition periods, that can be implemented and established while in the classroom together and greatly assist with a transition to a remotelearning environment could be – joke time, stretch time, dance in your seat time, head on your desk time, doodle on paper time, wink at your neighbor time, etc.

What role does COMMUNITY play in a child's life?

• For children, it means "Social Development" and it is the process of a child learning how to interact with their peers, while developing their own individuality within the community, gaining skills like communication, turn taking, sharing, empathy, connection, collaboration, bouncing back, managing feelings, and managing impulses.

Examples of community that can be implemented and established while in the classroom together and greatly assist with a transition to a remote learning environment could be – establishing smaller groups (in social distance pods) during snacks and lunch, that could, with family help, become ZOOM time for that smaller group, every day, for them to continue to bond. The child could, for example, even have the same type of snack, or lunch even provided in their regular school lunch box at home! Strengthening not only community, but routine, and transitions as well.

Kimberly Jacobs is a staff therapist at Begin Within. She specializes in working with adolescent/teenage girls that struggle with self esteem, depression, anxiety, or emotional management. She can be reached at (708) 325-8626