The late winter, early spring of 2020 is sure to go down in history as one of the most unusual pandemics. Restaurants and businesses shut down and children were sent home to learn. Many parents had to juggle working from home while educating their children. Now that the dust has settled, we have to wonder what effect this will have on our children. As an early childhood educator, I spent hours in webinars this spring, learning about the social-emotional consequences of isolating children from their peers and the world. Brilliant minds are coming together to suggest how we can support children now and when we return to our school buildings. ECE professionals are committed to doing what it takes to make children and their families feel that school can once again be a happy and safe place to learn. What kind of learning gap can we expect, however? Will it be the "COVID-19 Slown Down" or "Slide?" Each fall, teachers are prepared to review last year's material. Some children will need more remedial work than others and many factors come into play. After the COVID-19 shutdown, however, and schools deciding to advance children to the next grade, what can we expect? This article claims students could be behind a full year. Before school let out this year, I hope educators communicated to parents the importance of practicing key skills over the summer. I also hope that parents were supplied with resources for their specific child. There are many wonderful free resources out there and those that cost very little. Most publishers such as Evan-Moor are happy to support parents and provide a discount for workbooks and other resources. I shared one of my favorite resources and a few easy strategies in a recent blog post. What can parents do? Parents can ask their preschool directors and or school administrators what type of plans are in place to support their child, academically, socially, and emotionally. Revised health care plans should be shared with parents also. Over the summer, parents can support their child on the home front and make sure they spend at least 15 minutes a day working on key skills appropriate for their age and grade level. Read, sing, work on puzzles, and explore the community. Provide rich sensory experiences at home through cooking, crafts, or the outdoors, such as hiking or visiting area zoos. Visit farmer's markets, marinas, libraries, whatever your community has to offer. Provide rich experiences which then become background knowledge for future learning. Here in Michigan, Governor Whitmer has announced that in-person learning will occur this fall and the full plan will be released on June 30. In the meantime, my program is preparing for several scenarios. We are expecting to review the basics and move forward as children are ready. Let's all do our part to slow down the learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 shutdown.
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AuthorSheila Anderson has over 25 years experience in the Early Childhood Field and still loves going to "school" everyday. Archives
January 2022
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