What does back to school look like at Bona Vista? In our Early Head Start T1 room it looks “normal”, but most certainly fun! The kids are adjusting well and having fun with their teachers. They don’t even seem to be aware of all of the “COVID” chaos that is happening outside the walls of their classroom. When I popped into the room to check out what was going on, they were so busy, they didn’t even notice me. I guess if I would have busted in the room with balloons, candy and singing a song, they definitely would have noticed…lol!
On one side of the room the kids were working one-on-one with one of their teachers on a painting activity using an apple cut in half as a stamp. How fun? A few other kiddos were checking out their class pet and another was digging in the toys while picking out some Hot Wheels to play with on the floor. They seemed as if they already felt at home in their new classroom. Kudos to the teachers for making it such a great experience for them!
How does it look different? Well, the teachers don’t have the opportunity to see and talk with the parents on a daily basis as there are visitor restrictions in place. They are currently using an app called MomentPath, which allows them to communicate with parents about anything that goes on in the classroom, like lesson plans, share pictures and even alert parents if there are any concerns such as the child not napping or eating well. Even before COVID-19, a great deal of schools have gone to technology to communicate with parents, but it is especially important now. My children’s school always hosted a meet the teacher night in the classroom every year, but this year it was a virtual meet and greet and we got to see the classroom by a virtual tour. It doesn’t quite do it justice!
Back to school is always an adjustment every year, no matter what, but with our current circumstances, it’s even more so. With that, we want to thank all of the parents and teachers for working together to make it easy as possible for the kiddos, no matter what school you call home. Keep learning my friends!