COVID-19 brought the whole world to a standstill, but the life goes on. Slowly, all the institutions are gearing up to come out of the online bubble and work in a real environment. Schools will soon be opening too and teachers will return to classes for hybrid or may be in-person teaching. What seems simple is quite a complex task as it demands a lot of planning to ensure that all the norms are being followed seamlessly.
Whether you are opening new school in India or have been in the education industry for long, let’s help you sail through the tides easily. Here are some of the ways to implement to ensure learning doesn’t hamper when the school reopens.
Create peaceful environment
Children have been staying inside their house for almost one year. They have been taking classes from home, and are quite comfortable with the online set-up now. When they come back to the classroom, they might feel a little emotional and anxious. To comfort them, teachers can play soothing or lively music in the class that sets the mood of the kids.
Pay attention to social and emotional connect
Connect with every child at individual and emotional level, irrespective of whether they open up instantly or are hesitant. When you build a connect with the child, they feel safe in the classroom and look forward to learning in the new setup.
Try to make the safety protocols fun for students
We know that washing hands, maintaining distance, and wearing mask are important protection measures from Covid 19. Teachers can encourage students to follow these safety protocols in a fun way by using kid-friendly language so that children get more comfortable with these measures. For young ones, check if their masks are on when they enter the school. Play songs while kids sanitize themselves and have posters everywhere to remind kids to maintain social distancing.
Have a flexible seating plan
Making kids sit at one dedicated spot could be boring. Teachers should rather give flexible seating option to students as it makes kids feel more comfortable and make the classroom more friendly and inviting. Teachers can also keep seating cushions, yoga mats, wiggle seats and other fun seating options in classroom while ensuring there’s an apt distance between two seats.
Don’t have high expectations
The way of teaching will change in the classroom setup as well. The activities that teachers used to conduct in classes might change. There will be not many closed group activities, no fun pool classes, and so on in classrooms. So, teachers will have to come up with alternative activities so that they can explain concepts to kids in an interesting manner.
A Few Last Words
Considering the changes that teachers might have to bring in the way of teaching, there could be need to have customised montessori curriculum for preschool in India. Some of the schools have already started working in that direction so that they are well-prepared beforehand. At last, a little planning can go long way. Schools need to look at all the practically possible aspects for a warm welcome of students.
Author Bio
Anita
Anita is an educationist. She was associated with pre-school for more than a decade. Anita has been really active on the Internet to create awareness about the new styles of effective teaching for the young minds.
Our mission is to provide authentic Montessori education which promotes inner discipline, self-assurance considering the emotional, intellectual, physical, and social development of the total child by providing Dr. Maria Montessori’s the “Prepared Environment”.https://www.greatermontessori.com/
North Garland is an expert Montessori delivering quality and brain-storming Montessori programs every day.Montessori School is called an indirect teaching method because it neither imposes on a child nor does it abandon him in total free play, rather it provides a carefully planned and structured environment in which the child can grow and learn in a natural way with the best possible opportunities for reaching his or her maximum potential.
