Supporting kids to return to school after lockdown

[Daisydreamer]

@BPDSurvivor a huge, huge thank you for your post! I have learned so much and there is some brilliant advice for parents there 🙂 Would you mind if we link to your post if we see members of the community in other spaces feeling concerned about children returning to school? 

I think lots of people will feel relieved to here how schools are preparing to support children and families 🙂 

[Daisydreamer]

Hi @ArraDreaming,

I really appreciate your post! As a fellow co-parent of a 4 year old, I resonate with so many of the points you have rasied.

The closing and reopening of pre-schools is a big one through the formative early years. How have you found having your son home from kinder with a new baby too?

That anxiety around leaving the house is one we are hearing a lot in kids. I'm so sorry to hear the impact this has had in your little boy. He is very lucky to have a dad who is supportive and works through those moments with him. The fact he is now a bit more comfortable to be outside when you are there sounds like a big step for him 🙂  Have there been any conversations or approaches you have found helpful to support him in those moments?

Kids are feeling the impact, I am always constantly amazed when our boy turns around and reminds me not to touch a button or moves away because there are "too many people". I also hold hope it will mean our little ones will be more resilient and adaptable to change in the future 

[BPDSurvivor]

Of course it's okay @Daisydreamer ! 

Another thing to add, schools are probably still doing transition to kinder/prep sesssions. I know my school has started already. So 4-5 yr olds have 'induction' sessions into big school. However, ours online at the moment and we do this fortnightly. We use these online sessions to get to know our new students for next year for class placement purposes (it's general informal assessment eg whether students can answer questions, follow instructions, focus for a period of time etc.)

So rest assured parents, we know the prep/kindy cohort we are expecting.

By the way, in NSW, the first year of school is called 'kindy' or 'kindergarten' whereas in Vic, the first year is called 'prep' or 'foundation' - just to clarify so people don't get confused.

[ArraDreaming]

@Daisydreamer 
Having a baby at home while he has been at home has been challenging, definitely, he is only at kinder 2 days a week though, but by the time Thursday rolls around we're definitely itching to get him out for the day. 
He hates it when he cries and says "be quiet please you are too loud!!" 

When its reopened after lockdown he hasn't wanted to go because he knows the baby is going to be home with us all day. 
We're trying to weigh up our options at the moment about how we manage/respond to this every week. This morning was probably our tipping point

[BPDSurvivor]

That certainly sounds so difficult @ArraDreaming . It sounds so stressful for everyone. In a way, kinder is quite different to school. School has more routine, so even if kids struggle in kinder/childcare, they seem to do okay at school. And to throw in a baby in the mix of things is definitely challenging. So many changes at once can make anyone anxious.

[BPDSurvivor]

@Daisydreamer @ArraDreaming @MrsFahey @Bow 

Here are some VIC and NSW resources to support you:

'Talking to your child about COVID'

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/talking-your-child-about-coronavirus-covid-19 

Supporting learning from home for children in Kinder

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/learning-home-resources-early-childhood-education 

Mental Health Toolkit

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/health/mentalhealth/Pages/mentalhealthtoolkit.aspx 

Thinking of Repeating?

https://evidenceforlearning.org.au/the-toolkits/the-teaching-and-learning-toolkit/australasian-resea... 

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/providers/funding/Pages/kindersecondyear.aspx

NSW Wellbeing Supports for families and students

https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/wellbeing-for-students-and-families

Student Wellbeing

https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/counselling-and-psychology-services/students#Mental1

NSW Learning from Home Resources

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/learning-from-home

There are a wealth of resources here for you to choose from.

Please let me know if you have any specific school/teacher/learning questions.

BPDSurvivor

[MrsFahey]

Thanks so much for such a lovely message. Yes we have had lots of conversations around what we are going to do so he will have all his tools in his tool box.

I wish everyone the very best with getting back to normal life

[ArraDreaming]

Yes and we moved house @BPDSurvivor which was not a choice we wanted to make but the rental market kind of forced us. We're in a much better place now though anyway.

As everything is changing and he is so routine happy we kept him at the same kinder and just make the trip, makes life that little more difficult for us in the morning and afternoon but it's what we have to do for him it's what he knows. 

We've got one routine based, strong willed yet extremely emotional young fella, makes for an interesting little personality, we'd love to know what's going on inside that head sometimes. 
He is starting to learn more and more about feelings/emotions and asks us 18 times a day "are you happy" even sometimes while I'm holding a crying baby or have just had told him repeatedly  to stop trying to pick the baby up to put him on the skateboard, god, I wish I was joking but I'm not. The intent is there, the ability the read the room is not yet there, kind of hilarious kind of annoying. 

My partner is working and I am not right now so I'm now home with them both which has been a huge change for all of us

Thanks so much for the resources 

@Daisydreamer Yep, I get you with that last point, I've tasked H as the "green tick master" so when we go somewhere he does the QR code for us, it's a practice in patience for me as I watch him try and line up the phone camera perfectly with shaky little hands but it's one of the few things he can control about this new weird world we're in, I'll let him be a part of it. He does a little dance every time the green tick comes up because it means "we can go in now!" 

[BPDSurvivor]

I love that @ArraDreaming @Daisydreamer ! Asking your son to help checkin. Diversion therapy? If it works, it works! 

Empowering our children is the best thing anyone can do.

Although it sounds so challenging at the moment @ArraDreaming , I can see you are doing the best you can, and you ought to be acknowledged for your efforts and your resilience.

Look forward to hearing from you,

BPDSurvivor

[Paperdaisy]

This is something that is such a concern for me. We have a Kindy kid who has missed a big part of their first year at school. He's an anxious kid and finally settled in by mid year, just to be taken out again. 

After many arguments we decided for everyone's mental health to take a backseat with school, which makes me worry that he will be behind when he returns. This might impact him socially because he's quite aware of other children's abilities and his self confidence stems from this. 

Our school is suggesting students wear masks, which seems ridiculous to me. Kids haven't had to wear masks all pandemic and now they are being asked to wear them somewhere that is deemed 'safe' for them to return. Doesn't sit right.