As an administrator or staff member of a preschool or child care program, the safety of your children, families, and staff is always top priority—now more than ever with the continued spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As an early childhood learning community, our top priority during this continued, unprecedented time is supporting your needs and ensuring that you, your families, and your staff are well-prepared!
Here are some tips for early education programs on how to prepare, communicate with your staff and families, and continue the learning at home.
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Communicating with Children about Coronavirus
Use these guidelines and talking points when speaking to children about COVID-19:
Bright Horizon's Talking to Children about COVID-19, including guidelines, talking points, and Q&A
Suggested talking points for school closures:
Toddlers: When people are sick, they stay home! When lots of people are sick, we all stay home to keep everyone healthy. We are all going to spend classroom time at home for a little while to keep everyone healthy.
Primary: When people are sick, they stay home! When lots of people are sick, we all stay home to keep everyone healthy. Many illnesses come from bacterias or viruses. These are teeny tiny organisms that can make people sick. There is a virus that is making people sick right now and so we are all going to spend classroom time at home for a little while to keep everyone healthy.
Continuing the Learning at Home
In the event of temporary program closure, provide resources to your parents and help them to continue learning and promote engagement at home. Admins and teachers can share lesson plans with parents through the brightwheel app for at-home learning materials and the View Lesson Plans as a Parent resource can be shared to guide parents to guide in accessing this information. Additionally, consider delivering "distance learning" experiences using free video conferencing tools like Google Hangouts or Skype!
You may also wish to share the following third-party resources with parents: